5 Things Every Home Owner Should Know About Their Plumbing

Most plumbing disasters aren't mysterious. They're a ten minute problem that turns into a ten hour problem because nobody knew where a valve was. If you only learn five things about your home's plumbing, make it these. Do them once, on a quiet weekend, and you'll be ahead of most problems before they arrive.

1. Know where your water main is

When a pipe lets go, every second counts, and the damage grows with every minute the water runs. The main shutoff is where the water line enters your house. In Yakima Valley homes it's often on a basement or crawlspace wall, in a utility room, or in the garage near the water heater. Some properties also have a second shutoff outside, in a buried box under a small lid near the meter.

Go find it today, then actually turn it. A round wheel handle is a gate valve and takes several full turns. A lever handle is a ball valve and needs only a quarter turn. Old gate valves that haven't moved in years can seize or leak around the stem, and you'd much rather learn that on a Saturday than in the middle of a flood. Tie a bright tag to the handle so a babysitter, a houseguest or a tired you at 2 a.m. can find it fast.

2. Know where your water supply valves are

Every toilet, sink, shower and tub, dishwasher and washing machine should have its own supply valve. Those small valves let you shut off water to one spot only, so a dripping faucet or a toilet repair doesn't mean the whole house goes dry. Here's where to look:

• Toilets: a small oval or round valve on the wall or floor behind the bowl.
• Sinks: two valves, hot and cold, under the basin.
• Dishwasher: usually a valve on the hot line under the kitchen sink.
• Washing machine: two valves on the wall behind the machine, hot and cold.
• Water heater: a cold water shutoff on the pipe feeding the top of the tank.

Turn each one closed (clockwise) and open again once or twice a year. Valves that never move tend to freeze in place with mineral buildup. If one won't close all the way, or weeps from the stem, that's a small fix now and a real headache the day you need it.

3. In winter, protect your pipes

Yakima winters can drop well below freezing, and a frozen pipe can split without any warning. Every fall, cover outdoor pipes, detach every garden hose, and have your irrigation system blown out. A hose left attached traps water against the spigot, and that is how a freeze ends up splitting a pipe inside the wall where you can't see it.

Keep your heat on even when you're away, and on very cold nights open the cabinet doors under sinks on exterior walls so warm air reaches the pipes. We wrote a longer checklist in our Winter Is Coming post. A few small chores in October can prevent a costly repair in January.

4. Keep a quality plunger on hand, one for each job

Not all plungers are created equal, but in a pinch just about any of them will help. Still, the right tool works better. A flat cup plunger is for sinks, tubs and showers. A flange plunger, the kind with the extra rubber sleeve, is made for toilets. We recommend having one for each, and keeping the toilet plunger out of the sink.

On a sink or tub, plug the overflow opening with a wet rag so the pressure goes down the drain instead of out the overflow. Plunge slow and steady, not in frantic jabs. Don't ignore a blockage when it starts. A slow drain that gets ignored can turn into a water spill and real water damage. And skip the harsh chemical drain cleaners: they can sit in a pipe, and they're nasty for whoever has to open the trap afterward.

If the same drain keeps clogging, or several drains slow down at once, the problem is probably deeper than a plunger can reach. That's when a professional drain cleaning or a camera look down the line makes sense.

5. Have our number posted

Despite your best efforts, every home will eventually have a plumbing issue that only a professional can solve. Put (509) 728-3403 on the fridge, inside the water heater closet and in your phone, so you aren't searching with wet socks on.

Shephard Plumbing is a Yakima shop at 18 S 4th Ave. Jeremy Shephard opened it in 2014 after years as a commercial plumber, and we're a licensed Washington plumbing contractor (license SHEPHPL791N6). The phones are answered Monday through Friday, 7am to 5pm. One of our customers, Weldon and Laramee Schademan, put it this way in a Google review: "They are always professional, responsive, and show up when they say they will." That's the standard we're aiming for every time.

Know your main, know your valves, protect your pipes, keep a plunger handy, and keep our number close. Do those five things and most plumbing surprises get a lot smaller.