Home Maintenance For Dummies, 2nd Edition
Page 20
Remove tea or coffee stains with a solution of 2 tablespoons chlorine bleach per 1 quart of water. Soak for just a minute or two; then rinse promptly.
Never mix bleach with a solution containing ammonia. The combination can release a poisonous gas.
Cleaning Your Faucet Works
When a faucet becomes dull, it makes an otherwise bright and shiny decorating accessory look tattered and worn. It isn’t worn out — it’s just dirty. The bad news is that dirt that has built up for a long period of time can be difficult to remove. The good news is that you can remove it without damaging the faucet if you know a few tricks.
Cleaning a faucet is a two-part operation:
Cleaning the aerator
Cleaning and polishing the exterior finish
Cleaning the aerator
The aerator, a thimble-size accessory consisting of a very small disk filled with tiny holes, screws into the end of a faucet spout. It mixes the water with air and controls the amount of flow. When the aerator is operating normally, the water comes out of the spout in a smooth, gentle, even flow. If the water flow from your faucet is slow, if the water sprays out in random streams, or if a once-smooth flow has become sporadic and now sputters, then you probably have a clogged aerator.
Cleaning the aerator is really easy. Here’s all you have to do:
1. Unscrew the aerator from the spout by turning it counterclockwise.
2. Disassemble the aerator parts.
The parts simply sit one atop another inside the aerator housing.
As you disassemble the aerator, note exactly how the parts are assembled. If you make a mistake during reassembly, the aerator won’t work.
3. Use an old toothbrush and a toothpick and some vinegar to clean each part.
If you can’t remove lime-deposit buildup easily, soak the parts in straight vinegar overnight. Then scrub them clean.
4. Reassemble and reinstall the aerator.
Be sure to align the threads correctly to avoid stripping them, which could cause a nasty spray leak every time you turn on the faucet.
Cleaning and polishing the outside of a faucet
To keep a faucet clean, regularly wipe it down with a damp cloth followed by a clean, dry towel. Built-up debris is a bit more difficult — especially when it’s a thick layer of lime deposits. Several different cleaners are available that remove hard-water stains and other mineral-deposit buildup:
Pure sodium carbonate: Pure sodium carbonate (also known as washing soda or soda ash) is nothing more than laundry detergent. No fillers, no anti-bubbling agents, no odor eaters, nothing except pure cleaning power. It’s available at swimming-pool supply stores. To use pure sodium carbonate, mix 1/2 cup sodium carbonate with a few drops of warm water. Then, using a soft clean cloth, rub the paste onto the faucet surface, and keep rubbing until it shines. To finish, rinse with fresh water and towel-dry.
White vinegar and baking soda: To use this foamy cleaner, mix equal parts of baking soda and white vinegar, wipe the concoction onto the surface of the faucet with a clean, soft cloth and rub until the surface is clean and shiny. Then rinse with clear water and towel-dry.
Calgon: Calgon is a common household product that acts as a really neat faucet-cleaning agent. To clean your faucets with Calgon, mix 1 teaspoon of Calgon into 1 gallon of hot water. Soak a rag in the concoction and very gently wring it out; then place the soaked rag onto the faucet, pressing the rag against all parts of the faucet, and cover it with plastic wrap (the kind you use with leftovers in the kitchen) so that it doesn’t dry out. Come back in one hour, remove the rag, and use it to briskly wipe away the mineral buildup. Finally, rinse the Calgon away with fresh water and pat dry with a soft clean cloth. Note: For long-time buildup, you may have to soak the rag in the solution and place it back onto the faucet several times.
Plain vinegar: Plain vinegar is great for removing a major mineral-salt buildup. You use it the same way you use the Calgon solution: With a vinegar-soaked rag, wipe down all the faucet areas; leave the rag on the faucet for an hour covered with plastic wrap; then wipe it down again, rinse, and towel-dry.
Don’t use abrasive cleaners on a faucet. Liquid cleaners work best without damaging the finish. Be sure to test a cleaner on an out-of-the-way spot to ensure that it doesn’t remove or damage the paint.
Removing copper residue
If your plumbing pipes are made of copper, or if the faucet entrails are made of copper, chances are that a dark green cast will appear at the faucet spout. The patina color indicates oxidation of copper. If left unattended, this condition will destroy the finish on a polished brass faucet in no time.
If you see green at the tip of your faucet, reach for a metal cleaner such as Brasso or Flitz. Both products are used in the same way: Pour a small amount of the cleaner on a soft, dry cloth and rub the cleaner onto the corroded area and keep rubbing until the ultra fine polishing compound eats away at the bad finish. Let the remaining compound form a white haze and use another soft, clean cloth to wipe away the last remnants of the polish.
Toilet Training 101
What follows is a bit of toiletology that we hope will bring you and your family even closer to your bathroom and, specifically, your toilet.
When you clean or repair your toilet, you often need to empty the water out of the tank (the reservoir that holds the water that enters the bowl when the toilet is flushed) and/or the bowl. Here’s how to perform these very basic tasks:
To empty the tank: Turn off the water to the tank (at the shut-off valve) and flush the toilet. With the wall valve off, the tank will not refill. (The shut-off valve is the knob located below and behind the toilet.)
To empty the bowl: Turn off the water to the tank (see the preceding bullet) and then fill a large container with 1 gallon of water and pour the water into the toilet bowl. You can remove any water that remains with a small cup and/or a sponge.
Until you turn the water on and flush the toilet, the bowl and tank will remain empty.
Some of the problems associated with toilets also apply to bidets, including slow water flow and mineral deposits. Obviously, a bidet doesn’t have a tank, but the bowls are similar, so if the problem fits, so does the solution.
Cleaning the toilet
Toilets that aren’t cleaned regularly can become a mess, and toilet-bowl cleaners don’t always do the job. The strong ones can be dangerous to work with, and the others aren’t always strong enough to get things really clean.
Because bacteria love to live in toilets, pour 1 cup of bleach into the tank and mix it into the water. Let it set for a few minutes; then flush the toilet a few times. You’ve just sanitized your toilet.
Bleach is great for killing bacteria, but it can also kill your flapper. Some toilet bowl cleaners that are designed to be placed in your toilet tank and give the water in your bowl that ocean blue color contain chlorine, which, with prolonged exposure, can prematurely deteriorate the rubber flush valve (also called a flapper) and result in a leaking toilet. That’s why we recommend the occasional shot of chlorine bleach followed by a full flush.
Cleaning the siphon jets
The siphon jets are the small openings under the rim of the bowl that help rinse the bowl and assist with the flush. If these jets become clogged, your toilet won’t flush properly. If, when you flush the toilet, the water comes straight down rather than swirls, the holes are probably plugged. Discolored vertical lines in the bowl are another telltale sign that the holes need cleaning.
Inspect the rim openings with a pocket mirror. It they’re clogged with mineral deposits, first empty the tank and the bowl and then use a hanger as a “pipe cleaner” to ream out the holes at the rim (see Figure 8-1). If the scale that exists is too hard to remove, try this trick to soften things up:
1. Use a towel to completely dry the underside of the rim.
2. Apply a layer of duct tape to the underside of the rim to seal all of the holes.
If it doesn’t stick, the rim is wet
.
3. Fill the tank with 1 gallon of pure vinegar (any kind).
4. Flush the toilet.
The vinegar travels from the tank into the rim of the toilet. Let it sit there for as long as possible — 24 hours is ideal.
5. Remove the tape, scrub away the softened scale, turn the water back on, and flush the toilet.
This solution should work beautifully.
Figure 8-1: Clearing clogged siphon jets.
Removing a ring around the bowl
If a white or brown ring forms in the bowl, place a couple of denture tablets in the bowl. The tablets will effervesce in the water and dissolve. Let the mixture set over night. (We recommend a separate container for your dentures.) The next morning, just flush the toilet and wipe away the softened buildup.
If some of the stains remain, empty the bowl; then dip a pumice stick (which looks like a large, dark gray piece of chalk) into some turpentine and scrub. (For lighter buildup, use a nylon scrubbing pad in place of the pumice stick.) Turpentine is a great cleaning agent, and the pumice is a super-fine abrasive. Together they make cleaning a breeze.
Pumice is abrasive — don’t use a pumice stick on chrome or painted finishes.
Unclogging plugged toilets
A clogged toilet is always an accident. No one ever intends to cause the disgusting mess associated with a toilet backup. If you do experience a blockage, try clearing the obstruction with a plumber’s helper (a plunger). If that doesn’t work, cut a coat hanger and bend a hook in one end. Force the coat hanger into the neck of the toilet and try to hook the blockage. If you’re still not successful, it’s time to use a closet auger, also called a closet snake (see Figure 8-2).
Figure 8-2: A closet auger (or snake).
To use a closet snake, follow these steps:
1. Pull the handle of the closet auger all the way out of the hollow tube so that the hooked end is up against the end of the tube and none of the cable is released.
2. Insert the auger end of the snake into the throat of the toilet.
Make sure that the vinyl sleeve is up against the porcelain to prevent damage.
3. Turn the crank slowly while, at the same time, pushing the rod and snake into the toilet trap and down into the sewer line; continue to turn the crank when retracting the snake.
If the snake doesn’t work (or you aren’t interested in getting this up close and personal with your toilet), call the plumber.
Preventing a sweaty tank
A toilet tank sweats when the cold water inside chills the tank in a warm bathroom. The sweat is actually condensation. The condensation can become so profuse that it can result in puddles on the floor that can damage floor covering, trim, and other finishes. One way to reduce sweating is to make sure that the water entering the tank isn’t cold, by having a plumber add a mixing valve at the tank inlet to introduce warm water into the tank. Unfortunately, this fix is relatively expensive.
A less expensive solution is one you can do yourself: Just fit sheets of polystyrene or foam rubber against the inside of the tank walls. You can either use a toilet tank liner (available at hardware stores, home centers, or plumbing-supply wholesalers), or you can cut the foam to fit the bottom of the tank and the walls. Glue the foam or liner in place with silicone cement and let the adhesive dry for at least 24 hours before filling the tank (see Figure 8-3).
Figure 8-3: Lining the inside of your tank.
Decorative (typically shag-style) cloth tank covers are supposed to insulate the tank and reduce the chance for condensation. However, if the temperature difference is great enough, a certain amount of condensation will still occur, which can be a problem. If the cloth cover gets wet, mold and mildew can result. Yuck! We never did like those cloth covers anyway.
Looking for leaks in and around the toilet
Some leaks occur outside the toilet. If the floor is wet around the toilet, you obviously have a leak (or a sweating toilet, as explained in the preceding section). The trick is finding where the leak is coming from (there are several places to look) so that you can take the proper steps to solve the problem.
The shut-off valve at the wall
Use a towel to dry the floor around the toilet; then lay a piece of toilet paper on the floor beneath the valve and wait for about 15 minutes. If the toilet paper is wet, the shut-off valve (or the supply tube connected to it) leaks. Try tightening the valve fittings. If that doesn’t work, you need to replace the valve and/or supply line.
If the shut-off valve is leaking, replace it using the following steps:
1. Turn off the main water supply to the house and open an exterior water faucet at the lowest point of the home.
2. Flush the toilet to remove all the water from the toilet tank. Remove any remaining water with a sponge.
3. Use adjustable pliers to loosen the nut that attaches the water-supply line to the shut-off valve.
4. Use an adjustable wrench to grasp the shut-off valve’s hex-shaped body and carefully turn it counterclockwise to remove it from the nipple (the short piece of threaded pipe) that is stubbed out of the wall.
5. Wrap Teflon tape around the threads on the nipple, place the new shut-off value onto the nipple, and gently turn it clockwise to thread the shut-off valve onto the nipple. Use the adjustable wrench to snug the valve into place.
If the nipple is copper, call a plumber to replace the leaking shut-off valve. These can be very tricky to replace because of the compression ring used instead of the threaded connection you find on galvanized pipe.
6. Reattach the supply line, being sure to first use Teflon tape on threads on the shut-off valve to prevent a leak.
7. Turn on the main water valve and the toilet shut-off valve and use the toilet paper investigation technique mentioned earlier to check for leaks.
Where the supply tube connects
Use a small clump of toilet paper to wipe the bottom of the tank where the supply tube (the thin, flexible tube that carries water from the shut-off valve to the toilet tank) connects. If it’s wet, the leak is there. Tighten the nut and the supply line at that location. If that doesn’t work, replace the supply line.
When choosing a new supply line, get a braided stainless steel one instead of the copper or vinyl hoses, which are not as durable and can burst under excessively high pressure or exceedingly cold temperatures. A few extra dollars can prevent a flood that could save thousands of dollars and lots of heartache.
To replace the supply line, follow these steps:
1. Turn off the shut-off valve that supplies water to the toilet.
Simply turn the little valve that is located below and behind the toilet clockwise until it stops.
2. Flush the toilet to remove all the water from the toilet tank. Remove any remaining water with a sponge.
3. Use adjustable pliers to loosen the nut that attaches the water supply line to the underside of the tank and the nut that attaches the supply line to the shut-off valve.
The supply line is now free of the toilet and shut-off valve and can be replaced with a new one.
4. Install the new supply line, being careful not to over-tighten the nuts at either end.
Use Teflon tape on the threads of the shut-off valve and the fitting at the underside of the toilet to prevent a leak.
5. Turn on the main water valve and the toilet shut-off valve and use the toilet paper investigation technique mentioned earlier to check for leaks.
The area where the tank connects to the bowl
Two bolts hold the tank to the bowl. If either of them leaks, try tightening the bolt slightly. Don’t over-tighten — you can crack the toilet. If tightening the bolts doesn’t stop the leak, replace the rubber gasket that is on either bolt within the tank: Empty the tank, remove the bolts, replace the gaskets, and reinstall the bolts.