The kitchen is one of the most important rooms in your home. Most homeowners spend a great deal of money investing in the perfect worktops and flooring, as well as buying cookers, fridges and dishwashers to match.

But it’s essential to keep check of the non-visible parts of your kitchen too – notably the plumbing. It can be all too easy to neglect this part of the room and focus wholly on the kitchen’s appearance.

There are three main parts to your kitchen’s plumbing works – the water supply, the drainage system and the tap fixture. All three connect to the kitchen sink, and it’s in this area that problems tend to arise.

Remember, it’s best to have a professional plumber round to take care of most problems, rather than risk doing further damage.

However, there are a few simple plumbing issues you can deal with yourself.

  • Changing the water pressure. Pipes are normally installed under the flooring or in the walls and the pressure is regulated by a vent pipe. If you’re having problems with the pressure, there’s a valve underneath the kitchen sink which can be used to adjust it.
  • Turning the water supply on/off. If there’s a leak flooding your kitchen and your need to turn off the water supply quickly, then it’s possible. Under the kitchen sink there’ll be two small valves. One for the hot water and one for the cold. Simply turning these will switch the supply on or off.
  • Unblocking the kitchen pipes. From time to time the kitchen pipes will become blocked with hair, food and grease. If the blockage is close to the sink, it could be a simply fix. The U-bend underneath may be blocked, and this can unscrewed and manually cleaned. Otherwise, you can find products in most supermarkets that’ll clear the pipes. Just follow the instructions on the packaging. For blockages further down the pipeline, a plumber can clear the way with an electric cleaner or handheld auger.
  • • Repairing a tap. There isn’t an answer that will cover all tap problems, because they come in all shapes and sizes. However, most problems require a replacement part to be installed. There are four types of tap for water control – cartridge, compression, ball and disc. So if you carry out the job yourself, ensure you purchase the right product.

For other problems, it’d be wiser to have a professional plumber come round and carry out the work.

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