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Plumbing guides: Maintenance & Advice, page 5

320 articles from the Hayes Plumbing team on maintenance & advice for homes in Oshawa and Durham Region.

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320 articles in Maintenance & Advice

Need a plumber for this? See our plumbing repair in Oshawa page, or call (905) 576-3043.

Temporary Fixes for Pipe Leaks

Leaking pipes can be a major problem for homeowners. They can cause significant damage to your home and property, as well as lead to expensive repair bills. Thankfully, there are some temporary fixes you can use to help stop the leak until you can properly repair it. In this article, we’ll discuss five temporary fixes

5 min read

Knowing When to Repair or Replace a Leaky Faucet: A Guide

It’s never fun to discover a leaky faucet in your home. Not only is it annoying, but it can also be a waste of water and money. So, what should you do when you find a leaky faucet? Should you repair it or replace it? It can be tough to decide, but there are a

4 min read

7 Signs It’s Time to Call the Plumber to Clean Your Drains

If your drains are backing up, overflowing, or otherwise not functioning properly, you may need to hire a professional plumber to clean them. Here are seven signs that indicate you should hire a plumber to drain cleaning and rooter servicess: 1. Water is Backing Up Into Your Sink, Tub, or Shower If water is backing

4 min read

4 Plumbing Issues That Require Professional Help

When plumbing issues arise, homeowners often feel inclined to take matters into their own hands. Many plumbing problems can be solved without calling a professional, but the work may require specialized tools and a certain level of expertise.  Sometimes, it’s much more sensible to call a qualified plumber for plumbing service instead of attempting a

4 min read

Have a Septic Tank? Here’s How to Maintain It

If your home happens to be one of many that are connected to a septic system and not to the city sewer system, then there are things that you’ll have to do to ensure that your septic tank doesn’t fail. As the place where waste is stored, this can be a huge issue. Thankfully, upkeep

4 min read

How to Recognize a Sewer Line Problem

Our sewage lines act as a vital link which carries waste, water and practically anything else we flush down our drains out and away from our homes. This vital function relies on having a clean, properly working line that is able to perform its duties and efficiently carry things away from your home. Therefore, it

5 min read

How Do You Know if Your Plumbing Is Bad?

Unless you’re a professional, plumbing can feel pretty confusing. After all, how are you to know what goes on in all those pipes and tubes? As it turns out, though, there are many things even plumbing-adverse homeowners can learn in order to spot trouble in their pipes and put an end to it before it

3 min read
Grey shaker vanity with a quartz top and black faucet
Bathroom Renovations

5 Different Ways to Unclog a Drain

We all know the feeling: You’re running water for your morning shower, and you notice it’s turning into a bath, instead. Don’t panic, instead, follow these tips to professional drain cleaning your drain. 5 Ways to Unclog Your Drain Clogged drains are a reality of every household, but they’re never pleasant. Whether your sink is

3 min read

Protecting Your Pipes in the Winter

Winter brings its share of misery. From freezing cold temps to nights that seems to last forever, it’s no wonder that a lot of people dread this time of year. On top of that, there is the threat that pipes could freeze and break, creating major problems within the home. Thankfully, there are some things

3 min read

Save Money by Saving Water

It might not seem like it now, but clean water is a scarce resource. Only 1 percent of the entire world’s water supply is safe for human consumption. And yet, despite the obvious issue of scarcity facing all of us, the average North American still uses between 80-100 gallons of water a day. A lot

4 min read

Plumbing Issues That Only the Pros Should Handle

DIY plumbing has become quite a popular activity in recent years. Ambitious homeowners with absolutely no experience whatsoever are installing the plumbing in a new bathroom or kitchen, thinking a quick YouTube tutorial is all they need to learn the intricacies of the profession. Only after a few failed attempts do they realize that installing

4 min read
Walk-in shower with a glass panel, linear drain and towel rack
Bathroom Renovations

The Benefits of Having Your Bathroom Remodeled

When people set out to remodel or renovate their homes, they often start with the kitchen. Then they might turn their attention to backyard landscaping projects, or re-designing the living room or dining room to match the kitchen. What gets lost in all these considerations is the bathroom. Unless it is falling apart, the bathroom

3 min read
Toilet beside a window in a renovated bathroom
Bathroom Renovations

Bathroom Plumbing: Does Yours Need to Be Repaired?

Let’s face it, your bathroom plumbing gets used in a lot of ways you can imagine—from flushing toilets to showering and even draining sinks and tubs and a whole lot more! With this in mind, maintaining your bathroom plumbing properly and keeping it running smoothly is essential to the convenience and satisfaction of your home.

3 min read

Signs Your Water Heater Needs to Be Replaced

As a homeowner, you have responsibilities in your home that you could never neglect—this is also true when it comes to your trusty water heater! You might not have given it much thought yet, but as soon as your water heater starts malfunctioning, you may find yourself in a lot of trouble. Most of the

3 min read
Kitchen island with bar stools under three glass pendant lights
Kitchens & Appliances

Great Tips for Cleaning the Dishwasher

If you have ever investigated for a stink in your home and found yourself in the kitchen moments later, then your appliance installation services could be the one responsible for it. Over the years, your dishwasher’s interior may accumulate germs and dirt that could cause some very nasty odours, although it may also be counter-intuitive.

3 min read

Top Reasons Why Your Plumbing Has Started to Leak

Examine carefully the areas surrounding your sink and kitchen and bathroom fixtures. If there is excessive water in there, then it might be an indication that leaks have already started in your plumbing. It might not seem a significant deal at first, but these leaks can lead to immense difficulties for you, your loved ones,

3 min read

Is It Time for You to Call a Professional Plumber?

It is quite awesome that you are probably handy and able to fix things around your home, but some tasks can exceed our capabilities and might be better left done or fixed by professionals. This is particularly true for plumbing work. Occasionally, our best efforts are not sufficient enough to get the work done, or

3 min read

“My Sink is Clogged; What Should I Do?”

As a homeowner, you know very well that having a backed up, blocked sink is such an inconvenience. Whether you have one sink or multiple ones for different purposes, you always want all of the sinks in your home to be functioning efficiently at all times.   So, what should you do when one or

4 min read

The Importance of Water Filtering Systems

How frequently do you drink water directly from the faucet in your kitchen sink? If you are comfortable to only drinking water from bottles which you purchased in a store, this water will likely taste odd for you. You may consider this as a hint that you should be having your own water filtration systems

4 min read

Home Plumbing Preventative Measures You Should Know

Averting many of the common plumbing problems which you might encounter in your home can be done by one simple key factor—preventative maintenance. Most homeowners consider plumbing maintenance to be another tedious job or simply a waste of time and money. But virtually every homeowner having a plumbing issue would not agree with this! By

3 min read

Are DIY Plumbing Projects Worth the Risk?

In this modern age, there are numerous websites and social forums detailing precisely how to replace anything in your home—from heating, cooling, and ventilation to a variety of plumbing fixtures, etc. It is very common for people to try to repair plumbing problems themselves rather than calling a professional plumber to get the job done.

3 min read
Kitchen with a black sink and faucet below a double window
Emergency Plumbing

Leaky Garbage Disposals – How to Deal with Them

One of the most significant and essential parts of your kitchen sink strategy is garbage disposal, and when something goes bad with it, you will definitely know. That is because there will be a really awful stench coming from it. The culprit—a leaking garbage disposal that you would want to get fixed as soon as

3 min read

Plumbing Leaks & How They Attract Pests

Plumbing leaks can be a terrible mess and an all-around hassle for your household. Aside from wasting water, it also increases your monthly bill significantly. As if those things are not enough, there is one more appalling effect of leaks that might not instantly come out: household pests.   Insects and rodents need water to

4 min read

Plunger 101: How to Properly Use It

Being an essential necessity nowadays, indoor plumbing has become a major importance to every household, especially during plumbing emergencies such as having clogs. As some clogs may require expert assistance to fix, others only require a little effort from you and your trusty plunger.   There are several types of plungers and most of them

4 min read

Looking for prices?

Our 2026 Oshawa plumbing cost guide and Durham Region bathroom renovation cost guide publish the planning ranges we work from.

Have a plumbing question?

Call (905) 576-3043. We are happy to help, and estimates are free.