How to Clear Dirt From Plumbing Lines
If dirt becomes stuck inside your pipes, chances are it will slow the flow of water and lead to other problems with your system's performance. It's important to remove as much dirt as possible from your plumbing lines to ensure that faucets, showers, sprinklers and other devices that use water do not become clogged by the dirt. Does this Spark an idea?
Things You'll Need
- Wrench
- Towels (optional)
Please enter your 10 digit phone number only.
A link to this article has been sent to the phone number provided.
Instructions
-
-
1
Unscrew the aerator from all the sinks in the house. The aerator is the piece of the faucet that water comes out of and removes by unscrewing counterclockwise. If the aerator is difficult to turn by hand, use an adjustable wrench to turn it.
-
2
Turn both the cold and hot faucet handles to their full "on" positions. This will begin to spray water out of the faucet. There will be more force than usual since the aerators have been removed.
-
-
3
Allow the faucets to run for at least five minutes. During this time, any large particles of dirt that were trapped inside the pipes should shoot out of the faucet. Remove any small rocks from the sink basin as they appear.
-
4
Shut off the water to all the faucets.
-
5
Scrub the front and back of each aerator with a nylon brush. This will remove any small particles of dirt that were trapped in the metal screen. Place the cleaned aerators back on the faucet and turn clockwise until tight.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
Position towels around the rims of the sinks to catch any splashes as the water is purged.
References
- Photo Credit Thinkstock/Comstock/Getty Images
