Your Centerpoint, AL plumbing system keeps the water that you need every day in your home flowing freely. Be sure you don’t have bad habits that can ruin your plumbing system, so you can avoid costly repairs. Here are seven habits to break if you want to keep your plumbing system in good shape.
1. Putting Grease in the Drain
You might think that rinsing off a pan or skillet with leftover grease inside isn’t a big deal. But after continuously letting substances like cooking oil or food grease get into the drain, the pipes will eventually clog.
Grease turns from a liquid to a solid when it gets cool. After grease becomes a solid, it can stick around in the pipes and build up a blockage. In addition to a clog, an accumulation of grease can physically damage the pipes.
Getting grease out of your drains is difficult but not impossible. You’ll likely need drain cleaning services from a plumbing professional.
2. Flushing the Wrong Items Down the Toilet
Toilets are for flushing human waste and toilet tissue. But some people treat a toilet like it’s an all-purpose waste disposal. If this describes you, then you’re doing damage to your plumbing system.
Flushing items like baby wipes, food and feminine hygiene products is never a good idea. Even if a product is “flushable,” it can cause issues. Toilet paper breaks down in water, but many other items don’t.
Items that don’t break down in water can clog the local sewer system. This can cause sewage to spill into streets and basements, causing environmental damage.
Things you flush down the toilet can end up in waterways and oceans. If this happens, it poses a risk to marine life and contributes to pollution.
3. Continuously Using Chemical Drain Cleaners
Some people think chemical drain cleaners are a quick fix for a slow drain. But these cleaners can damage your pipes. That’s because most drain cleaners contain harsh chemicals that eat away at clogs.
The same chemicals that eat away at clogs also corrode your pipes. This can weaken the pipes over time, leading to leaks or breaks that require professional repair.
4. Putting Hair in the Drain
Showers and bathroom sinks are common locations of clogs because of hair buildup. It starts with just a few strands of hair, but the hair clumps together in drains. This slows the drain and eventually causes a total clog.
5. Ignoring Regular Maintenance
Your plumbing system needs regular maintenance to work properly. This includes simple checks like inspecting pipes for leaks or testing water pressure. Small issues like loose connections or slight leaks can grow into much larger problems.
6. Putting Inappropriate Items Inside the Garbage Disposal
The garbage disposal is for waste, but some waste can damage your plumbing. Large items or hard items can damage the blades or cause a jam. For example, bones and tough, stringy vegetables are hard, if not impossible to break down in a garbage disposal.
7. Ignoring Plumbing Problems
Sometimes your home’s drains give you a clue that a problem is brewing. You might notice a drain starting to run slower than normal. You might even hear the slight drip of water under the sink.
Most plumbing problems start small before becoming major issues. When you ignore the warning signs, you allow the damage to your plumbing system to get worse.
Breaking Your Bad Plumbing Habits
Making a few adjustments to your habits helps keep your home’s plumbing system working well. For example, you can use a paper towel to remove leftover grease from a dish before washing it in the sink. To keep hair out of the drain, you can put in a strainer that will catch hair before it enters the drain.
Dealing with constant plumbing problems is a frustration that you can avoid. Contact One Source Heating, Cooling, Plumbing and Electrical for your residential plumbing needs.
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