Which Practices Should I Avoid When Using My Plumbing System?

In our most recent blog post, we discussed some of the best things you can do for your plumbing system. While it is common to take your home's plumbing system for granted, taking the proper care of your trash disposal and being aware of the warning signs of leaks or clogs will help you keep your fixtures and appliances in good working order.

Contact us for all your plumbing needs if anything goes wrong with your plumbing system. We're not too far away. Read on as we discuss some of the worst ways to use your plumbing system in the interim. Keeping your pipes in fantastic shape will be made easier by avoiding these.

Please Do Not Do This to Your Plumbing System:

Throw anything down the toilet but toilet paper:

Many items at the supermarket these days are advertised as being "flushable." These items actually degrade in water more quickly than other paper products like paper towels or napkins, so this statement is not untrue. The issue is that they don't degrade quickly. Therefore, if you use these products frequently, a clog is likely to develop.

You can still use biodegradable products, but our customers won't be able to flush them down the toilet.

Put FOG in the kitchen sink

Fats, oils, and grease are referred to as FOG. You might believe that pouring this down your kitchen sink would be safe. It is, after all, liquid, right? Unfortunately, it also hardens and congeals inside your drains exactly like it does on your pots and pans. If you accidentally pour FOG down the drain, the best thing you can do is run hot water for a few minutes. If not, you should transfer the FOG to a waste container and discard it after it has cooled.

Too Much Stash Under the Sink

If you're like many homeowners, you probably like to conserve room whenever you can. As a result, you undoubtedly store cleaning supplies, reusable bags, garbage bags, and perhaps even a trash can underneath your sink. The issue with this is that if you put too much down there, you run the risk of unintentionally stuffing your garbage disposal and p-trap pipe, which could cause leaks.

Even the smallest leaks, if ignored, can waste hundreds of gallons of water annually, lead to mold growth, and result in unhealthy conditions. Always check to make sure that anything you have in the sink isn't obstructing any pipes or the collector for the garbage disposal.

Make use of chemical drain cleaners

These "solutions" are caustic and may end up causing more damage to your pipes than good. They can also cause their own clogs and don't necessarily dissolve all kinds of clogs.

Instead of using these liquid drain cleaners, it's better to call a plumber to do a thorough video pipe inspection and clean your drains with a method like hydro-jetting.