Your home is your sanctuary, but sometimes you don’t always think before you act. A choice repeated over a while builds up to disastrous consequences, which results in expensive repair costs. Below are seven tips to avoid costly plumbing problems and the resulting repair costs in Ramer, AL.
A Washer Washes Laundry, Not Your Home
If your washer has a rubber hose, make sure to replace it with a stainless braided hose as fast as possible. While you probably haven’t experienced any problems with your washer yet, those black rubber hoses tend to burst. If you wonder if you know when it does burst, trust us: You’ll know when your home fills up with five gallons of water per minute.
Clean Your Pipes Once a Month
Over time, your drain pipes experience a buildup that narrows the passageway, allowing water to escape. This buildup comes in the form of grease, hair, grit, grime, soap scum and other materials. A little maintenance goes a long way, saving you time and money by preventing the need for repairs.
You can pour a little baking soda into the drains, let it sit for an hour and wash it away with hot water. Not only do you get rid of buildup, but you get rid of odors.
Don’t Put Grease Down the Sink
When cleaning dishes, sometimes it’s easier to pour scalding hot water on a greasy pan and let it melt down the drain. Except it sticks in the drain, cools down and hardens, creating a buildup that eventually turns into a clog that you probably can’t fix on your own.
Instead of dumping your grease and fat leftovers from cooking, toss it into the garbage instead. You could also reuse the grease, such as using it as part of a base for sauces, making your own salad dressings, use it in cooking or use it to flavor leftovers.
Exposed Pipes Have One Purpose
The purpose of exposed pipes, often in basements, is to allow the passage of water or are gas lines, which would affect indoor air quality if there’s a leak. One thing we see is people using their exposed pipes as hangers for clothing, wet clothing or to hold other objects. The only problem is that exposed pipes aren’t meant to support the extra weight, and that extra weight causes the pipes to burst.
Drop-Ins No Longer Welcome
Nobody likes cleaning their toilets, so they often resort to cleaners to either leave in the bowl or tank. The drop-in style cleaners, either for the bowl or tank, contain corrosive chemicals that damage pipes. It became such a problem for toilet manufacturers that using them automatically voids the warranties on toilets damaged in this manner.
Overused Garbage Disposal
While the purpose of garbage disposals is to break food into tiny little bits to pass through pipes safely, people tend to think they can handle more than what’s possible. Garbage disposals aren’t designed to eat every single thing, such as coffee grounds. Big chunks of food are better off in the garbage or used as compost.
Also, please don’t feed your disposal so much at once; otherwise, it’ll choke. Scrape the food slowly to avoid a clog.
Your Toilet Isn’t a Trash Can
Repeat after us: The toilet is not a trash can. The only thing that goes in the toilet other than regular bodily waste is toilet paper. Hair, cotton balls, Q-tips, dental floss, medication, cat litter and other items do not belong in the toilet.
Not only can these get caught in the drains and form a clog in your home or elsewhere, but it just adds to the burden of water treatment facilities, and they have to work more in cleaning the water. Make it easy for them and use your toilet as a toilet only.
If you notice any plumbing problems or simply want to give your plumbing a checkup, trust our team of plumbers. Call Air Conditioning by Luquire today for a free, no-obligation, in-home estimate for all your plumbing needs.
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