Call A Plumber After These Mistakes

Uh oh, looks like it’s time to call in the plumber. No one wants to be inconvenienced by broken pipes, clogs or high repair bills. With a bit of common sense, many common repairs could be avoided. Want to save your cash for more fun expenditures and let the plumber have a day off? Then avoid these seven mistakes:

1) Flushing inappropriate items down the toilet: The toilet is a wonderful invention that allows human beings the convenience of going to the bathroom inside the house. Long ago, this luxury wasn’t possible. Outhouses or dirt holes were the accepted way of pottying. We’ve gotten so accustomed to the indoor toilets that we not only use them for relieving ourselves, we also throw an array of inappropriate items in and flush. Bad idea. Toilets and intricate sewer systems are designed to handle human waste products. Paper towels, diapers, feminine hygiene produces, baby wipes and food items are not meant to travel through sewage pipes.

2) Not teaching the kids proper bathroom etiquette. Many parents forget to teach their children some basic rules of bathroom etiquette such as only using a few squares of toilet tissue. It’s a good idea to even give them a demonstration. Count out two or three sheets of TP and rip them from the roll. A child who isn’t taught this will often have so much fun speed rolling the tissue that a clog is just waiting to happen. It’s also imperative to tell the kids that flushing toys, hairbrushes, jewelry or family pets are big no-no’s.

3) Bacon grease in the kitchen sink: Bacon grease solidifies when it cools. If this happens after being poured down the kitchen sink’s drain, it will cause a clogging problem. If it’s done repeatedly, the cold grease will layer on and create havoc.

4) Potato or carrot peelings in garbage disposal: While the garbage disposal is a master of pulverizing appropriate sized and textured food waste, the peeled skins of these veggies are notorious for trouble. Peelings wedge into the mechanisms and break them. They should be put into the trash can or compost pile as they are just a broken garbage disposal waiting to happen.

5) Know what’s behind the wall before you puncture it: Plumbing pipes may be hidden directly behind a wall where an unsuspecting homeowner is about to saw an opening, hammer a nail or drive a screw. Halt! Be sure to figure out where plumbing pipes are before accidentally puncturing them.

6) Forgetting to put away the garden hoses during the winter season: It’s important to unscrew the garden hose once the frigid winter temps have set it. Leaving them outside attached to the faucet can cause frozen backup in the wall, damage the faucet and ruin the hose.

7) Hiring a novice for installations: Plumbing is a complex construction skill. It is not as easy as it looks. While simple repairs may be performed by a novice, installations must be done by a skilled professional. Never have complex pipes, showers, toilets or bathtubs installed by someone without substantial knowledge and experience.

By using a bit of common sense, these plumbing mishaps and repair bills can be avoided. Let the plumber have a day off.