4 Bad Habits That Damage Your Plumbing System in Venice, FL
Owning a house and taking care of it is a huge responsibility. It’s easy for homeowners in Venice, FL, to neglect their plumbing system and cause damage without even realizing it. Below are four bad habits you’ll need to break to keep from damaging your plumbing.
Not Clearing Bathroom Drains
A common habit that most folks struggle with is letting the shower drain and bathroom sink drain clog with long strands of hair, gobs of toothpaste, slivers of soap and other small pieces of debris. On any given day, these little bits and smudges don’t seem like much. But over weeks and months, they can add up.
Once they get washed down the drain, it’s natural to assume they go straight into the sewers. Instead, a lot of this material ends up sticking to your pipes and accumulating little by little.
Next thing you know, by the time you finish your shower, you’re standing ankle-deep in soapy water. Or you finish shaving or brushing your teeth and shut off the faucet, yet the water takes another minute or two to fully drain from the sink. If that clog continues to get worse, you may end up needing to call a plumber for help.
All it takes to prevent a clogged or slow shower drain is to use a drain screen to catch the hair and soap before they have a chance to go down it. Then just empty the screen into the trash as needed. As for the bathroom sink, take a tissue after you brush your teeth, wipe away any toothpaste stuck to the side of the sink, and toss it in the trash.
Dumping Oil and Food Scraps Into the Kitchen Sink
Another bad habit that can damage your plumbing is dumping oil, vegetable peels and food scraps into the kitchen sink. While your garbage disposal does a fine job of pureeing all of that and pushing it down the drain, some material can eventually create clogs farther down in your pipes. When that hot oil cools and solidifies, it becomes a sticky mess that can create major drain problems.
Put vegetable peels into the trash can rather than the sink. Pour leftover cooking oil into a sealable bag or disposable container and toss that in the trash as well. And when you’ve finished eating a meal, scrape food scraps into the trash can, too.
Flushing Trash Down the Toilet
Another problem we’ve seen is that people often flush more than just toilet paper down the toilet. Cotton swabs, paper towels, hygiene products and anything made of plastic has no business being in your toilet.
Toilet paper is specifically designed to quickly dissolve in water. Other paper products, as well as toiletries and hygiene products, are likely to get stuck in a bend in your drainpipes and create a blockage. To prevent clogged sewer lines and overflows, never flush anything but human waste and toilet paper down your toilet.
Procrastinating on Plumbing Maintenance and Repairs
One last bad habit that many homeowners are guilty of is procrastinating when it comes to plumbing maintenance, repairs and upgrades. Your pipes, faucets and toilets can last for decades if you take good care of them. But failing to maintain them properly or putting off small repair jobs can cost you when those problems cause even more damage.
Take good care of your pipes and fixtures. Call for plumbing services as soon as you discover any water leaks, slow drains or water pressure issues. Don’t let deferred maintenance turn small problems into massive, expensive repair projects.
If you or your household members are guilty of any of these bad habits, start changing those behaviors immediately. And if the damage is already done and you need plumbing repairs, contact Custom Air & Plumbing today. Our experts will fix the problem and get your plumbing back in working order as soon as possible.
Image provided by iStock