Plumbing emergencies happen when we least expect it, and they never seem to come at a good time. Real plumbing emergencies often involve enlisting the plumbing services of a professional after hours, which can cost a great deal of money. Although you will likely never eliminate the chance of ever having a plumbing emergency, you can cut down on the amount of disasters you have with your plumbing system by treating your system right and performing routine maintenance checks.
Because a plumbing system does not have moving parts, many homeowners don’t consider the way they treat their fixtures and drains. The fact of the matter is that there are rules to how you should use the system you have in your home.
It’s important that you never pour liquid fat or animal fats down your drain. As the liquids cools it congeals and clogs up the pipe. This combined with other sinuous fibers, such as from fruits and vegetables flushed down the drain by your garbage disposal, can quickly clog your drains. In high traffic homes or during the holidays when our drains are at peak flow, this especially becomes a danger.
In order to keep the drains in your kitchen clean and clear, make sure you run cold water while the garbage disposal is running, as well as for a while after you have turned it off, to ensure that any solids make it all the way out to the sewer main.
The drains in the bathroom have the same rules as those in the kitchen. It may seem perfectly alright to put waste materials into the toilet to flush them away, but only human waste and toilet paper belong in your toilet. Human waste is biodegradable, normally softened by water, and is easily flushed. Toilet paper is designed for septic systems, and it is capable of making the journey from your bathroom to the sewer main. Food and other items which often get flushed are not in this same category and will eventually cause many problems.
Following these simple rules will ensure that you have less plumbing emergencies. But if you do find yourself on Thanksgiving with a turkey-grease-clogged kitchen drain, Wm Henderson Plumbing is here to help.