Everything Your Plumber Doesn’t Want You To Know
Good plumbing maintenance is relatively easy, but failing to keep up with it can mean costly repairs. Here are some good ways you can take care of your plumbing, either yourself or with the help of a licensed professional. Take care of your house now and it will benefit you in the future.
To avoid clogs, pay attention to what you flush. Sanitary napkins, thick toilet paper and baby wipes should never be flushed. These items can expand and cause a clog, or get caught on a pipe. Instead, dispose of them in a sanitary way that does not involve flushing them down the toilet.
What causes drains to block?
Read this very informative article from Aspect for it provides a lot of solution.
Do not use the liquid cleaning supplies that are designed to clear clogs. These cleaners are harmful and can damage your pipes as they clear the clog. Instead of using damaging liquids, use a plunger or a plumbing snake. These are much more effective and will not harm pipes.
Home Plumbing
Install screen traps or drain covers on all of your sinks and tub drains. Most home plumbing calls are about clogged pipes. These can be caused by debris, especially hair, washing down the drains. Putting in a trap means that you can clean this debris off before it ends up in the pipes.
DIY Plumbing
DIY plumbing jobs will require that you understand how to solder copper for the lines for the water supply. You can practice this skill so that you will be able to run your lines without worrying about it leaking. Search online for video tutorials that can help you get a handle on how to go about soldering.
As mentioned above, most periodic plumbing maintenance is simple and straightforward. Most repairs resulting from serious damage to your plumbing are not. Now that you know how to deal with the plumbing issues in your home, you should be more prepared to prevent or mitigate the more serious problems that can result.
There’s always a chance that a blocked drain or pipe problem will crop up at some point in any home. However, if we take action early on to prevent these issues from happening, we can avoid the aggravation these issues could bring, especially if they turn into something major and costly. So, here are the common causes of blocked drains and pipes to look out for. Knowing these should help you come up with preventive measures before they get worse.
Tree Roots
Roots of trees spread underground and they tend to be attracted to areas where there’s moisture. Drains and leaky pipes provide the necessary moisture that tree roots are attracted to, hence there are many cases where roots extend their growth inside drains and pipes and cause blockages. If roots have already grown in the drain or pipe, cutting them back to clear it would only be a temporary fix since the roots could grow back and cause the same problem over again. That’s going to be costly in the long run as the issue recurs. The best thing to do would be to replace the section and keep it as watertight and leak-free as possible.
How do you stop outside drains from blocking?
This write-up from ASL is brilliant so devour all the information in it.
Leaves, Twigs and Other Garden Debris
Dead leaves, twigs and other garden debris are the primary causes of clogs in gutters and drains. This is most likely to happen during the autumn season when leaves from trees fall in great numbers. Always check and clear your gutters and drains of garden debris to keep them from accumulating and cause blockages eventually.
Fats and Other Greasy Substances
Fats and grease stick to the sides of the drain pipe when poured down the drain. Over time, other substances, like bits of hair and dirt, get stuck in them and accumulate into a mass that will cause your drain passage to be blocked. To prevent this from happening, don’t pour fatty and greasy substances down the drain. Put them in a container, or bottle them up, and throw them in the garbage bin instead.
Hair Strands
Hair tends to get tangled into things – including the insides of your drain pipes. After some time, they collect into a heap, mixed with other materials, and cause a clog in your drain. To avoid them from building up, make it a habit to always pick up strands of hair after showering or bathing. It would also help to do a regular checking on your drainage for accumulated materials to prevent blockages.
Toilet Trash
Toilet rubbish like soap bits, toilet paper, cotton balls and other items can be causes for drains to be blocked. These things can get stuck up inside the drain conduit and cause a jam. So, do not flush away your garbage in your toilet. Always have a bin in your bathroom to place your trash instead of throwing them into your toilet bowl. Be responsible enough to dispose your rubbish properly if you want to avoid clogging in your drain.
Finally, never disregard a blocked drain. A small issue can turn into a bigger problem if ignored. If you put off taking action to have a blocked drain repaired, it could get you into serious troubles, as follows:
- Because of blockages, storm water pipes can burst or rupture and cause flooding and other issues like water ingress. Needless to say, you would be spending a big amount for repairs, including excavations and replacement works.
- S-bends or U-bends, such as in sink drains, would need to be replaced. There may be cases where the damage is really serious that it’s necessary to replace the connecting pipes as well.
- Drains that are severely clogged can cause sewage to be released into your property. Much worse if it gets into your neighbor’s or into public property! In this case, you will be expected to cover the cost for repairs and replacement of damaged pipes.
Again, don’t get into trouble with blocked drains. Prevent small issues from becoming major problems and don’t waste time to have a blocked drain fixed right away. Get a professional plumber to deal with your clogged pipes and drains before they get worse.
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