It’s astonishing to realize how much you miss something when it’s gone. Try living in a four-bedroom/three-bathroom house when two of the bathrooms are out of service because of a sewer line blockage, on a Saturday night and the earliest a plumber can be there is Tuesday. Tensions were high, people were irritated, and suggestions of renting a power auger or pouring drain cleaner down the pipes were suggested.
When the plumber finally made it and removed the obstruction, it was discovered to be a waxberg, a chunk of wax from the showers was the cause of the blockage. Using a chemical drain cleaner or amateur use of a power auger might have destroyed the pipes.
After this, the plumber warned us of five things that we should do to avoid having problems with our bathroom plumbing. We followed these five rules afterward, and haven’t had a problem with the plumbing since. So, here are the five rules for you to maintain your bathroom plumbing.
1. Never Flush Trash Down Your Toilet
Never, ever flush anything down your toilet that is not poop, pee, vomit, or toilet paper. Even “disposable bathroom wipes” shouldn’t be flushed down the toilet.
If you have something that is a mess and needs to be gotten rid of-throw it in the trash and take it out of the house. Never flush it down the toilet.
Plumbers have horror stories about the things they’ve found in blocked-up drains. You might not have a dead possum in your pipes, it’s scary what some plumbers have found.
2. Protect Your Drains With Drain Covers
Keep hair and debris from getting down your drains with drain covers. These will keep things like hair and junk that will clog up the pipes from getting into the plumbing. These can also be removed to clean the junk out of them, keeping things out of your pipes and preventing a call for a plumber to come by.
If you don’t have drain covers, make sure to clean any debris out of the sink or tub and toss them in the trash, don’t let them wash down the drain if you can help it.
3. NEVER Use Chemical Drain Cleaners On Blocked Pipes
Almost every chemical drain cleaner is some form of acid or acidic compound. If it can’t dissolve or dislodge the blockage immediately, the acid is going to start eating away at your pipes, potentially causing even more damage. There are far too many stories of somebody pouring drain cleaner down to get rid of a blockage, then coming back to discover that the pipes were destroyed.
Additionally, most chemical drain cleaners will react badly with septic tanks and similar holding systems. Pouring a drain cleaner down the pipes of these systems could cause damage that would require you to spend thousands of dollars digging up and replacing the septic system.
4. Always Get Rid Of Drain Blockages Immediately
If your sink or shower starts to drain slowly, don’t wait for things to get worse. You don’t need to call in for a full drain-cleaning service, but there are a number of tools that let you clean out simple blockages. One of these is a “drain weasel” or “hair snake,” which can let you pull out simple debris from your drains. If your toilet starts to run slowly, some work with a plunger might get it to work properly.
But, if despite your efforts to clear blockages there is no improvement or things get worse, contact someone like Super Service Plumbing for an appointment immediately.
5. Schedule Regular Checkups And Repairs
So long as you don’t have any problems or slow-running drains, you can get away with having your drains checked every two years by a plumber. And, as long as the plumber reports that the pipes are in good condition, you don’t have to replace the pipes except as part of a major renovation or remodeling.
Pipes have a lifespan and when you’re buying or renting a house, find out what kind of pipes have been installed and when. On average, copper pipes have a forty to sixty-year lifespan, while PVC pipes usually last between fifty to seventy years. Most plumbing fixtures-from toilets to faucets to sinks-can last up to ten years before needing to be replaced.
Conclusion
Most plumbing problems are not the result of one big thing, but the end result of a lot of little things. And, many of these little things are things that can be prevented. From not flushing trash down the toilet to cleaning out slow drains as soon as possible, the old saying about an ounce of prevention is equal to a pound of cure is very applicable here.
But, if your pipes do get blocked up, you need to install a new sink, or the hot water heater dies, it’s time to contact Super Service Plumbing. We are ready to come out and handle all of your plumbing needs, often in a single trip and on the same day.
Finding a residential plumbing contractor in California provides the convenience of getting to your bay area home without the added stress or cost of waiting around. Instead, your tankless water heater or backflow can start to receive the necessary plumbing repairs you’re looking for right away. Super Service Plumbing is one of the top plumbing companies on the west coast, located in the heart of wine country in Sonoma County.
Super Service Plumbing provides plumbing services in Santa Rosa and throughout Sonoma County, and is always available for emergency plumbing repairs 24/7. So call one of the best plumbing companies near you at (707) 544-6444 today.
Proud to help our Sonoma County communities including:
Santa Rosa, Petaluma, Rohnert Park, Windsor, Healdsburg, Sonoma, Cloverdale, Sebastopol, Cotati and beyond.