Hiring Mauldin Plumbers can be time consuming and pricey, so it’s definitely in your best interest to take good care of your plumbing so you can avoid preventable problems. Of course, pipes will degrade over time, and you’ll probably need to call in some help eventually, but the less often you have to do it, the better. Here are a few handy tips to help you keep your pipes in tip-top condition so you don’t have to worry too much about plumbing problems.
1) Know What You Can Flush—and What You Can’t
At first glance, it’s easy to assume that you can flush nearly anything, but there’s actually a laundry list of things that should never go down the toilet, no matter how harmless they seem. Things like kitty litter, feminine hygiene products, medication, cotton balls, cooking oils, dental floss, and cigarette butts should never be flushed—they can cause backups and potentially contaminate the groundwater. Sometimes, you’re better off just tossing something in the trash, so know what your pipes can take and what they can’t.
2) Mind the Little Things
It pays to keep an eye out for small things, because they can become bigger problems over time. For example, clean your hair out of the shower drain before it becomes a mass that requires more than just a retail drain cleaner to correct. Tiny things that seem harmless can become problematic if you do them for long enough, so it’s important to know what’s good for your plumbing and what’s not. Don’t hang things from exposed pipes—that’s how pipes break! Don’t put bricks in the toilet tank, because they can make your toilet flush incorrectly. Figure out where the main water shut-off source is in your house, in case you start to have a flooding problem. Small things can grow into big problems, but you can prevent them with a little awareness.
3) Fix Problems Early On
Unfortunately, even the most careful people will almost inevitably have plumbing problems eventually. If you do notice signs of something being off—strange odors emanating from pipes, leaks, pipes that just don’t want to drain—call a plumber sooner rather than later. It’s cheaper, faster, and easier to fix a problem while it’s still small, rather than to wait for it to get out of hand before calling someone in.
Unfortunately, plumbing is one of the things that many people, especially in the Western world, take for granted. For many, it is out of sight and out of mind. In the perfect world, plumbing will always be the well-oiled machine that never breaks down. Fortunately, there are plumbers ready and available to help when things get imperfect.
