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Things Your Emergency Plumber Wants You To Stop Doing | Timberlane, LA

Things Your Emergency Plumber Wants You To Stop Doing | Timberlane, LA

Plumbing is something most people take for granted. Most folks turn on a faucet, use the bathroom, switch on a shower, and expect it to work as if by magic. If these things fail, an emergency plumber is usually called to take care of the mess.

Yet many times, the things that people do can cause plumbing problems. Read on to learn about things you should stop doing to your home’s plumbing in Timberlane, LA.

Flushing Non-Flushable Items

Flushable wipes are not flushable. They do not disintegrate like toilet paper but stick to other nasty things in the sewer line and create clogs and blockages. Flushable wipes are so bad that New York’s Department of Environmental Protection wants them banned. These wipes made up 90 percent of the waste that blocked sewer lines and cost the city $19million to fix.

Other things that should never be flushed are tampons, sanitary pads, cotton pads, and makeup remover pads; in short, anything that contains cotton. Cotton can get stuck in joints and sticks to other waste. Cat litter is another thing you should never flush.

It is made of clay and silica, which absorb water and form clogs once flushed. Throw these items in the dustbin, and your emergency plumber will thank you for it.

Using Toilet Tabs or Fresheners

Even though convenient, these cleaning products can harm your plumbing. They contain chemicals that slowly corrode pipes and the inner lining of a toilet. And as toilet tablets break down, they can form blockages.

Not Removing Hair From the Drain

Hair should not be rinsed down the drain. The clogs they cause collect odors that you will soon notice in a smelly, slow-draining sink. Dental floss can cause blockages like hair as it travels down the drain and gets stuck in joints or clogs.

Chemical Drain Cleaners

Often considered a cheap and easy fix to clogged drains, chemical drain cleaners do more harm than good:

  1. They are bad for the environment; the chemicals are poisonous.
  2. They are bad for the plumbing; the chemicals corrode pipes and joints, leading to pipeline failure and expensive repairs.
  3. They are bad for your wallet; many of these cleaners do not eliminate all clogs.

They move them further down the line to create a more serious problem in the future. You can ask your emergency plumber about alternative drain cleaners that do not damage the piping of your home.

Pouring Grease Down The Sink

Fats, oil, and grease (FOGs) are the nightmare of every emergency plumber. Most, if not all, blockages and backups are caused by hardened fats. They are the main cause of the 23,000 to 75,000 sanitary overflows yearly. Wipe excessive oil with a paper towel and throw it in the trash bin.

Collect excessive oil in containers and dispose of it through the local grease collection service. If there is no grease collection service in your neighborhood in Timberlane, LA, your emergency plumber will be more than happy to offer you alternative solutions.

Using Your Garbage Disposal for All Food Scraps

Garbage disposals have become indispensable in many kitchens. But they are not meant to handle all the food waste dumped into them. Potato peels, fibrous vegetables, meat, bones, and coffee grounds are cut down into smaller pieces and will form blockages further down the line.

Starchy food like rice and pasta will continue absorbing water and forming clumps. It would be best to throw food scraps in the trash or compost.

Not Being Familiar With Your Plumbing

If a pipe suddenly bursts and starts flooding your house, do you know where the main shutoff valve is? You should turn off the main shutoff valve to minimize damage and save water before your emergency plumber arrives.

Most sinks also have a valve that can cut the water supply to a single faucet if broken. When you are familiar with your plumbing and how the most important things work, you can locate a problem more easily and know what to do in an emergency.

Trying to DIY Your Plumbing

Even after watching plumbing tutorials, you still lack the expertise and experience a professional plumber has. Everyone wants to save money. But trying to repair a plumbing problem yourself can be more expensive.

An emergency plumber often has to come and fix the poorly done job. Sometimes pipes break in the attempt to unclog a sink or toilet, leading to very costly repairs. Besides, your insurance company can deny your claim if you fix things yourself and there is an emergency.

Delaying Plumbing Repairs and Maintenance

Lastly, do not ignore that dripping faucet or broken pipe. Plumbing issues tend to get worse over time and will be more costly and time-consuming to fix. Regular plumbing inspections will detect minor issues and prevent them from becoming major problems. Proper maintenance will ensure everything is working as it should, and you can reduce the times you have to call an emergency plumber.

Among the things that need to be regularly maintained is your water heater. Water heater failure is annoying, and a broken water tank can cause serious damage. Hire your local plumber to regularly drain the tank, check for rust and corrosion and ensure the water heater is in good working condition.

Prevention Is Better Than Cure

Plumbing problems are bound to happen. But if you follow the advice from your emergency plumber, you won’t have to deal with them so often, and they most likely won’t be as expensive to fix.

bluefrog Home Services of New Orleans is your plumbing expert in Timberlane, LA. No matter the plumbing issue or time of day, we are here to ensure you don’t lose sleep over a plumbing nightmare. Our experienced, trained, and licensed plumbers know how to do a job right the first time. We strive to provide 100 percent customer satisfaction every time we get a call. Contact us today.

Photo By Dacian Galea at Shutterstock
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