Did you know that in the US, the average visit from a plumber will cost $330? $330 is well within a household budget if it happens once a year or so, but can get very expensive if it becomes a regular occurrence. A plumbing job could also cost you way more if the job is made more complex by months or years of neglect.
Luckily, there are very easy steps you can take to prevent the need for emergency drain cleaning, pipe bursts, and other plumbing mishaps. Keep reading this handy guide to find out what they are.
Kitchen Drains
What’s going to be crucial to preventing clogging catastrophes in the kitchen is food waste and fat management. Food waste can build up over time and cause clogged drains, which is why the first step is to install a garbage disposal unit. These grind food waste into pieces so small that they’ll probably never clog your plumbing.
Keep in mind that bones, certain nut shells, and other hard materials that are sometimes found in food can damage garbage disposals. Use drain guards to catch these hard items before and throw them in the trash.
Fats and oils can also clog your drains like cholesterol clogs your arteries. To avoid this, dispose of fat in the trash and send your oil off to people who can recycle used cooking oil.
Bathroom Drains
Fitting your shower and even your sink drain with strainers for hair-catching is an easy way to prevent clogging. If hair builds up at the entry, you can simply fish it out (use gloves). But if it’s deeper in the pipes, you may have to use drain-cleaning chemicals or even consult a drain expert.
Toilets are really the drainage element that you should take the most special care of. A blockage can cause gross and annoying situations at best and potential health hazards at worst.
To prevent this, only flush what you need to flush (fecal matter, urine, and toilet paper) while disposing of everything else (sanitary products, razors, hair, etc.) in the rubbish bin. This counts double if you have a septic tank.
Respond to Signs
Certain things you’ll be able to spot around your house can serve as an early warning system for greater disasters yet to come. Slow sink drainage can signal that an individual pipe has been partially blocked. Water leaks outside can show you that a bigger pipe or drainage point is blocked and that the pipe has become weakened over time.
If you’re 100% certain that you can handle the situation then you should simply unclog the drain or fix the pipe. If, however, you have special pipes, a septic unit, or other exotic fixtures then you may need to get professional help. These days this can be found online at places like https://doubleoplumbing.com.
Don’t Avoid Emergency Drain Cleaning, Prevent It
The term emergency drain cleaning does imply that it’s a last resort or indicates that you’re in dire need of drain cleaning. You can avoid getting to this point by installing drain guards, strainers, and garbage disposals so that only drain-friendly particles get into your drainage system. Also, be sure to flush what should be flushed and keep fats and oils out of your drains.
However, if you are at the point where your drains are creating small lakes in your living room then you should urgently call help. This will drastically improve your quality of life. If you’re looking for other ways to improve your quality of life, then be sure to visit our lifestyle blog for more useful guides and advice.
