Your plumbing system is one of the most critical systems in your home. In fact, it’s a fundamental part of all the modern conveniences you now have access to. Without a healthy plumbing system, you’ll quickly notice how much you rely on plumbing on a day-to-day basis. Unfortunately, there are plenty of things that can ruin your plumbing system beyond this normal wear and tear if you aren’t careful.

For one, think about the various chemicals you dump down your drain on a daily basis. Things like soap and bleach can damage your piping over time. Despite being an alright solution in a pinch, even drain cleaner can ruin your plumbing. You’d be better off hiring a plumber to clean out your pipes.

On a similar note, dumping grease down the drain can ruin your plumbing system. It can be tempting to do it because it’s usually in liquid form when you’re disposing of it. However, since grease solidifies at room temperature, it can quickly build up inside the pipes and cause blockages. Dump any grease into a plastic bag and throw it in the trash to prevent these buildups.

The garbage disposal is another part to pay attention to. A lot of people throw all kinds of food waste in the garbage disposal like it’s a trash can. Now, it goes without saying that you shouldn’t throw non-food waste down the garbage disposal at all. But even solid food waste like bones and large fruit peels can clog the garbage disposal and ruin your plumbing system.

But the kitchen isn’t the only area of your home where plumbing problems can occur. 

Toilet cleaners might make your bathroom smell nice, but they can cause damage over time to different parts of the toilet. Too much reliance on toilet cleaning chemicals could cause a small piece of a toilet to break off and get caught in the flush valve, making normal flushing impossible.

Cleaners aren’t the only threats to your plumbing system, though; your hair that goes down your bath/shower drain can cause problems aside from the typical clogged drain. By itself, hair is not likely to do much damage. But if there are other materials like grease or trash building up down the drain, the hair can exacerbate the problem when it gets caught in those materials.

Moving down the line, harsh chemicals like toilet cleaner and other aforementioned products can do very expensive damage to your septic tank. For obvious reasons, septic tank repairs are not fun for anyone involved.

Nature can mess with your plumbing, too. Roots from plants and trees gravitate towards areas where there’s water. If there are cracks in your piping outside, tree roots could find their way inside your piping and cause blockages that prevent proper drainage.

Even DIYing your plumbing can ruin your plumbing system. Something as simple as a small leak under the sink can turn into a huge, expensive headache down the line if you don’t fix it correctly. When in doubt, leave your problems to the experts at Barner Murphy.

As you can see, there are a lot of potential threats to your plumbing system. Fortunately for you, the plumbing experts here at Barner Murphy are ready to help you fix your plumbing if it’s been damaged from any of these problems. 

Although you can inspect your all parts of your plumbing to make sure they’re bulletproof, sometimes forces outside of your controls can cause a multitude of issues in your plumbing system. Believe it or not, something as innocuous as heavy rain can cause plumbing issues.

First of all, heavy rain can put a ton of extra pressure on the area surrounding the pipes. When the dirt or sand accumulates water, it will turn into a much heavier mud that can be too much weight for the pipes to comfortably bear. Most modern pipes are built to withstand a lot of pressure, but there’s no guarantees when it comes to inclement weather.

Similarly, as rain hits the ground and softens the hard dirt around your pipes, your pipes can shift out of their normal positions. Sometimes, this can lead to cracks in your piping if the pipes bend in an unnatural or unsustainable way. Also, once the mud solidifies back into dirt, more cracks can occur as the dirt no longer has any give.

Cracks in your shifting pipes that are caused by a rainstorm cause a few problems. First of all, there’s the obvious issue of leakages. But cracks in your piping allow surrounding rocks and soil to seep into the pipes, which can cause blockages and even cause water to leak into any underground parts of your home like your basement. Barner Murphy’s here to fix these cracks before they cause bigger plumbing issues.

Speaking of your basement, cracked pipes aren’t the only way for it to flood. If your basement has any windows, living on land with poor drainage can cause water to seep into the basement and cause a host of issues like mold and rotting wood.

Heavy rain can affect your septic tank in a similar way to your pipes. Saturated soil around your septic tank can put increased pressure on the tank. But that’s only half the issue. See, your septic tank can empty it’s effluent fluids into the surrounding drain field due to the saturated soil. Combine this inability to regulate fluid level with the additional pressure of the mud, and septic tank wastewater can back up into your house. Warning signs of a septic tank backup include unexplained foul odors, unusually slow flushing, and backed up drains. 

If you primarily drink well water, refrain from drinking it until it’s been tested after heavy rainfall. Septic tank backups can cause nasty contamination in well water, so grab some water bottles while you’re waiting for the all-clear.

Sometimes, issues with your plumbing aren’t entirely caused by rain on your property. After heavy rain, city sewers can backup which will cause your own sewers to be backed up as well. Unfortunately, there’s no immediate solution when this happens. The best you can do is wait it out.

After heavy rain, don’t attempt to fix things yourself as one wrong thing could magnify problems caused by excess water. It’s best to leave plumbing issues to professional like Barner Murphy. In addition, get your septic tank inspected as soon as possible if you think recent rainfall caused it damage.