Prevent Plumbing Nightmares With These 5 Tips

Modern plumbing is a wonderful invention. However, failure to take proper care of your plumbing system can result in some nasty effects.

Prevent plumbing nightmares from occurring with these tips.

Check the Water Pressure

If your water pressure every drops significantly while showering or washing your hands, check the water immediately. This drop in water pressure could be serious. A leak in the water main will affect everything is your home; call a professional right away to handle this. If the leak is localized to a shower head or a sink, you may just need to clean the aerators.

Call a professional if you can’t identify what is causing the issue.

Check for Leaks Regularly

Leaks can run up your water bill, but when left untreated for a long time, they can also cause costly damage to other systems in your home.

Inspect your faucets, under your sinks, and around your toilets regularly. If you see any water that shouldn’t be there, you might have a leak.

Check appliances such as dishwashers and laundry machines as well.

If you can find the leak, repair it as fast as you can to minimize potential water damage. If you are unable to locate or fix a leak, have a professional do it as soon as possible.

Prevent Clogged Drains

Clogs are more than annoyances; they are a breeding ground for bacteria that can get into your water and cause serious health issues. Clogs may even cause leaks in other parts of your plumbing.

Do not flush anything but toilet paper and waste down toilets. Do not put anything down your sink that doesn’t belong, either. Use sink guards if shaving is a cause of clogs in your home.

As for your kitchen sink: only put food down your garbage disposal that it can handle, and never pour grease or fat down your drain.

If you experience a drain clog, avoid drain cleaning chemicals. They work in the short term, but can cause your pipes to corrode. Call a professional if you are unable to unclog a drain yourself.

Clean Your Toilet Tank

Your toilet bowl accumulates bacteria, mold, mildew, and other substances over time. Since flushing your toilet causes toilet tank water to transfer to your toilet bowl, a dirty toilet tank can make cleaning the toilet bowl difficult to later on.

Clean Your Toilet Bowl

Your toilet bowl deserves a regular cleaning, too. Not just because it looks nice, but also to help your toilet function normally. Dirty toilets can clog and corrode, leading to future problems. Plus, you can more easily identify early warning signs of plumbing issues.

In particular, keep your siphon jets (the holes in the toilet rim that transfer water from the tank to the bowl) clean. You can find many solutions for cleaning your siphon jets online, or you may have a plumber look at them.

Bonus 6th tip: Call a professional plumber if you aren’t sure of your ability to complete any of these tasks. Contact Barner Murphy if you’re looking for a Bucks County plumber to nightmare-proof your plumbing system.

Drain Cleaning

During this past holiday season, you hopefully got to experience family, friends, and lots of food.

But among the festivities, your plumbing systems probably took a hit. In particular, your drains might be clogged.

Drain clogs often happen soon after the holiday season due to large amount of food being prepared and more guests in the home who may not fully understand your plumbing system.

How to Unclog a Drain

Plunger: For smaller clogs, a plunger may be enough to loosen the clog. Start by using your plunger a few times.

Boiling Water: Bring a full pot of water to a boil. When done, pour a little bit of the water down the drain at a time, pausing a few seconds between pours to let the water loosen the clog.

Wire Hanger: Wire coat hangers can reach into tight drain spaces and grab materials causing clogs. First, straighten the hanger as much as possible. Then, bend one end into a hook shape. Now, you can stick the hook into the drain and pull up the material causing the clog. Do this until you think the clog is clear, then flush with hot water.

Vinegar & Baking Soda: Mix about ⅓ cup vinegar with ⅓ cup baking soda, then pour down the drain. The bubbling caused by this science project mixture will help break down a clog. Wait about an hour, then run hot water down the drain to clean it out.

Plumbing Snake: If you have a plumbing snake, this can be used to reach into the drain and break up the clog.

What About Drain Cleaner?

Avoid drain cleaner products. These products might be tempting if you’re looking for a quick clog fix, but they can corrode your pipes over time. Once your pipes corrode, larger plumbing problems can occur down the road.

If the clog is that bad, a professional plumber would be the best choice for the health of your plumbing system.

How to Prevent a Future Drain Clog

Kitchen

Sink: Improper food disposal causes most kitchen clogs. Fat, oil, and grease are the main perpetrators. They’re liquid when hot, but when they solidify after cooling, they clog your drain.

Instead, let any fat, oil, or grease cool, the scrape it into a container you can throw out. When the container is full, put it in a plastic bag and throw it away to prevent leaking.

Garbage Disposal: some think that the garbage disposal can take any waste, but that’s not true. Avoid putting the following down your garbage disposal:

• Bones

• Coffee grounds in large amounts

• Egg shells

• Fruit pits

• Celery

• Potato peels

• Pasta

• Nuts

Bathroom

Leave a trash can in a visible location in your bathroom so all waste not meant for any of your drains ends up there.

Sink: Don’t fill the sink with water before shaving. Use drain guards when you shave, and ask that any guests do so as well.

Toilet: The only materials that should go down the toilet are waste and toilet paper. Even “flushable” wipes should go in the garbage.

If you have guests that aren’t keen on that, consider buying a sign that says so. They exist in many forms, from simple to stylish.

Shower: Install a drain screen to catch hairs in the shower. You will need to clean it out after use, but it’s better than a clog.

Do you have an especially nasty drain clog in Bucks County? Don’t dump a bottle of drain cleaning chemicals down the drain — call a professional plumber. Barner Murphy is ready to help your drains get back to work.