Your plumbing system forms a pathway for water and waste to leave your home. When the system is clogged, your plumbing will not function properly. It’s crucial to understand how grease, foods, and other items can damage your drains along with other tips for maintaining your plumbing to prevent clogs and other issues. Read on and learn how to keep your plumbing system for your Elizabethtown home clean, clear, and healthy.
Prevent Problems by Knowing What You Can Flush
The best way to keep your drains clear is through prevention. You must be careful what you toss down the drain to ensure your system doesn’t plug up and leave you with a mess. A garbage disposal is a great assistant for your kitchen drains, but some foods and non-food items are still off-limits.
Grease, Oil, and Fatty Foods
Grease, oils, and fats are disastrous for your plumbing system. Never pour hot grease and oil down the drain. When it cools, it hardens and can build up and clog your pipes. Fatty foods are also dangerous. If you have hot grease or oil, pour it into a glass jar until it cools, and then, toss it in the trash.
Coffee Grounds
Coffee grounds clump together when they are wet. Never toss them down the drain. Throw them in the garbage or compost bin.
Eggshells
Eggshells have a membrane on the inside that could stick to your pipes. As it sits there, it could accumulate more debris and eventually cause a blockage. Toss eggshells in the trash or compost.
Bones
Bones can wreak havoc on your plumbing. Animal bones may be sharp and puncture your pipes. Punctured pipes lead to water leaks, which can cause a catastrophic situation. They are also irregular in shape and could become lodged in your plumbing. A bone stuck in the pipes could lead to a clog as other food and debris wrap around and clump with it. Always remember to throw bones in the trash.
Wipes and Paper Goods
Many companies make “flushable” wipes that are supposed to be safe for your plumbing and septic system. However, they are never safe for plumbing. Do not flush wipes down the toilet. Similarly, do not flush paper towels, napkins, and other paper goods. Toilet paper is the only paper product considered safe for the toilet drain. All others belong in the trash.
Other Non-Food Items
If it isn’t food, it doesn’t belong in the drain. Some often overlooked items include fruit stickers and food wrappers. Always throw non-food items in the trash or recycling bin.
Drain Cleaning
In addition to prevention, professional drain cleaning helps keep buildup from turning into clogs in your pipes. Our experienced plumbers use pressurized water to blast foreign substances from your drains. We may also use high-pressure air to remove contaminants from the pipe walls. We recommend scheduling professional drain cleaning once a year to prevent clogs from forming and becoming a catastrophic situation.
Benefits of Drain Cleaning
Professional drain cleaning provides numerous benefits to keep your plumbing system flowing freely. These are as follows:
Prevention and Removal of Clogs
Annual cleaning helps prevent clogs by removing debris that has built up inside your pipes. Keeping the pipes clean helps lower your risk of blockages. Drain cleaning also removes existing obstructions to help your drains clear as they should.
Elimination of Toxins and Contaminants
Mold, mildew, and bacteria thrive in dirty drains. These toxins love a dark and damp environment and will grow inside the pipes as gunk builds up. Drain cleaning blasts these contaminants away, leaving you with healthier drains. Remember, mold and bacteria can be detrimental to your health and may continue to grow on surfaces you encounter.
Longer Lifespan of Your Plumbing System
Professional cleaning can help extend the life of your plumbing system. Buildup inside the pipes can weaken the plumbing, leading to corrosion and leaks. A clog in the system can burst under the increased pressure and flood your home.
No More Unpleasant Odors
As food collects and rots, you may begin to smell foul odors. Drain cleaning clears the food and gunk away, taking the nasty smells with it.
Rid Your Pipes of Noise
Blocked and narrowed pipes may emit gurgling, cracking, or popping sounds as they drain. Narrowed pipes cause these noises as the water tries to flow through without enough space to do so quietly. After drain cleaning, the pipes have a wide-open pathway for water and waste to leave your home.
Prevention of Floods, Backups, and Water Damage
A blocked drain pipe means that water and waste have nowhere to go. Your sink or tub may fill with water and overflow if you aren’t watching it. Toilets may back up and flow out of the bowl, leaving a disgusting mess. When water leaves your fixtures to spaces where it doesn’t belong, you could have extensive repair and replacement costs.
Always Call a Professional
If you have problems inside your drains, you need a professional plumber to clear them away. You may be able to remove some clogs using a household plunger. Plungers come in varying sizes for toilets, tubs, and sinks. However, if your plunger isn’t strong enough to dislodge a clog, call the plumber next.
Liquid drain cleaning agents have harsh chemicals that can damage and weaken your pipes. Your pipes may erode and leak, especially with repeated use. These chemicals will also stain anything they encounter, including countertops, stainless steel sinks, and clothing. It may also be harsh on your skin.
Do not put anything down the drain to try and remove obstructions. Sharp items such as screwdrivers, clothes hangers, and knives could scratch away the lining of the pipes or puncture them, leaving you with holes for water to leak out.
Professional plumbers are skilled in using drain snakes and augers to dislodge stubborn blockages without damaging your plumbing system. Your plumber can clean your drains to prevent damage and messes without creating further problems. This cleaning lowers your odds of needing emergency plumbing repairs and pipe replacements.
Our expert plumbers at Absolute Services provide in-depth and comprehensive drain cleaning to help keep your plumbing system moving. We know all about plumbing systems of all kinds, so we can expertly handle drain cleaning, pipe repairs and replacements, and common household plumbing jobs. We also install and repair water heaters and perform camera inspections.
In addition to plumbing, our HVAC technicians offer a wide range of heating and cooling services, including furnace and air conditioner repair, maintenance, and installation. We work with heat pumps and ductless mini-split systems as well, giving you versatility in home comfort. For electrical services, we employ highly trained and skilled electricians to tackle all your wiring and power needs.
Keep the plumbing system in your Elizabethtown home clean, clear, and healthy with routine drain cleaning by calling the pros at Absolute Services.
