One of the most frequent maintenance requests in our office is drain line issues. This can be a costly thing to get fixed and is easily avoided. To save you money on a repair bill we want to remind you of a few easy ways to maintain proper plumbing usage:
Avoid putting anything into the toilet or down the drain lines that won’t break down naturally or will take a long time to break down.
Examples of what to avoid: Materials such as oils, grease, fat, disposable diapers, sanitary napkins or tampon applicators, condoms, paper towels, facial tissues, cat box litter, plastics, cigarette filters, coffee grounds, egg shells, and other household wastes.
Thick toilet paper and flushable wipes do cause clogs and/or toilets to back up. Sadly, according to local professional plumbers, despite the name, “flushable” wipes are not actually flushable and often cause issues in your plumbing. To be safe make sure to use thick toilet paper sparingly and to throw flushable wipes into the trash instead of flushing them down.
Garbage disposals do not tolerate grinding large quantities of food products. It is recommended to put all food scraps and debris into the garbage to prevent clogging the disposal or the drain lines. Only use the garbage disposal to remove the small amount of accumulated debris that has fallen into it. Small items like rocks or pieces of glass can and have stopped garbage disposals, so keep these from falling into the garbage disposal.
Important note: it is never safe to reach into or put any object into the garbage disposal area and always have cold water running when the garbage disposal is on.
Use drain screens (found at most hardware stores) over the tub and sink drains to prevent large debris or hair going down the drain.
Remember this is a helpful list, but it is not all inclusive. Use your best judgement for the items not included here, and if you have any further questions about plumbing, check online for other helpful tips or with an expert.