A home plumbing system is built to last, but that doesn’t mean it’s immune to the everyday wear and tear that we put it through. In fact, many of the things we do on a daily basis have the potential to ruin a home’s plumbing system if we aren’t careful. Here are six common habits that can easily damage your plumbing.
Not cleaning hair out of the drain
Hair in the drain may not seem like a major problem at first, but you’d be surprised at what can happen when that hair is allowed to accumulate. Hair can easily build up and become a clog in your shower drain, causing water to drain slowly or stop draining completely. Be sure to clear hair from your drain regularly, or to invest in a hair catcher for your drain.
Using too much drain cleaner
When used sparingly and according to package directions, drain cleaner can be effective at keeping some drains clear. Overuse of drain cleaner, however, can corrode some drain materials, or it can even make some clogs worse. If you are having difficulty manually clearing a blockage in your drain, it’s best to call a professional plumber.
Overusing the garbage disposal
Many people aren’t familiar with what should and should not be processed in the garbage disposal. We talked about it at length in this blog post, but in short, you should avoid putting anything greasy, sticky, starchy, or stringy down your kitchen sink. Be sure not to put any non-food items such as flower stems or coffee filters through your garbage disposal either. It’s also a good idea to clean your garbage disposal regularly, as we detailed in this post.
Flushing foreign objects down the toilet
Some people have a habit of putting items in the toilet that cannot (or at least should not) be flushed away. Examples include baby wipes, diapers, feminine hygiene products, cotton swabs, and paper towels. These items can easily cause a blockage in the pipes leading from your toilet, so you should be sure to dispose of them accordingly.
Leaving hoses connected during winter
Many homeowners don’t realize that disconnecting hoses during the winter months is vital to protecting the health of your home’s plumbing system. Leaving your hoses connected during the winter can lead to damaged faucet or frozen water pipes.
Mixing metals with piping
Some do-it-yourselfers forget to consider materials when they are making spot repairs in their home’s plumbing system. When you join two different metals such as copper and steel in your piping, these metals can easily become corroded through galvanic action. Corrosion,
in turn, will cause leaks in your plumbing system.
