We’re just a few shorts weeks away from the end of 2019 and the start of an entirely new decade in 2020! That means it’s time once again to consider what you can do to improve yourself, your home, and your life in the upcoming year. Making simple changes to your lifestyle and sticking to them can have a tremendous positive impact and help you reach goals that may have seemed otherwise unattainable. This is the purpose of new year’s resolutions: to help you both focus on these goals and to stick with the changes needed in order to make them come to fruition.
People make new year’s resolutions for everything from their health to their money to their general quality of life. When resolving to take better care of your home, don’t forget to include your plumbing system when doing so! You depend on your plumbing, so taking better care of it can do wonders for preventing emergencies and unwanted serious repairs. Here are a few simple resolutions you can make to keep your plumbing working and stable for the next decade.
Resolved: Pay More Attention to What You’re Putting Down the Drain
Garbage disposal problems are both some of the most obnoxious issues you can have, and also some of the most common. However, the overwhelming majority of garbage disposal problems are highly preventable by paying closer attention to what you’re putting down the drain. By resolving to pay closer attention to what you’re putting down the drain and entrusting to your disposal, you’ll avoid having to deal with issues like clogs, jammed disposals, and more.
Your disposal simply can’t handle everything, so avoid putting the following foods down your drain:
- Starchy foods: Flour, cornstarch, potato skins, mashed potatoes, other sticky powders
- Stringy foods: Corn husks, asparagus, celery stalks
- Fatty foods: Bacon grease, roast drippings
- Shells: Eggshells, shrimp shells, nutshells
Resolved: Have Your Sewer Line Inspected Every Year
Sewer line emergencies can sneak up on you without warning, and they often seriously threaten your home in a number of ways. A broken sewer line can spill raw sewage into your yard, cause slippage in your foundation, and even release foul odors into your property that are downright unpleasant for you and your neighbors. However, the majority of these issues can be caught well in advance with a sewer line inspection.
A sewer line inspection is conducted with a plumbing camera—a piece of equipment that provides a detailed and up-close look at the inside of your sewer line. With this inspection, your plumber will be able to tell if you need your sewer line descaled, have an obnoxious clog, if your line has begun to sag, or if one of a number of other different problems is starting to emerge. Tackling these issues quickly prevents emergencies and keeps your home running smoothly, all while possibly avoiding the need for a total replacement.
Resolved: Ditch the Chemical Drain Cleaners
Chemical drain cleaners use extremely harsh acids to eat away at clogs and other blockages in your drain line. However, they do so indiscriminately. That means you’ll erode more than just your clog—you’ll also erode the walls of your plumbing line as well. Whether your pipes are made from plastic or metal, chemical drain cleaners will cause erosion that leads to leaks and serious, irreversible damage to your drain line. Before long, a seemingly easy solution to a clog needs extensive and expensive repairs.
Make it one of your new year’s resolutions to do away with chemical drain cleaners for good in 2020 and beyond. Instead, have your drains professionally cleaned with a jetting service from an experienced plumber like Carter Quality Plumbing. Jetting is safe for your pipes, completely natural and good for the environment, and even more effective at getting rid of clogs for good.
Resolved: Do Away with the Tank Style Water Heater
Tank-style water heaters have been the standard for decades, but that has begun to change now that tankless water heater technology is becoming more common and affordable for the average homeowner. Tankless water heating systems offer a potentially limitless supply of hot water and do away with a number of the risks and hazards that an older tank-style system had, including the risk of tank leaks, excessive pressure, and so much more. With a substantially longer lifespan than their predecessors, a tankless water heater may be the last new water heater you buy for your home as well. Make it a resolution to go tankless if your water heater needs replaced this decade!
Resolved: Use Less Toilet Paper to Keep Your Toilet Drain Clear
One of the most common reasons for toilet issues is clogs in your drain line. While a plunger can dislodge most temporary clogs, large clogs may require a more extensive solution, including jetting, snaking, or augering. However, being mindful of how much waste your toilet has to handle each flush can go a long way toward preventing one of these clogs and keeping your toilet working smoothly. This includes limiting how much toilet paper is flushed each time. Try to limit your toilet paper usage and your plumbing will thank you. If you need to use a larger amount, then flush a smaller load down the drain first before continuing.
Got a plumbing problem? Resolve to have it professionally repaired and avoid the hassle of a DIY fix! Call Carter Quality Plumbing at (803) 998-2270 today and schedule your appointment.