As a homeowner, the last thing you ever want to deal with is a plumbing emergency. Because they are responsible for bringing fresh water into your home and transporting wastewater away from your home, plumbing pipes are integral to a functioning plumbing system. When they become corroded, clogged, or otherwise broken, you can be faced with massive water damage and costly, time-consuming repairs.
In order to maintain a healthy system and a happy home, you should know how to take care of your pipes. Read on to see what tips and tricks the plumbing pros at Carter Quality Plumbing have provided just for you!
Install a Water Softener
Does the water in your home dry out your hair and skin, leave spots on all your dishes, leave white spots around all your fixtures, and fade your clothes quickly? If so, you probably have hard water. Hard water is full of minerals that are very harsh pipes, contributing to the corrosion of joints, clogs, and other problems. Installing a water softener is one of the best ways to combat hard water and ensure the water flowing through your pipes is non-abrasive. Whole-home water softeners break down harsh minerals, ensuring your water is pure, clean, and safe.
To find out if you have hard water, schedule a water assessment with a team of water treatment professionals.
Don’t Flush Items That Don’t Belong
If you’re like many others, you probably tend to flush plenty of items down the toilet that really don’t belong. Toilets are not designed to be used like trash cans; instead, they are really only suited to flush toilet paper and human waste.
Things that you should never flush down the toilet include:
Floss
Diapers
Cotton balls
Q-tips
Band-Aids
“Flushable” wipes
Cosmetic wipes
Baby wipes
Paper towels
Tissues
Flushing these items down the toilet can lead to serious clogs and burst pipes deep within your sewer line.
Keep Your Garbage Disposals Free of Pipe-Damaging Materials
Much like toilets, garbage disposals are often misused. While they can handle a lot more than toilets, you still need to be careful about what you put down them. They are designed to shred food waste, making it easier to send it through your pipes. However, there are plenty of food items that should always be thrown into the trash rather than placed in the garbage disposal.
Below are items that should never be placed in the garbage disposal:
Fat
Oil
Grease
Large bones
Pasta
Rice
Potatoes
Fruit pits
Banana peels
Nuts
Onion skins
Asparagus
Broken glass
Shrimp shells
Large chunks of meat
Never Use Chemical Cleaners
When your drains begin to slow or clog, your first reaction is probably to go out and buy some drain cleaner. However, what many people don’t realize is that store-bought chemical drain cleaners are actually incredibly bad for your pipes. They are full of harsh chemicals that break down your pipes from the inside, eventually causing serious leaks.
Don’t Ignore Plumbing Problems
One of the worst things you can do is to ignore your plumbing problems. Many people don’t realize that even issues that seem minor or insignificant can indicate or lead to much more serious damage. Issues such as slow drains, frequently clogged toilets, water backing up into our sinks, gurgling drains, odd smells coming from drains, and overflowing toilets can all be signs that something more serious is going on deep within your pipes. If you are dealing with frequent, seemingly minor plumbing problems, you should schedule service with a plumber right away.
Schedule Regular Plumbing Maintenance
In order to make sure your pipes are healthy as can be, we recommend scheduling plumbing maintenance 1-2 times per year. During maintenance, a professional plumber can inspect your system, identify and resolve any problem areas, and perform drain cleaning. Drain cleaning is crucial to maintaining healthy pipes as it allows your plumber to clear away any existing clogs or buildup, keep your pipes free and clear, and prevent major pipe bursts or leaks.
Call Carter Quality Plumbing
At Carter Quality Plumbing, our plumbing team is backed by nearly 20 years of service experience, so you can bet we know exactly what it takes to keep your pipes healthy as can be. Our fully licensed, bonded, and insured plumbers provide unrivaled customer care and guarantee your 100% satisfaction with every service. We are your go-to team for all things plumbing, including plumbing inspections, maintenance, drain cleaning, repairs, and installations. Whether something is wrong with your pipes or you simply want to keep on top of maintenance, we are proud to help.
Give our family owned and operated company a call at (803) 998-2270 or contact us online to schedule service today. We look forward to serving you!