Plumbing Mistakes all Homeowners Should Avoid

You may feel you know everything when it comes to your home. However, unless you’re a professional plumber, your plumbing system can remain a bit of a mystery. If you want to avoid any common plumbing issues, such as blocked drains or leaky pipes, then you need to ensure that you don’t make any of the following mistakes.

Throwing Everything Down the Drain

Your drains and pipes are designed to handle certain things, such as toothpaste into the sink, food scraps in your garbage disposal and flushed toilet paper. However, a lot of homeowners throw stuff down the drain that they’re not supposed to, which leads to clogged pipes and other plumbing issues. Never pour grease down your kitchen sink, or allow a lot of hair to go down your water drain.

Running Water from Too Many Plumbing Fixtures

Using too many plumbing fixtures at once is a common problem to overlook. If you’ve ever tried to do a load of laundry in the washing machine, take a shower and wash your dishes in the dishwasher at the same time, you’ve probably noticed that you have low water pressure, and not enough hot water.

Flushing Everything Down the Toilet

It may be common sense not to flush things such as toys or other large items, but a lot of plumbers have had to deal with this type of situation. Children tend to flush stuff down the toilet as a way to experiment, so it’s essential that you teach your children that they should only be flushing toilet paper.
Never dispose of things such as feminine hygiene products or anything else down your toilet, as the item may get stuck, and this means you’ll have to remove the whole toilet to fix the issue.

Not Leaving Enough Space Around the Toilet

Your toilet should have enough space around it; at least 18 inches from the front wall and 15 inches from the side wall. This will give you enough space to move around, and it will ensure that you don’t end up with the bathtub, sink or shower too close to the toilet, making it uncomfortable and awkward to use either of them.

Not Using Matching Pipes

This problem is a widespread one, and many plumbers have had to deal with this issue. Not using matching pipes is a severe issue, that can lead to significant problems. For example, you cannot connect a copper pipe to a galvanized metal pipe, as these materials will corrode very quickly when interacting with one another. If you have an old home and find that your tubes are made out of different materials, then make sure you install a suitable fitting to connect the pipes.

Winging It

A lot of homeowners will attempt a DIY plumbing fixture to save some money. This can be a good idea if the repairs are quick and easy, as long as you know what you’re getting into. If you’re not sure how to fix something, then leave it to the professionals.
Sometimes just because you can take something apart doesn’t mean you’ll be able to put it back together. Don’t learn this the hard way and make sure you contact a plumber before trying to fix a problem if you’re not sure where to start.

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