Your home’s plumbing system plays a significant role in keeping your life running smoothly. When it fails, you wrestle with the inconvenience of lost service and your daily routine is turned upside down. This post exposes common plumbing myths and preventive measures to extend the life of your home’s plumbing system and appliances.
If It’s Not Broken, Don’t Fix It
One of the biggest plumbing myths is if your plumbing is working, there’s nothing to worry about. While a faucet may occasionally drip or your toilet flushes slowly, they still perform their intended functions. However, these problems are signs of underlying issues that have significant consequences when ignored. For example, a dripping faucet not only wastes hundreds of gallons of water, it also leads to high water bills. As time passes, the drip can wear out the internal faucet mechanism and cause pitting or staining of other plumbing fixtures, such as your sink basin. A sluggish toilet is a sure sign that you have a blockage or obstruction in your sewage lines. It may work now, but could fail in the future, leading to unexpected sewer problems and costly repairs. At worse, it may result in sewage backing up into your home, a problem you want to avoid.
Noisy Water Heaters Need Replacement
When a water heater starts making banging and popping noises, some homeowners panic. Most often, the banging sound coming from your water heater is caused by sediment that has built up in the storage tank. Not only will sediment cause those spine-tingling sounds, it also reduces the efficiency of the appliance and leads to high utility bills. Annual water heater maintenance will prevent sediment build-up and keep your appliance quiet and performing at peak efficiency.
Other Common Plumbing Misconceptions
These common household plumbing practices can also cause more harm than good.
- Toilet bowl tablets save time and labor. Toilet bowl tablets contain bleach and are designed to sit inside the toilet tank. Although some homeowners like the concept of a self-cleaning toilet, these tablets could destroy the internal flushing mechanism of the toilet in a matter of months. The labor you save with these tablets will eventually be spent on additional repairs in the future.
- Cleanliness is king. Excessive use of household cleansers wreaks havoc on your septic system. Too many chemicals upsets the balance of microorganisms needed to break down solid waste. If your plumbing system fails, expect a hefty repair bill to restore service.
- Ice cubes sharpen garbage disposal blades. Although putting ice cubes in your garbage disposal helps clean the blades, it does not sharpen them. The best way to sharpen your garbage disposal blades is by scheduling a service call with your local plumbing contractor.
- Regular use of liquid drain cleaners keeps your drain lines clean. The corrosive nature of these products will degrade your drain lines over time, until they eventually fail and start to leak.
For answers to your plumbing questions, contact The Pink Plumber today.
