There’s nothing wrong with being a weekend DIY warrior.  Many men and women are capable home repair Do-It-Yourselfers.  You know these warriors and you may even be one of them.

When it comes to plumbing, there are some basic maintenance practices that all home dwellers and DIYers can follow to reduce the need for professional plumbing services.

Let’s Make This Simple: Call The Plumber!

Prevention – the Best Plumbing Fix-it

Before you reach for your utility belt, let’s look at some simple plumbing preventive maintenance practices:

  • Garbage disposal:  treat the garbage disposal as a garbage disposal.  It is not a trash compactor, a wood chipper, or a paper shredder.   Plumbing Victoria professionals recommend that garbage be gradually fed into the disposal so it can “digest” everything thoroughly.

o   Foods that should not be run through the disposal include:  pastas (cooked or raw), fibrous foods such as celery, potatoes, carrots, and corn husks; bones of any size or source; egg shells; grease, oils, and fats.

o   Other disposal no-no’s:  wood, paper products, metal, and anything that is not food-related.

  • Toilet bowls:  problems with toilets are messy, frustrating, and just plain nasty.  The only “matter” that should be flushed is waste and tissue.  The “Unflushables” include:

o   Wipes and diapers.  Even the so-called flushables can clog toilet pipes, especially in older plumbing systems.

o   Cotton balls and facial cleansing pads don’t disintegrate and completely flush.

o   Sanitary napkins –never.

o   Toys, watches, smartphones, keys, and anything your tot can think to watch go round and round in the toilet.

Additional Plumbing Tips

Your local plumber Victoria specialists offer these additional tips to help keep the plumbing functioning smoothly:

  • Keep cold water running when using the garbage disposal and leave it running for 30 to 60 seconds after waste has cleared the drain.
  • Don’t use chemical drain cleaners.  They can be helpful in an emergency but can harm the pipes with prolonged use.  The chemicals in these products are harsh, toxic, and environmentally unfriendly.
  • Don’t place excessive weight on plumbing fixtures.  The popular hold-all racks that fit on the showerhead aren’t intended to support all your giant economy sized products.  And no-no to using the spout as a foot rest.  Excessive weight can create thread fatigue and cause the faucet to snap off.
  • Ignore plumbing problem clues at your peril. Plumber Victoria experts recommend that you call them if your toilet frequently backs up or overflows, there are water pressure problems, a sink drains slowly, or when you can’t resolve a dripping/leaking pipe.  Any of these clues indicates a plumbing disaster in the making.

If you are not experienced in DIY plumbing projects, call on the plumbing Victoria BC professionals.  Plumbing takes skill and experience, the right tools, and a willingness to go where others won’t (into smelly, messy, mucky zones).  And if you have already created a plumbing problem in your DIY zealousness – call the plumber!