Your home’s main sewer line is the most important drain in a plumbing system. You want this sewer line to remain free, clear and fully able to move wastewater away from your house. If a main sewer line backs up, it can create a messy and expensive situation. Significant clogs can lead to the bursting of pipes, too, which is a disaster for homeowners.
The number one way to prevent clogs and backups in your main sewer line is to only flush things down a toilet that are supposed to be flushed down a toilet. Too often homeowners use toilets like trashcans, which is why significant clogs form in the first place. To help you discern what can and can’t go down the toilet, here’s a look at five things you should never flush.
Paper Towels
Toilet paper is called toilet paper for a reason. It’s specially designed to dissolve and move freely through your main sewer line. Paper towels aren’t good at moving through the sewer line, which is why you should never flush them. Use paper towels as toilet paper, and you’ll have a clogged, backed up main sewer line in no time.
Tampons
Tampons are simply too large and durable for flushing down the toilet. They can easily clog and create significant issues for your home’s plumbing. Tampons that are flushed repeatedly can bunch together in your home’s main sewer line and create clogs and backups.
Gum
Gum is another item that simply doesn’t dissolve. Worse yet, it’s sticky, which means it’s going to find a place to stick in your pipes and hang around. Gum is messy, sure, which is why so many people choose to flush it in the first place. But choose to spit it into a piece of toilet paper and place in the trashcan instead. Your home and its main sewer line will thank you.
Hair
After you remove hair from a drain in your sink or tub, it’s only natural to want to get rid of it as quickly as possible. Just don’t flush it down the toilet. Bunches of hair can easily cluster in a main sewer line and begin to catch other things — which leads to a significant clog over time.
Plastic and Cotton
We use all types of throwaway products in the bathroom — just don't throw away these products in the toilet. Plastic and cotton items can quickly lead to clogs, so choose the trashcan when getting rid of Q-tips, Band-Aids, dental floss, cotton balls and similar products.
Clogs do happen, even if you take the right precautions. When you need help with clogged pipes and drains in the Greater Syracuse area, call on the experts at Mr. Rooter Plumbing of Greater Syracuse. We’ll respond immediately with licensed plumbing professionals who can deliver solutions.
Contact us today about help with clogged pipes at your Syracuse home.