While there are several simple plumbing problems homeowners can fix themselves — like a clogged toilet or minorly blocked drains — many seemingly simple fixes and maintenance efforts can eventually have costly consequences. Be aware of these five common plumbing mistakes and how you can avoid them.
1. Overusing Drain Cleaner
Most likely, every homeowner has used a chemical drain cleaner at some point to clear clogs or built up residue in the shower or sink, but if you’re using these solutions often for clearing drains, you’re most likely damaging your home’s plumbing. These drain cleaners use harsh chemicals to remove and break apart those tough clogs, and the chemicals will actually begin to eat away at the walls of both metal and PVC pipes.
If you have persistent clogs throughout your home, consider a more eco-friendly and less damaging clog clearing solution. Mix half a cup of vinegar and half a cup of baking soda, and pour this solution down your drain. After an hour, follow it up with boiling water.
2. Misusing Drains
While garbage disposals are an everyday convenience for people to quickly and easily dispose of food waste, many homeowners abuse their drains by tossing in several household items that are damaging and cause unwanted buildup. To keep your disposal and drains in good shape, avoid sending fibrous foods down your sink like celery, plastic wrap, aluminum foil, coffee grounds, bones or excess fat and grease. These items will damage the disposal blades and clog your drains.
3. Leaving Outdoor Hoses Connected in Winter
Seasonal changes seem to occur overnight, and it’s easy for homeowners to forget to disconnect hoses once the temperature has cooled. By keeping your watering hose connected to the outdoor spigot during winter months, you can cause water lines to freeze and burst, leaving costly water damages inside your home.
Avoid this issue easily by disconnecting outside hoses during cool months and turning off the water supply or outdoor locations.
4. Mismatching Pipes
Fixing a leaking pipe seems like an easy do-it-yourself project for homeowners, right? While with proper experience and tools, fixing leaks can be fairly simple, many homeowners make the mistake of choosing connecting plumbing that’s the wrong size or type, trying to make the wrong size plumbing fit with the existing pipes with connectors.
For example, if you try to connect galvanized plumbing with copper pipes, you risk corrosion that will damage your pipes and taint your water supply. All plumbing should be set up with the right materials, proper connectors and correct pipe sealant to ensure a strong seal and fit.
5. Avoiding Professional Help
When your home’s plumbing needs fixed or updated, to save on costs, it may seem tempting to attempt performing these tasks yourself versus hiring a professional. While homeowners can do several installations or fixes on their own, like faucet installs and minor toilet repairs, more intensive repairs that require accessing main water lines or cutting into walls should be handled by a professional plumber. Doing more advanced repairs could end up costing you more over the long-term in materials and fixes.
For Your Plumbing Needs, Reach out to Mr. Rooter Plumbing of Oneida
To ensure you have hassle-free, knowledgeable and reliable plumbing professionals, contact the skilled and trained plumbers at Mr. Rooter Plumbing. We happily provide plumbing installation, repairs and maintenance plans to the residents of the Oneida, NY, area. To learn more about our services, complete our online contact form, or give us a call today at 315-363-1565.