How You Can Stop a Plumbing Emergency Before It Occurs
A plumbing emergency can strike at any time and for any of a number of reasons. Your best defense against a plumbing emergency in your home is to do what you can to prevent it. Plumbing emergencies rarely "just happen." There's a good chance the issue has been building up for some time. Here's how you can prevent the majority of disasters before they strike.
Take Care of Your Home's Plumbing System
The best thing you can do to avoid a plumbing emergency is to take care of your plumbing system. This involves developing good plumbing habits. Many plumbing emergencies start with a clog or a leak. You can do a lot to mitigate these sorts of things.
Keep inappropriate items out of the drain.
- Clean hair and debris from the drain
- Do not let food waste go into the drain
- Use drain stoppers or catchers
- Pour hot water down drains after use
- Use natural drain cleaners
In general, do not put anything into your drains other than water. Even if you have a garbage-disposal system, you should show great care in what you put into it.
Show care with what you flush down the toilet.
You should only flush water, waste, and toilet paper. Do not flush anything else. Even if the item has a "flushable" label, you should think twice about flushing it. Everything else should go into the garbage.
Keeping your drains free of clogs can prevent many plumbing emergencies. These can include backups, overflows, or a stalled garbage-disposal unit.
Make Sure Guests Understand the Plumbing Rules
Some plumbing emergencies develop because of overuse of your plumbing system. If you throw lots of parties or have people over frequently, this can add strain to the plumbing system.
Make sure guests understand how to treat your plumbing system gently. All of the habits you employ, they should employ as well. Let them know not to dump anything into the drains. Post a notice if you have to.
Even if the plumbing system is going through heavy use for a time, you can mitigate a lot of the damage. Make sure people follow the plumbing rules in your home. However, you should help your guests to help you. Provide things for guests to use, such as additional garbage cans and hand sanitizer.
Don't Skip Routine Inspections
You should have your plumbing system looked at and serviced by a professional around once a year. Even if there's no outward signs of issues, a routine check can help spot problems before they develop into a full emergency.
Of course, an emergency can still happen. If you find yourself with a sudden plumbing emergency, you should contact an emergency plumbing service such as Sparrow & Sons Plumbing and Heating immediately. If you do everything you're supposed to do to keep your plumbing system in good shape, you lower the odds of an emergency situation occurring at all.