3 Things About Plumbing That People Learned The Hard Way While Staying At Home
People are learning a lot about themselves in 2020: how they handle isolation, how much they need to be with other people, how their spending habits are changing, and more. One subject people are definitely learning more about is home plumbing now that they've had to stay home a lot more, and it has become clear that many had no idea about some basic plumbing facts. Here's a rundown of the top 3 things people had to learn the hard way.
Why You Can't Flush Paper Towels and Tissues Down the Toilet
One of the problems that the toilet paper shortage created was that people tried to find anything that they could use as a substitute — and that led to clogs galore. While toilets seem like appliances that you can flush anything down, that's not the case. Toilet paper works because it is meant to dissolve in water, so as it travels down the pipe after flushing, it gradually disintegrates.
But what many people did was try to use paper towels, tissues, wipes, and other non-toilet-paper items. The paper towels and tissues were particularly tricky because they look like they should work in the same way as toilet paper. However, they were made to not break apart; that's why commercials for paper towels talk about their strength as they get wet.
If you've made the (honestly understandable) mistake of flushing some paper towels and tissues down the toilet, you may want to have a plumber use a snake on the drain just to be sure you don't have a partial clog that could get worse.
What Staying at Home Means for Your Water Bill
Something else people learned was that, when everyone is home, water use goes way up. Recent water bills may not have been good news for people furloughed or let go from work. Whether you have several people in the house flushing toilets constantly or you've had to wash way more dishes than usual, your water usage could become a financial concern. One way to combat this is to ensure all your water-saving fixtures are working properly and that they are all up to the latest standards; if you have older fixtures, see if a plumber can replace some to reduce your overall water usage.
You Have Only So Much Hot Water
One more issue hit those who started cooking and working out at home and thus started using much more hot water than before: There's only so much hot water in most homes. Your water heater will heat up more, of course, but if you have people using dishwashers along with taking more showers (because gyms were closed), it can be a lot harder for the water heater to keep up. A plumber may be able to install extra tankless water heaters for specific uses like the dishwasher if that plumber works with water heaters.
With plumbing, every problem is something that has a solution. Have a plumber take a look at your home now to see what needs adjustment.
For more information, contact a local plumbing company today.