What To Ask A Plumber
Whether you like it or not, you are going to need to call a plumber and invite them into your home at some point or another. Depending on why you called them, you can take a few extra moments of their time in order to ask some questions about plumbing in general. You have the professional in your house, so it’s a good chance to pick their brains and help yourself to some preventative maintenance tips. In order to understand your plumbing better, ask some of the following questions and then follow their advice.
How Can I Maintain My Toilet?
There are many working parts to a toilet and it is something you and everyone in your family use on a daily basis. You want to keep it in working order in order to prevent emergency situations that require costly plumber visits. In order to keep it working both efficiently and effectively, your plumber will likely tell you a number of things.
Don’t Flush Much
Your plumber will probably tell you that you won’t want to flush anything down the toilet other than toilet paper. That includes items like wipes, facial tissues, paper towels, and other things you would think you could flush. Some of these items don’t degrade and instead can get stuck in the pipes and clog things up.
Don’t Overuse Paper
Even though it’s okay to flush toilet paper, if you use too much at a time, it can also get wadded up and stuck in the piping.
Watch For Changes
If there is an issue coming on, the toilet will tell you. Watch for leaks, constant running noise, a bowl filled with less water, or a toilet that doesn’t fill up very fast. There are a number of issues that can cause these signs, but they will help you know when to call for a plumber.
How Often Should I Have Plumbing Maintenance Done?
Your plumber will want to check up on your plumbing on a regular basis, especially if you have an older house. The timeframe between checks could depend on the types of issues you see and the age of your home. Once a year is generally a good idea. The consequence of failures in your plumbing system can be huge and lead to flooding and immense damage. Regular maintenance checks by a professional can help you prevent those issues.
Is There Anything To Avoid In The Sink?
Your plumber can make recommendations on what you should not put down the sink drain in order to avoid complicated in that area as well. There are many different things you would think would just wash away, but can really cause issues.
Coffee Grounds
Rinsing your coffee grounds down the drain seems easy enough, but they can cause blockages down the pipeline.
Grease/Oil
Any cooking grease or oil should be placed in the garbage because it can harden and cause clogs and backups.
Eggshells
Eggshells create granular waste that hooks up with other waste materials and forms clogs.
Produce Stickers
Something as small as a sticker can get caught in the drain and grab enough other items to cause a clog.