Clogged drains can make using your kitchen and bathroom more difficult. Luckily, there are many ways that you can prevent clogs in your home's drains. With small changes in lifestyle and changes to plumbing maintenance habits, you can prevent your drains from becoming clogged.
Use a Drain Strainer
Strainers stop food and hair from going down your drains. Different types of plumbing fixtures require different drain strainers, so check each type of drain in your home to ensure it has the proper type of strainer.
Flush Your Pipes With Vinegar
Vinegar is an antibacterial, slightly acidic household product. It's also a natural drain cleaner that can help clear slow drains and keep the water flowing through your pipes. To use vinegar to clear your pipes, pour vinegar down your drain and allow the vinegar to sit for several hours or overnight. When you're done, flush the drain with hot water. Do this to each drain in your house on a regular basis to avoid problems.
In extra slow drains, pour baking soda down the drain before pouring vinegar into the drain. Like vinegar, baking soda is a natural cleaning agent that helps clear drains. Once the mixture has sat in place overnight, flush the drains with hot water.
Put a Garbage Can in Every Bathroom
Some bathroom products like diapers, disposable wipes, and tampons are advertised as flushable. Usually, these items can be flushed down the toilet without causing problems, but sometimes these products cause clogs. Flushable products are often not as flushable as the advertisements indicate.
Keeping a garbage can in every bathroom gives members of your household and guests an acceptable alternative to flushing these items down the toilet. If the bathrooms in your home already have garbage cans, make sure they're easy to find. Garbage cans that are hidden under sinks or in out-of-the-way nooks may not be utilized very often because they're less noticeable.
Educate Members of Your Family
Clog prevention must happen with all members of the family. In particular, young children will flush facial tissues, large wads of toilet paper, and other items that can create problems in your home's pipes. Educating members of your family about what can and can't go down your home's drains can help you avoid clogs and other problems.
Use One-Ply Toilet Paper
Two-ply toilet paper feels comfortable, but it's also tougher, thicker, and can clog pipes more easily. In homes where the pipes are narrow because they're full of buildup, two-ply toilet paper may create problems and cause clogs. If one of your toilets is susceptible to toilet clogs, using one-ply toilet paper can help prevent problems.
Throw Away or Reuse Grease
Fats and cooking oils can congeal in pipes — causing clogs in your kitchen sink. Fats and oils can also become tangled with disposable wipes in your home's sewers, which creates large obstructions called "fatbergs."
Throwing away or reusing your home's cooking grease can help keep your home's pipes clear and flowing smoothly. If you wish to throw away your cooking grease, then set it aside after cooking and allow it to cool. When the oil is cool enough to put in a plastic bag, place it in a baggie and throw it away.
If you want to reuse your cooking oil, then place it in a plastic storage container and place it in the freezer. Cooking oil can be frozen for up to one month. Thaw the oil when you're ready to reuse it.
Contact Your Plumber
There are many ways that you can avoid clogging your home's pipes. For more information about keeping your pipes clear and flowing smoothly, contact us Reliable Rooter & Plumbing
.
