7 Things You’re Doing That May Be Damaging Your Plumbing | Plumber in Fort Worth, TX

There are plenty of things easily overlooked by the people of Fort Worth, TX that they do in their day to day life and are taking a toll on their plumbing. These things are often avoidable and your plumber in Fort Worth, TX wishes you would never do them in the first place. This article addresses all such common, avoidable mistakes so you can be more aware of the consequences of the seemingly insignificant practices that may actually lead to plumbing emergencies.

Not doing something bad is more important than doing something good. Plumbing in Fort Worth, TX can be repaired indefinitely but you can also play an integral role in the longevity of its consistent performance.

Let’s go through the 7 things you might be doing that are damaging your plumbing

1.     Using chemicals to clear drains

Sometimes you are better off not taking the role of the family handyman upon yourself. Whatever you do, never use chemicals to clear out clogged drains. Firstly, these chemicals are very strong and can be dangerous if not handled correctly. Also, contrary to popular opinion, they don’t even work. Harsh chemicals alone are very unlikely to open up a blocked drain all the way through and even end up damaging your drain pipes. If you come across a clogged drain in your house, don’t reach for drain cleaning chemicals. Only an expert plumber in Fort Worth, TX should be called to resolve this problem through proper protocol.

2.     Pouring grease down the drain

Let’s admit it, most of us Fort Worth, TX residents using the kitchen are guilty of pouring used cooking oil down the sink drain, multiple times. There might not be any good use of the residual cooking oil after having used it to deep fry food items but pouring it down the drain is just one of the worst ways to dispose it because the grease adheres to the walls of the pipe. Over time, this layer of grease in the pipe walls hardens. With more and more grease accumulating in your drain pipes over time, there will come a time when the pipe will be obstructed significantly or even block it and you would have to wait a while before all the water in the sink drains out. At this point, your local plumber in Fort Worth, TX will save the day.

3.     Treating your toilet like a garbage can

There are a bunch of things we flush down the toilet assuming we’ve done a fine job disposing them. You must never flush cleaning wipes, toilet scrubbers, cat litter, makeup removing pads and feminine hygiene products down the toilet because none of these products disintegrate quickly enough and might be a clogging hazard for your toilet drain. You may come across plenty of products that claim to safely flush down the toilet but that is not true. Even the “flushable” wipes often float around for a long time and pile up. As a rule of thumb, try not to flush anything down the toilet other than toilet paper.

4.     Overestimating the garbage disposal

This is one of the most common errors that plumbers in Fort Worth, TX have been advising against for a long time now. We tend to abuse the garbage disposal by tossing things that are meant to go into the garbage can, into the garbage disposal. All the items that contain a lot of fiber content don’t go well down the garbage disposal. These include things like corn husks, ground coffee, celery and artichokes. A garbage disposal is a pretty useful device to have but the problems from it only arise when we misuse it. You should always keep your garbage disposal free of grease and clean so the residual grease does not accumulate onto it, causing clogged drains and plumbing fixtures.

5.     Fiddling with water heater’s pressure valve

If you want to test the pressure or the temperature of the valve on the water heater, make sure you have it inspected by an experienced plumber in Fort Worth, TX instead of having a go at it yourself. All the adjustments and modifications in your water heater must be conducted by plumbing professionals only. Fiddling with the water heater controls yourself could have dangerous consequences. If the pressure valve is not removed properly, the high pressure can disperse scalding hot water all over the place resulting in burns and water damage on your property.

6.     Using drop-in toilet fresheners

The blue water in the toilet bowl from the drop in toilet fresheners may seem cool but it might actually be damaging the plumbing from your toilet. Drop in toilet fresheners contain chemicals that can damage working parts in the tank of your toilet. That isn’t the only danger drop in toilet fresheners pose to your toilets though. As the drop in toilet freshener tablet dissolves and disintegrates into the water, it can get stuck in the flush valve. Once this happens, you won’t be able to flush the toilet.

7.     Trying to fix plumbing problems yourself

One of the first and foremost things you need to know about your household plumbing is that all the fixtures it requires are better left for the plumber in Fort Worth, TX. You can save yourself money by having an experienced plumber come over to your house who can diagnose and fix the problem a lot better and faster than you can. Being a DIY plumber never works and can result in a bigger problem than you started with. One of the most common DIY tricks residents in Fort Worth, TX try to pull of that has been worsening their plumbing issues is pouring hot water into the toilet. If you fill a glass that had been in the freezer with hot water, it will break. Pouring hot water down the toilet in a futile attempt to clear the drains can actually result in breaking your toilet bowl which is suitable for room temperatures only.

Do not be reluctant to call in help when you are dealing with plumbing problems in your house. The plumbing experts down at Benjamin Franklin Plumbing Fort Worth will handle all your plumbing problems with efficiency and unmatched skill.