Protecting Your Bathroom Plumbing
Your plumbing system is one of the main concerns you should have when it comes to keeping your home in good shape. The plumbing in your bathroom is one of the major parts of the system. Follow the tips in this article to keep your bathroom's plumbing system working the way it should.
Don't shave over the sink
You don't want the men in the house to shave directly over the sink. Instead, men should be shaving to the side of the sink, over the counter. This way, they will have access to the water while they need it, but their whiskers won't gather in the sink either.
Put a screen in the tub and/or shower drain
A surprising amount of hair can make its way down the drain when everyone in your household takes a shower or a bath. All of the hair that doesn't make its way clear out of the system right away will build up and get clumped together. Then, pieces of soap and other scum will collect in those lumps of hair and this can cause a big gooey mess in the pipes. Before too long, those hair lumps will lead to stubborn clogs that can be difficult for you to dislodge. This will cause your bath and/or shower to drain slowly at first, then the water can stop moving all together.
You can purchase screens at the local hardware store that you can put in the drains. These screens will catch most of that hair. You can then dump the hair in the wastebasket, instead of having it go down into the plumbing system.
Watch what goes down the toilet
It's extremely important for you to be sure you don't allow the wrong things to be flushed down the toilet. Keeping a waste basket next to the toilet in your bathroom can really cut down on visitors and other family members being tempted to use the toilet to dispose of the wrong things. Some of the things that commonly get flushed that should never be put down a toilet include sanitary napkins, cotton balls, baby wipes, wrappers, and makeup sponges.
Know how to clean out the P-trap
There are plumbing pipes under your bathroom sink that have a similar look to the letter "P." The curvature of these pipes can cause a lot of debris to build up inside of them over time. When there is debris in them, you will need to clean the pipes out. Turn off the water, twist the connectors to loosen them so the pipes come out. Remove the pipes and clean them out. Put them back in place and tighten the connectors back up.
Following the advice provided in this article will help you to keep your plumbing system working properly, so you don't find yourself dealing with a bunch of plumbing problems. If you do run into problems with clogs, contact local plumbing companies to help with drain cleaning and other repairs.