Residential and Commercial Plumbing Service, Serving the Mesa, AZ Area
Are You Making These Plumbing Mistakes? Finding A Plumber Near Me In | Mesa, AZ

Are You Making These Plumbing Mistakes? Finding A Plumber Near Me In | Mesa, AZ

Photo By Collective Arcana at Shutterstock

Plumbing plays an incredibly vital role in the day-to-day running of a home. It acts as the home’s circulatory system, bringing in clean, nourishing water and getting rid of the waste. Consequently, plumbing issues can plunge a home into havoc and cost homeowners a ton of money in repairs if they aren’t addressed early enough. Generally, most homeowners in Mesa, AZ, will experience at least one plumbing problem, and more often than not, as a result of poor plumbing practices.

Such homeowners tend to search for a plumber near me in your area numerous times a year and, in many cases, put their entire plumbing and septic system at risk due to poor practices. Fortunately, your plumbing system can last you decades if you consistently practice good plumbing practices. In this article, we will outline some common plumbing mistakes and offer you some tips on how to keep your pipes and drains clean, healthy, and functioning effectively over the long term.

Using Liquid Drain Cleaners

No homeowner likes dealing with clogged drains. Depending on whether it’s in the kitchen or bathroom, you’ll be looking at a couple of hours of reduced functionality until you search for a plumber near me in your area to fix the issue. In the meantime, plenty of people will turn to liquid drain cleaners to clear the debris clogging up their drains. However, while a chemical drain cleaner can unclog a blocked drain, they present a significant risk to the health of your plumbing. Since hydrochloric acid is a primary ingredient in these chemical drain cleaners, they are corrosive enough to damage the pipes.

Drain cleaners often contain highly toxic chemicals, especially the cheaper brands, and their fumes can irritate your eyes, nose, and throat. They can also cause burns when they come in contact with the skin. On top of that, chemical drain cleaners won’t always work depending on the cause of the clogged drain. If you cannot unclog a blocked drain with a drain snake, reach out to a plumber near me in your community for professional assistance.

Pouring Grease, Animal Fat, Or Cooking Oil Down the Drain

The plumbing is a very delicate system, usually consisting of pretty small pipes that are designed to only transport water. Grease, animal fat, and cooking oil are one of the worst things you could introduce into this system as they significantly increase the chances of clogs developing. Even if you use hot water to melt solidified grease or fat before pouring it down the drain, it will still cool down and solidify in the pipes, attracting all kinds of dirt and lint until it causes a blockage and other plumbing problems.

If you have any leftover grease after cooking a meal, let it cool, pour it into a metal can, and throw the can into the trash. The alternative won’t just force you to hire a plumber near me in your area for professional assistance. It could result in massive blockages in your community.

Improper Garbage Disposal Use

Did you know the garbage disposal doesn’t have razor-sharp blades capable of slicing virtually anything into tiny particles? Your garbage disposal unit uses a grinding system instead to break food waste into extremely fine particles that won’t stress the plumbing. However, some Mesa, AZ homeowners falsely assume that their unit can pulverize anything literally and aren’t mindful of what they put down their drains. This is a great reason to keep a plumber near me in your area on retainer since your garbage disposal will always be acting up.

Some common garbage disposal mistakes include improper cleaning, using hot water to flush the garbage disposal, and dumping non-food items, grease, and fat down the disposal. Here are some tips on how to keep a garbage disposal unit in good shape:

  • Avoid using harsh drain cleaners or bleach to clean the unit. Instead, use baking soda and a couple of fresh lime or lemon slices to get rid of odors. You can also grind ice cubes to remove any small bits of food that may be caught inside.

 

  • Use hot water to flush the unit while it grinds waste. Hot water will melt fats and grease, allowing them to move deeper into your piping and cause plumbing problems that will most likely require the assistance of a plumber near me in your community.

 

  • Make sure only food wastes go into the disposal. If you can limit the amount of food going into the drain, please do so. And keep the following items away from your garbage disposal unit; eggshells, coffee grounds, fat, grease, paint, paste, bones, oatmeal, nuts, potato peels, and onion skins.

Using the Toilet as a Garbage Disposal

On average, the pipe that removes wastewater from the toilet is up to 4 inches wide. This width is just enough space to transport broken-down human waste and biodegradable toilet paper, nothing else. Anything else is likely to clog the pipes and result in wastewater flowing up and out of the toilet. In a worst-case scenario, flushing anything other than waste and tissue down the toilet could clog up your local pump system, resulting in a large-scale sewage backup. Any plumber near me will advise you to keep the following away from your toilet:

  • Paper towels, napkins, baby wipes, disinfectant wipes
  • Condoms, sanitary towels, tampons
  • Food waste, grease, fat
  • Eggshells, coffee grounds, nutshells

Hurried DIY Fixes

More and more homeowners are choosing to repair and upgrade their homes themselves. Although DIY can be an exciting and fulfilling experience, there are limits to what you can do, and plumbing is one of them. Serious plumbing problems often manifest as minor issues or don’t even have symptoms. A layperson will likely miss such issues until they become so severe that they have to contact a plumber near me in your area for professional plumbing repairs. Like electrical wiring, plumbing is a complex system consisting of numerous interconnected parts. Attempting to fix plumbing problems on your own will not only cost you a lot of money in repairs down the road, but it can also put your household’s health at risk. Your best option is to call a professional to diagnose the problem accurately and prescribe an appropriate solution.

Professional Plumber Near Me 

If you have been experiencing regular plumbing problems, you now know what may be causing it. Are you constantly searching for a plumber near me in Mesa, AZ due to plumbing issues? Schroeder Plumbing is the leading plumbing service. We have over four decades’ worth of experience fixing plumbing problems, and we have seen it all. Contact us today for more information about our services.

Text Us Now