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Preventative Plumbing: How to Keep Things Flowing

Plumbing professionals can be an expensive fix - especially if you can head off the need for such a visit in the first place.

Here are 5 easy ways to prevent clogs and backups:

1. Never pour cooking grease into drains; it cools and hardens inside.

Leading, of course, to a very clogged drain.

Instead, chill it in an empty milk or juice carton. Dispose of it in the regular garbage.

Preventative plumbling: how to keep things flowing in your home.

2. Use drain screens.

Use inexpensive drain screens (made of either plastic or metal) in the kitchen sink, the bathtub, and the shower.

This is the heart of preventative plumbing at home as it helps prevent food particles, hair, or small items like jewelry and toothpaste caps from entering the drain.

These screens will catch and hold hair, soap slivers, and other potential drain-cloggers and make it easy for you to lift out the obstructions and toss them in the trash before they cause costly backups.

3. Every month or so sprinkle about 1/4 cup (60ml) of baking soda into your sink and tub drains.

Rather than relying on expensive and usually toxic drain openers, every month or so sprinkle about 1/4 cup (60ml) of baking soda into your sink and tub drains, followed with just enough warm water to get the powder well into the drain and to keep the pipes flowing smoothly.

Then pour in 1 cup (240ml) of white vinegar.

Let the clumpy mixture stand a few hours or overnight to dissolve scum and bacteria buildup in the pipe bends beneath the sink or tub drains.

Flush with hot water.

Following this procedure regularly will keep your drains working freely without harming any of your fixtures or the environment.

4. To make faucet washers last longer and to prevent leaks, turn the faucet off - but don't tighten the handle any more than needed to stop the water.

Cranking handles forcefully into the off position wears down the washers faster.

5. To make washing machines operate better and last longer, install inexpensive hose screens on the hot and cold water hoses.

To make washing machines operate better and last longer, install inexpensive hose screens on the hot and cold water hoses to keep sediment from clogging the washing machine's pumps and valves.

Check the screens at least once or twice a year and replace them both if they are full of sediment or debris.

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About the Author

Tara Aronson is a native Californian. Having grown up in San Diego, she studied journalism and Spanish to pursue a career in newspaper writing. Tara, whose three children - Chris, Lyndsay, and Payne - are the light of her life, now lives and writes in Los Angeles. She also regularly appears on television news programs throughout the U.S.

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