Preventive Plumbing: How to Keep Things Flowing
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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 do just that.
1 Never pour cooking grease into drains - it stops them up as it cools and hardens.
Instead, chill it in an empty milk or juice carton.
Dispose of it in the regular garbage.
2 Use inexpensive drain screens (made of either plastic or metal) in the kitchen sink, the bathtub, and the shower.
This helps prevent food particles, hair, or small items like jewelry and toothpaste caps from entering the drain.
You can also use inexpensive plastic drain screens that can be placed over bathroom sink drains, right over the built-in stoppers. 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 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.
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 plumbing 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 is 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 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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