Try These Helpful Plumbing Tips

Besides the time and expense involved with plumbing problems, losing the use of any sink, drain, or toilet poses a major inconvenience.

Garbage Disposal

• Use care about the food you put into the garbage disposal. Avoid bones, potato peelings, corn husks, celery, beans, onion skins and egg shells.
• Be sure to start running the water before you turn the garbage disposal on, and continue to run the cold water for 15 seconds after you turn it off.

Toilets

• Watch what you put down the toilet. Things like kitty litter or baby wipes that say they’re safe to flush may not be. It’s better to use the trash to dispose of materials that don’t always dissolve quickly.
• Consider putting a safety latch on the toilet seat and cover to prevent young children from dropping items inside.
• If you live in older home, inspect the toilet and the floor area around it periodically to look for water leaks. Even hairline cracks can cause serious water damage. Replacing it promptly with a new, more water-efficient toilet will also lower utility bills.
• Adding a few drops of food coloring to the water tank on toilets periodically to test for leaks from the tank to the bowl is one of the best plumbing tips to prevent water damage. If any colored water leaks into the bowl, replace the parts inside the tank. Kits are available at home improvement centers and hardware stores.

Sinks

• Use the strainer baskets for the sink to stop food particles from entering the pipes.
• Never put grease or fat down the sink, even in the garbage disposal. Over time, the fats collect in the pipes and create blockages.
• Keep a clean, dedicated plunger under the sink to clear away clogs instead of using harsh chemicals that could damage the pipes. A plunger works faster than drain openers, and it’s much safer to handle.

These plumbing tips prevent many of the problems associated with fixture replacement and slow drains. To learn more, contact Rinaldi’s Energy Solutions, serving Orlando-area homeowners.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in Orlando, Florida and surrounding areas about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).

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