Avoid These Mistakes to Reduce the Risk of Sudden Plumbing Emergencies
Posted on: 6 March 2018
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Plumbing emergencies can happen in any home, through no fault of the homeowner or family, simply because plumbing pipes can suffer corrosion and other such damage over time. In other cases, something might happen to the pipes outside the home, causing a sudden clog in a bathtub or toilet in the home.
However, there are some things that you want to avoid doing yourself, as the homeowner, in order to avoid plumbing disasters in the home and to reduce the risk of plumbing emergencies. Note a few of those mistakes here.
Cleaning fluids and liquids
Your home's drains shouldn't be considered a catchall for cleaning fluids, paints, paint thinners, coatings and the like. This includes the drain under a utility tub or a drain you might have installed in the garage floor. These fluids can coat the pipes and then thicken, leading to clogs. Many such fluids are also very caustic, so they damage connectors around pipes, causing them to leak. Contact your city clerk or other such municipality to see how you can dispose of these fluids safely, but keep them out of your home's drains so you avoid damaging pipes and other plumbing fixtures.
Weight on fixtures
If you're like many homeowners, you'll have a shower organiser hanging from a bathroom's showerhead to hold soaps and other items. While that showerhead can hold a small bit of weight, having that organiser weighed down with heavy bottles of shampoo, wet washcloths and a shower brush can mean pulling that pipe right out of the wall. This also puts pressure on the connectors to the pipes behind the wall, increasing the risk of having them pull apart and burst. Keep this catchall for very light items in the shower, and invest in a shelf or other receptacle for heavier bottles.
Connecting pipes
If you tackle your own home plumbing installation, you need to be careful about how you connect pipes. Tightening washers too far can mean stripping threads, so that leaks form and the pipe eventually bursts. Attaching two different materials of pipes can often lead to corrosion and the risk of burst pipes. Trying to force pipes that don't fit is also a mistake; you can cut pipes to size, but don't assume that any type of glue or cement will be sufficient for connecting wrongly sized pipes, as this can also lead to leaks. Leave this work to an emergency plumber if you're not sure how to install pipes correctly, to reduce the risk of these types of plumbing emergencies.