Improve Your Plumbing in the New Year With These Five Habits

The new year is a great time to start making positive changes at home. For example, you may be looking to make a few changes to your plumbing habits. This is a great way to lower your water bill and avoid costly repairs. Here are five plumbing habits to implement in the coming year.

1. Be Careful With the Garbage Disposal

While a garbage disposal is convenient for breaking up certain food items, it is not designed to handle everything in your refrigerator. This includes grease and oils because these liquids will solidify and clog up the disposal. Additionally, items such as bones, pits, eggshells, hard foods, and coffee grounds should never be placed in the garbage disposal because they can damage the blades.

2. Keep the Kitchen Sink Drain Clear

The drain in your kitchen sink is not a garbage can, so you need to ensure it is always clear of food particles. Food particles may seem to go down the drain without an issue, but even the smallest pieces of food will eventually clog up the drain. Scrape leftover food particles off your dinnerware before washing your dishes, and do not pour hot grease or oil down the drain because they can clog it up once they solidify.

3. Invest in Mesh Drain Covers

Another way to keep your kitchen sink from clogging is to invest in a mesh drain cover. You can also invest in mesh drain covers for every bathroom in your home. A mesh drain cover catches food particles, loose hair, and other debris to prevent them from going down the drain. All you need to do is remove the drain cover and dump the contents into the garbage can. Mesh drain covers can be found in most home improvement and home goods stores at a reasonable price.

4. Check and Drain Your Water Heater

You also want to start checking your water heater for issues such as low water pressure or no hot water at all. It is also important to drain your water heater at least once a year. The last thing you want is to lose your hot water because you did not keep an eye on the water heater. Luckily, a professional can repair or replace the water heater as needed, but it never hurts to take preventative measures with any plumbing element.

5. Flush Waste and Toilet Paper Only

It is no secret that you should never flush your personal care products down the toilet, but you want to avoid flushing your flushable wipes as well. Toilet paper is designed to soften and break down as it is being flushed. This is not the case for personal care products and flushable wipes, so flushing these items may cause your toilet to back up and overflow. You should only flush human waste and toilet paper down the toilet.

Adopting better plumbing habits can make for an easier, inexpensive new year. You can lower your water bill without spending the time and money to repair a plumbing fixture. If you do need a professional plumbing service, contact Smart Plumbers & Rooters in Santa Clara.

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