| By :
Nick Messe
When it comes to naming household inconveniences, nothing can be more irritating and problematic than the plumbing in your home. Whether you are a single or a multi bathroom household, a clog in the drain can be enough to pull your hair out. For the average person, having a clog means calling the plumber immediately. However, plumbers can be expensive and trying to fix something yourself can exasperate the problem immensely. Therefore, a little preventative maintenance in this category can go a long way. Many common households struggle with clogs from too much hair going down the drain. When this happens, the hair accumulates and eventually forms a nasty and rigid clog. Sometimes, trying to unclog this nightmare can seem impossible and become expensive. The best preventative practice in the plumbing arena is to buy a very cheap hair catcher to keep the hair from ever entering the drain. Utilizing this quick and easy tool can be a homeowner's best friend for preventing that visit from the plumber. However, if this problem is already in your drain, a plumbing contractor might be the best solution. Another very common problem in the world of pipes and drains are mineral deposits. White lime and other minerals can accumulate and cause very expensive and time consuming problems. This is a very prevalent problem for households with especially hard water. One of the best ways to reduce this problem or rid it altogether is to pour vinegar and baking soda down the drain once a month. If you remember that science experiment from fifth grade where you built the volcano then you might remember these ingredients. This solution has many great advantages. Baking soda and vinegar are both natural so this solution is very eco-friendly. Together, both ingredients form a responsive solution that is good at cleaning and unblocking. Also, they do not heat up as bad as commercial cleaners and are not as toxic so they are easier on the PVC pipe, lessening your chance of creating a hole somewhere down the drain. Copper pipes can obviously take on more heat than a pipe composed of plastic and vinyl but are not used in most households any longer. Most plumbing headaches occur somewhere in the bathroom, but there are a few other areas where a little proactive work can do a lot of good. For shower heads, spigots, and sink knobs, a little lime away or calcium, lime, and rust Cleaner can go a long way. Washing these areas with a little of these cleaners once every few months can keep minerals and other deposits from building up and eventually causing leaks and damage. Also, if you own a dishwasher, make sure to run it every month even if you do not use it. For the washing machine, there are actually small filters that feed into the pipes that can become clogged. Cleaning these filters just once a year can reduce the chance of a blockage or breakage tremendously. Plumbing is not the forethought of most homeowners, but when problems arise, most of them are life altering emergencies. With a little preventative maintenance, you may never have to call a plumber in an emergency.
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