No matter the season, your household plumbing never rests, especially the kitchen sink and your toilet. Between breakfast, lunch, supper and snacks, according to statistics from the *World Toilet Organization (WTO), the average toilet gets flushed around 2,500 times per year or five to eight times a day. That is more than enough flushes to keep your plumbing working overtime.
Fortunately, our modern-day toilets were designed to handle such consistent flushing. However, problems can arise at certain times of the year when the amount of regular flushing can triple, quadruple and even more. When might that be, you may ask?
The Holidays: #GoodTimes4plumbers
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Those are the times of the year when extra workloads are placed on our plumbing systems, including pipes and drainage systems. At these times, holiday guests as well as, friends and family tend to lose a little discretion when it comes to what can and what cannot be flushed down the toilet or stuffed into a food grinding garbage disposal. These appliances are not magic though they seem to make things just disappear.
Everything, from the disposal of paper products, to hand washing and toilet flushing, along with dishwater draining and daring use of the garbage disposal, can put an unsustainable strain on your plumbing. It can also have a negative impact on your day should you suddenly discover that the toilet no longer flushes or that the sinks are stopped up and you can't run any water.
The Toilet is not a Trash Can
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People have an innate tendency to believe that their plumbing system was designed to handle just about anything they want to throw in there. And it was...within sane reason.
But just because it fits doesn't mean it's going to flush or drain away. As plumbers, They have seen some pretty clogged drains and toilets and just when you think you've seen it all, you find something new clogging the system. Some of the biggest culprits are food and paper products.
Toilet tissue is designed to collapse when wet and when used in moderation, seldom causes a problem in the toilet. However, not all paper is created equal. It is when people begin using the toilet as a trash can that problems can arise. Paper towels are a big problem as they are designed to not fall apart and therefore can create real problems when flushed.
Some Things Should Just Be Tossed in the Trash
DO NOT FLUSH, KEEP OUT OF THE TOILET- disposable diapers
- tampons and tampon applicators
- sanitary napkins
- cotton balls and swabs
- mini or maxi pads
- condoms
- cleaning wipes of any kind
- facial tissue
- bandages and bandage wrappings
- automotive fluids
- paint, solvents, sealants and thinners
- poisons and hazardous waste
- pet poop
People believe that because their kitchen disposal grinds things up you can just throw anything in there and it is okay, but it's not. This becomes especially true on certain holidays such as Thanksgiving Day which is generally the busiest day of the year for Plumbers in America.
Potato peels, animal bones, thick foods that don't break down but coagulate in your pipes cause blockage and often require a call to the plumber. Aside from the inconvenience and aggravation this can cause, it is more expensive when the plumber is called away from his family to spend time with yours.
In an effort to keep your systems flowing as they should, there certain preventative measures you can take to help avoid a call to the plumber during the holidays or on any other day.
First, don’t wait until the garbage disposal is full before running it and always operate the unit with cold, not hot water running the whole time, and for a half-minute after the grinding stops.
Don’t throw fibrous material like vegetable peels into to the disposal. Avoid putting rice or coffee grounds in the disposal as these actually expand when wet. And never put kitchen oils and grease down there either; let them harden, then place them in the trash.
And if you have a dishwasher, always run the garbage disposal before you run the dishwasher, because dishwashers often drain into and through the garbage disposal.
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