Drainage System Facts
Clogged sinks, showers, and toilets are usually the unpleasant consequence of inappropriate items finding their way into your waste disposal (sewage) system. When a lost top to a bottle of shampoo ends up down the toilet, the septic system will balk. Within a couple of days, the system will begin backflowing into the lowest drain in the house – the first floor bathroom shower is a likely place to notice a backup, according to the Concord plumbing and drain professionals. It is a stinky mess, and no job for the DIY 101-er. It will be necessary to call a professional plumbing and drain company in Concord who can repair the problem in a couple of hours, as opposed to several days for a homeowner who does not have the knowledge or the equipment to take on the challenge.
The following rules will help keep your drainage system intact if you follow them:
Once a month, boil water and pour a kettleful down each drain in your house: sinks, tubs, shower. This is the most “green-friendly” way to keep them flowing. Of course, be careful when you are carrying and pouring the boiling water. You don’t want to scald yourself.
Keep the stopper in the sink when you are brushing your hair, shaving, applying makeup, giving yourself a facial, even if you are not using the water. Dropped stuff and drain pluggers like hair, bottle tops, and makeup brushes will stay in the sink bowl. You can politely remove them and wipe out the bowl when you are finished with grooming activities if you are a guest in someone’s home. This is good practice for all family members to follow, of course.
Keep the toilet lid closed when you are not using this fixture. If men live in your house, you know already that this will never happen. But you can try; tell them a septic repair bill for a shampoo bottle top that has gone down a drain could potentially cost $400; maybe that will be an effective deterrent; maybe not?
Not one of the most pleasant tasks, but absolutely essential, take a moment to remove hair from the drain right after you shower. Hair and ordinary gunk that goes down the drain will create a nearly impenetrable clog in a pretty short time if you neglect to remove the hair after every shower.
Do not throw anything more fibrous than a few sheets of toilet or facial tissue in the toilet and try to flush it away. Contrary to urban legend, household drain pipes will not accommodate full-grown alligators. It always amazes the expert Concord plumbing and drain technicians to find what people think will flow away to the municipal sewage system or the septic field: disposable diapers, huge wads of paper towels, even rags. Don’t make this expensive mistake.
IMPORTANT: Grease is the enemy of kitchen drains; letting grease ooze down the sink drain is the equivalent of pouring glue into the pipes. Everything will stick to the grease, and soon you will have a nasty old clog. Pour leftover cooking oil, bacon grease, and other slimy stuff in a coffee can and dispose of it in the trash.