There are certain people who supply plumbers with all year round work due to their reckless actions in regard to their plumbing systems’ use. Read the following points and find out if you are one of them.

1. Not caring about disconnecting hoses during winter.

In this case mere laziness is the cause for such a classic plumbing mistake. Joined hoses can result in damage when left out for the whole year, leading to freezing of the outdoor faucet or its water supply pipe. This will damage your hose as well.

2. Using vent pipes for “various” purposes.

Some homeowners think that running TV cables down the plumbing vent pipes, coming up through their roofs is ok. However, vent pipes are there for a reason. On the one hand, they deliver air to drains inside the house to avoid a suction effect that obstructs drainage; on the other hand, they also get rid of sewer gases that come up from the municipal sewer main. So if you make a hole in your vent inside the house to run a cable through, remember that you’re entering a continuous supply of your neighborhood’s sewer air.

3. Pouring too much drain cleaner down your drains.

Drain cleaners are helpful and relatively safe for drains when used carefully, following the directions. Although, they can corrode some drain materials, making clogs worse if used abundantly. You wouldn’t want to find yourself in that plumber’s shoes, who will eventually come to clear that clog.

4. Screwing, nailing or cutting into a wall with hidden plumbing pipes.

Some might say – “I did that once and nothing happened.” Next time prepare to hear a fine spray of water hitting the back of the drywall or even worse – gushing water coming through your wall if you accidentally cut into it with a reciprocating saw.

5. Joining two different metals in piping.

When dissimilar metals, such as copper and steel, touch, a process called galvanic action is launched. This process causes corrosion. Corrosion leads to leaks. Conclusion – such joints must be made with a dielectric union or other approved fitting by a professional plumber.

6. Pouring grease down the kitchen drain.

If pouring bacon grease down the kitchen-sink drain is a usual thing at your home, stop doing it before it is too late. Grease is one of the best items to block drains. (So is all the soap we use in the bathroom, but that’s another sad story.)

7. Pouring everything else down the kitchen drain.

You might be one of those folks who think that garbage disposal can swallow anything you put there. It is far from the truth. The garbage disposal is a motor with a spinning wheel having two metal teeth objects, and it DOES NOT stop the flour, rice, potato peels (and some other vegetable peels) as well as many fibrous foods from clogging your drains.

8. Using the toilet instead of a trash container. 

All of us know it is stupid, but we all do it anyway. We think that whatever we flush down the toilet goes into the unknown never to return. Unfortunately, a 3-inch drain pipe that leads into another drain pipe, which is that drain pipe to your whole house will become “known” in case of toilet blockage. Do not forget that flushing one improper item (which is everything except for the TP and natural “waste”) down the toilet drain can eventually stop up everything at your household.

SO be wise and try to avoid plumbing mistakes described above. If for any reason, you have succumbed to temptation of any of the mentioned points which resulted in the damage to your property, do not hesitate and call the plumbers from Norwalk-La Mirada Plumbing Heating & Air Conditioning! We will promptly come to the rescue!