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Your drains are an integral part of your plumbing system, and it's crucial that they're treated with care. In a lot of cases, it's tempting to treat the toilet or kitchen sink like a trash can, but these practices can cause a lot of damage up front and over time.
That's why we've created this guide to help keep your drains healthy year-round, but especially during the holiday season. Keep reading for more helpful tips and tricks!
Bathroom Drains
Toilets
Whether you're hosting a holiday party or just an intimate gathering for close friends and family, there will be plenty more people in your home than usual. Unfortunately, not everyone has the same bathroom etiquette as you.
As a friendly reminder for everyone, there's only one type of trash that belongs in the toilet, and that's toilet paper. Items that should absolutely never get flushed down the toilet include:
"Flushable" baby wipes
"Flushable" kitty litter
Facial tissues
Feminine hygiene products
Q-tips and cotton pads
Dental floss
Sink drains
The easiest thing to do when cleaning up from dinner is scraping the scraps directly into the sink and letting the garbage disposal handle the rest. However, there's only so much your garbage disposal and plumbing can take. In order to prevent malfunctions, and clogs, avoid tossing these food items in the sink!
Fibrous Foods
Fibrous foods, including celery, corn husks, and pineapple, should stay away from the garbage disposal. Because of these foods' stringy nature, they tend to get caught around the blades or hammers of your disposal. This causes them to trap other foods and form a clog.
Starchy Foods
Starchy foods are delicious and common at holiday gatherings. Some of the most popular foods include pasta, potatoes, and rice, and while they seem harmless, they tend to break down into a paste that can easily stick to the sides of pipes and drains, causing blockages.
Coffee Grounds and Egg Shells
These ones are a little deceptive, but coffee grounds and eggshells can be sneakily damaging. They seem like they would just flush right through the garbage disposal and down the drain; however, they have a tendency to pile up and cause a sludgy mess that catches other food debris in the process.
Bones
After you break the wishbone, don't toss it down the kitchen drain! Bones are incredibly durable and won't break down in the garbage disposal; instead, if they make it past the disposal, they'll get caught further down in your kitchen pipes.
If you do end up with a clogged drain, don't automatically reach for the convenient chemical drain cleaners. While they might seem harmless, they are actually eroding your pipes every time you pour them down a drain. Instead, contact a trusted professional at HPS Plumbing Services.
Drain cleaning is one of our specialties, and we would be happy to help get your plumbing in working order today. Call us at (661) 426-2166 or visit our website to get more information and schedule an appointment!
