Boston Plumbing and Heating Blog

You have a clogged toilet again. To help you avoid any future clogs, floods or plumbing problems, we asked plumbers to share their customers’ biggest mistakes—and how they can be avoided.

1. Reach for the Drano.

Forget using chemicals to open or clear drains—they rarely get the job all the way done. Plus, not only are the chemicals very harsh and dangerous for you to handle, they can also ruin drain pipes and the equipment used to clear the stoppage. Hint: To prevent blockages in the first place, keep notorious cloggers like grease and hair out of drains.

2. Use the toilet like a garbage can.

Even if they’re labeled “flushable,” don’t toss feminine hygiene products, personal cleaning wipes, toilet scrubbers, make-up remover pads or cat litter into the toilet. The fact is, they don’t disintegrate quickly enough and can ultimately block the drain pipe.

3. Handle the plumbing problems yourself

Don’t try to diagnose and fix a plumbing problem yourself, or hire a handyman to do plumbing work. Plumbers can find and correct a problem faster than an amateur can, which will save you money in the long run.

4. No idea where the main water valve is.

Don’t be in the dark when it comes to knowing the location of the main water valve and every emergency shut off valve in your house. And while you’re at it, learn how to turn off these valves. It’s easy but if you’d prefer to have pro show you how, many plumbers will check emergency shut-off valves at no charge.

5. Use drop in toilet fresheners.

Ditch the drop-in tank toilet fresheners. You may love the blue water it makes in your toilet bowl, but these tablets often contain chemicals that wear out working parts inside the tank. Plus, as these tablets disintegrate, they can get stuck in the flush valve and prevent the toilet from flushing.

6. Forget to replace the hoses.

Water hoses don’t give any warning before they burst, so avoid a potential flood by changing out rubber hoses on washing machines and dishwashers every five years. When you do replace them, use stainless steel on all water lines, if possible.

7. No leak protection system.

Don’t skimp on water leak protection. It only costs a few hundred dollars to get a water leak protection system that offers both an alarm and a main water shut-off should a leak occur in your water heater, dishwasher, sinks and more.

8. The hot water heater is outdated.

Don’t think your tank water heater will last forever—the average lifespan is 8-12 years. Just like toast tends to fall butter-side down on the floor, your 20-year-old tank will inevitably fail and flood while you are on vacation.

9. Overload the garbage disposal.

Be kind to your garbage disposal: Don’t pour grease into it (the goopy stuff will eventually solidify and clog the drain), and don’t put in fibrous food like celery and artichokes. Also avoid pushing through large amounts of garbage at once. Instead, feed garbage slowly into the disposal with cold running water.

10. Mess with the water heater’s pressure valve.

Don’t try to drain your water heater or test the temperature and pressure valve yourself. These need to be done professionally. If the valve is not properly removed, the pressure from the tank can disperse scalding hot water that could cause serious burns as well as property damage.

For help with plumbing problems, contact Greater Boston Plumbing and Heating.

Today.com

There are items that are made to go down the drain, flushed or otherwise travel into your septic system. Essentially, these things are human waste and toilet paper. Everything else is off limits. So what about the items that marketers deem “flushable?”

Take disposable wipes and disposable household cleaning wipes. These items have been identified as flushable by the marketing industry. But that does not mean they are good for your plumbing or good for your septic system if you have one.

Once these disposable/flushable wipes get through your drain, they can cause serious problems in the home main sewer line. These wipes are tough, they need to be for what they are designed for. They are also disposable, into your trash can. When a plumber is called into a home, and these wipes are the culprit, most often they have caused a softball sized toilet clog. The wipes don’t disintegrate, and they have a snow ball effect with the other paper, or other wipes in the drain causing a massive pile up, or clog.

Unfortunately these large clogs take some time to remove from your main septic drain. As you know, the longer the time spent, the more costly the job. So take the extra time and don’t flush the disposable/flushable wipes.
 
Flushable Fact: In 2009, Consumer Reports tested leading brands of toilet paper and flushable wipes. They found that all of the wipes completely failed the disintegration test and even the strongest, thickest toilet papers squeaked by with a low passing grade.*

If you suspect you have a wipe’s clog, or your toilet is having any type of clogging issues, please contact Greater Boston Plumbing and Heating.

*networx.com

If you are a homeowner, your bathroom has surely had its fair share of plumbing problems.  Either the toilet keeps running, or it is stopped up, or it overflowed. Maybe your bathtub won’t drain, your sewer line backup up, or under the sink leaks. Any of these scenarios can result in a huge mess and a call to a plumber.
 
There are some things you can do yourself, but there are other for which you should call in a professional plumber. However, of all the plumbing woes nothing is worse than a clogged toilet. Here are some possible tips for fixing your own toilet.  These tips actually work in many cases.

1. Do nothing but wait, then flush.
Toilets, and all drains, work by gravity. A full bowl of water exerts its own pressure on the clog and, over time, often will clear the clog for you. If you have more than one bathroom just wait, then try to flush again. If the clog is just too much paper, this solution can work.
 
2. Pour in some hot water. Wait. Flush.
If you don’t have the time or you want to help gravity along, pour a few cups of hot water into the bowl. It is believed that the hot water helps to break down the waste, loosening the clog.

3. Add soap. Wait as long as possible. Flush.
This is the preferred method when you’re not at home and don’t want to tell the hosts that you have stopped up the toilet. The theory is that the soap breaks down the waste faster than water alone.

4. Plunge.
Standard cup-type plungers don’t work well on toilets because they can’t provide a good seal over the drain hole. Use a flange plunger, which has a rubber sleeve that extends down below the domed cup. Make sure the flange is extended then lower the plunger into the toilet at an angle so the boot fills with water and isn’t trapping air. Insert the flange into the drain hole and press down so the boot seals tightly around the hole.

Make the plunge action count on both the down stroke and upstroke, since both forces will help loosen the clog, and maintain a good seal at all times. If you have no success after several tries, let the clog sit and try again.

Important Toilet Tip:
If your clogged toilet is about to overflow, here is what you can do: Remove the tank lid and close the flapper, which is the round, rubber trap door that seals over the big hole in the tank. This will stop the flow of water into the bowl. Or, you turn off the valve in the water supply line. On the wall behind the toilet, several inches above the floor. It has a football-shaped handle, turn to the right. However, old valves can be stuck and corroded, they may leak after turning.

If none of the above tips work, you have a toilet that clogs regularly, or your water supply leaks after you have turned it off, contact Greater Boston Plumbing and Heating.

Networx