In general, it’s safe to say that plumbing and drainage problems can be avoided by taking care of your plumbing. However, this involves more than just occasional maintenance. In addition, plumbing issues are among the costliest when it comes to house maintenance. And, of course, you don’t realize just how much you rely on running water until you don’t have it. Now, what if we told you that some of the most common causes of plumbing issues are things that shouldn’t go down the drain? To help you avoid this, we have compiled a list of 8 things you should never put down the drain.
- Uncooked rice
If you ever need to throw out uncooked rice, remember to toss it in the trash. Rice absorbs water, expands, and clumps together, leading to a blockage in your pipes. This can further evolve into leaks and burst pipes and require professional drain cleaning services to sort out. If this problem is allowed to escalate, it will quickly develop into some of the most expensive issues you could face.
- Eggshells
Most sink drains aren’t large enough to allow eggshells through anyway. If this isn’t enough of a sign to avoid forcing them down, you should know that eggshells can cause severe blockages in your drainage systems. Because of their size, they get stuck and stop the drain from working, and additionally, the hard and pointy edges of an eggshell can catch other items going through the drain and make the blockage more serious. This can lead to all sorts of problems, such as burst pipes. And if ignored, this can lead to serious problems that may cause you to move out temporarily. Experts from Fit 2 Move confirm this by saying they helped many clients move out of their homes because the plumbing issues had gotten out of hand.
- Cotton balls and paper towels
While these items are biodegradable, they don’t degrade instantly. Also, they absorb liquid very effectively, leading to all sorts of issues with your pipes. Always throw cotton balls and paper towels in the trash rather than putting them down a drain.
- Produce stickers
In general, non-organic matter is something you should never put down the drain. The adhesives on the stickers can cause them to get stuck on the inside of pipes. If they somehow make it past the pipes, they can get caught in the filters and wastewater treatment pipes. Ultimately, this leads to problems with the equipment which treats your water and makes it usable. If this happens, you need to find an experienced plumber to solve the issue. And if you don’t want to learn how to find a reputable plumber nearby, avoid putting produce stickers down the drain in the first place.
- Unfinished or expired medication
When you put any medication down the drain, you risk it seeping into the environment. This isn’t good for several reasons, the most important being that most public wastewater treatment facilities can’t filter these materials. This, in turn, means that they end up in drinking water and cause a much broader problem. Otherwise, they can also damage the inside of your pipes, leading to you having to renovate your kitchen. This gets expensive, and you have to figure out a solution for your items while renovating. The easiest, of course, is to rent out a storage unit short-term, but it is an additional expense.
- Grease, fats, and oils
Slimy substances like grease, fats, and oils are things you should never put down the drain. This is because they combine with other objects and form fatbergs. These are gelatinous deposits that ultimately grow and cause clogs. This includes grease from ice cream, cheese, meat, gravy, and meat fats. And, of course, if one of these clogs isn’t dealt with immediately, it can lead to more serious issues and having to hire emergency plumbing services to sort them out before they become even more significant problems.
- Cleaning products
For the same reason as medication, you should never put cleaning products down the drain. Most public wastewater facilities aren’t equipped to handle these materials, so they end up in the environment and drinking water. In addition, the chemicals they contain are meant to disinfect and scour and can be harmful to the pipework in your home.
- Flushable wipes
Despite their name, flushable wipes can cause serious plumbing issues when put down the drain. They combine with other objects to cause serious clogs, which can evolve into burst pipes if ignored. As such, always put flushable wipes (and anything else labeled “flushable,” for that matter) in the trash.
Things you should never put down the drain – wrap up
Your home’s plumbing is one of the most critical systems in the entire house. There is a wide variety of things we do daily that require running water, which we don’t realize until it isn’t available to us. So, make sure you keep your pipes clean of anything which could cause them to fall apart. We hope this list of things you should never put down the drain will help you avoid some unnecessary plumbing issues.