When it comes to a sewer system car and maintenance starts with what you put down your drains and toilets. Replacing sewer lines isn’t something that any homeowners wants to have to do, so preventative care and maintenance is important. There are a number of things that can affect the lifetime of a sewer system, but if a sewer is around 40 years old, experts say it’s probably going to need replacing. Replacement has gotten easier with the use of trenchless pipe bursting, but avoiding replacement is always easier. Here are three things you should never dump down your drains or toilets.
1. Bulky Paper Products
One thing you should avoid flushing down your toilet is bulky paper products. It might seem fine to buy the thickest toilet paper or flush down things like cotton balls since they seem like they would dissolve in the water right? Not exactly. Bulky paper items like these and sanitary napkins can get trapped, accumulate, and cause a major problem. Just throw things like these in the trash.
2. Grease, Fats, and Oils
When it comes to your sinks, avoid draining liquid grease, or oils down the drain. These seem like they’re going to go down when they’re hot, and they do, but once it gets down into the cool pipe grease will start to solidify and clog things up. It’s better to dump cooking grease into a can for disposal after it cools or scrape it into the trash after it has cooled.
3. Foreign Objects
The thing about sewer lines is that you don’t really think about where what you’re flushing is going to end up. This means it’s easy to flush foreign items that really belong in the trash, but this can lead to serious problems and eventually sewer line repair and replacement. Trenchless pipe bursting may be an easy method of replacement but if you can keep sewer lines from getting clogged or damaged by foreign debris, you may not need it in the first place.
Has your sewer system ever gotten damaged because any of these things went down your drains? Feel free to share your experience with us in the comments section below.
