There’s nothing you can do to guarantee you won’t need an Evanston plumber to repair your sewer line. However, there are a few things you can do to keep your sewer lines in good shape and reduce the need for repairs. With these simple tips, you can prevent serious trouble with your sewer lines.
1. Keep Food from Going Down the Drain Line
It’s easy for people to get into bad habits with their kitchen drains. If you put stringy foods, fats, and other items in your kitchen sink, you could damage your plumbing.
Food waste is heavy and doesn’t flow easily through your plumbing system. Furthermore, grease and oil harden in your pipes and cause large blockages. They collect food and eventually demand a plumbing repair.
When you’re cleaning up from a meal, scrape the food off in your garbage can. If you have hot grease or oil, place it in a container and throw it in the garbage when it hardens. Once you get into the habit of this, you may find it easy to do.
2. Dispose of Non-Food Items with Care
You might be surprised to learn how many non-food items end up in plumbing systems. Typically, homeowners either knowingly or inadvertently throw dental floss, rubber bands, and pull tabs in their plumbing. Whatever your reasons for placing these items in your sink or toilet, it could spell trouble.
Non-food items don’t break down in your plumbing. So, they sit there and cause blockages. If you have stringy materials like dental floss, they cause even more damage. They can wrap around debris and form major clogs.
There’s an easy way to fix this. Don’t place any foreign objects down your drains or in your toilets. If you have children, make sure they know not to place toys into the toilet.
3. Use the Right Toilet Paper
If you go to any grocery or big box store, you’ll come across multiple types of toilet paper. But don’t let the selection fool you. There’s only one type of toilet paper you should be using – one-ply.
While one-ply toilet paper isn’t as soft as other options, it is easier on your plumbing. Thick toilet tissue has the potential to clog up your plumbing. If you don’t want to compromise, you can but two-ply toilet paper with a “sewer safe” label.
4. Flush Your Washing Machine and Other Water Holding Devices
Approximately once each month, fill all of your devices that hold water with cold water. This includes your sinks and tubs. Make sure the containers are empty when you do this, or it won’t work well.
Then, drain everything at once. As they drain, flush your toilets. Doing so flushes your plumbing and may prevent blockages.
5. Use High Volume Flush Toilets When Necessary
In some circumstances, the more efficient low flush toilets aren’t the right choice for your home. If there isn’t a proper slope from your toilet to the sewer line, a low flow toilet won’t push waste through the line. Typically, you need a slope of between 1/8-in. and 1/4-in. per foot. Otherwise, clogs could form in your sewer line.
As a sewer system ages, it could develop a negative slope. Soil shifts and could make your toilet less likely to drain sewage. In this case, you need a high volume flush toilet. To determine the slope of your pipes, consult with a plumber. They can use a camera to examine your pipes and measure the slope.
6. Pay Attention to Tree Roots
As much as you love the trees in your yard, they could be devastating to your plumbing. Roots grow and often intrude into sewer lines. Often attracted to the nutrients and moisture from sewer lines, tree roots can penetrate your plumbing and clog up the works.
If you notice any trees near your plumbing, you may want to hire someone to remove the trees. At the very least, hire a drain cleaner to come out once a year and clear and clean the line. Make sure you hire a professional who does the job well, or you will always be in need of sewer repair.
Before you plant trees and shrubs, consider their location. Make sure they don’t go near your sewer line and avoid planting anything with large and invasive roots. When certain trees are around, no roots are safe.
7. Use Natural Methods to Clean Your Plumbing
When you have a small clog, you might reach for a chemical clog remover. But this is one of the worst things you can do for your plumbing. Chemical cleaners are tough on your pipes and don’t provide a solution for your blockages.
Every time you use a chemical drain cleaner, you risk corroding and weakening your pipes. To prevent a sewer line break, stick with more natural methods of sewer line repair. You can try DIY natural methods to remove clogs, but these may not be completely effective. For the best results, you should call a plumber.
When you rely on a plumber to remove clogs, you keep your plumbing safe. They can use a video inspection to spot blockages and to determine the best way to remove them. If you have an older home, it’s particularly crucial to deal carefully with clogs.
8. Call an Evanston Plumber for Help
On your own, there’s only so much you can do to prevent the need for sewer line repair. But with a professional by your side, you can get better results. An experienced professional can advise you on the ways in which you can keep your plumbing healthy. More importantly, they can provide maintenance that limits your need for costly repairs.
Here at J. Blanton Plumbing, we are all about prevention. We’d rather keep you from needing a sewer repair by helping you maintain your system. You can count on us to help you when you need it. And if you find yourself in need of sewer line repair, you can trust us. To find out more about our value as an Evanston plumber, give us a call today.