Tips for Bathroom Plumbing Maintenance

Keep your bathroom plumbing running smoothly with these helpful tips.

Be Mindful of What You Flush

One of the most common bathroom plumbing problems is a badly clogged toilet. Avoid flushing anything down your toilet other than waste and toilet paper. Using your toilet to dispose of anything else is likely to cause blockages in the pipes and make your toilet clog easily. 

Even products that advertise themselves as “flushable,” such as some wipes or kitty litter, should not be flushed down the toilet. These products will break down eventually, but it takes a long time and they can block up your pipes in the meantime, leading to costly repairs in your bathroom plumbing fixtures.

Check for Tank Leaks With Food Colouring

Put a few drops of food colouring into the toilet tank water in order to easily check for leaks. If, after about an hour, you see the colour from the food colouring in your toilet bowl, you have a leak from your tank.

Get Rid of Limescale with Vinegar

Limescale is the white, flakey substance that accumulates on bathroom fixtures as a result of minerals from water building, a sign that you have hard water. Limescale doesn’t just look nasty, it’s also a common culprit of low shower pressure. Cleaning the limescale out of your showerhead can go a long way in making it function like new again. 

Simply soak a cloth in white vinegar, then secure the cloth around your showerhead with an elastic band. This gives the same effect as soaking your showerhead in vinegar without having to disassemble your fixture. Leave the cloth on for about 2 hours, then remove it and gently wipe down the showerhead with a sponge or cloth. If you find that hard water is a problem in your household, consider installing a water softener.

Don’t Use Liquid Drain Cleaner

Pass on the chemical drain cleaners. They are corrosive and will gradually eat away at your pipes, causing much bigger problems than the clog that you started with. Using a plunger is a much better solution because it won’t damage your pipes. For particularly stubborn clogs that your plunger is no match against, call the professional bathroom plumber to clean your drains using a snake or hydro jet.

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Fix Leaks Immediately

We know it’s tempting, but don’t ignore that leak! Even a minor leak can cause water damage and waste over time, and if you leave it, it’s likely to become a much bigger leak that will be more time-consuming and costly to fix later. Get that leak repaired as soon as you notice it.

Use Drain Strainers in the Shower

One of the biggest causes of slow or blocked shower drains? Hair. A super simple thing you can do to reduce the amount of hair that washes down your shower is to use a shower drain strainer. Simply pop it in the drain before you shower and any loose hair will collect in the strainer, then you can empty it in the trash after you shower.

Avoid Pouring Grease or Oil Down the Sink

Grease and oil can solidify in the pipes, causing blockages in your bathroom sink. Instead, dispose of grease in a sealed container and throw it in the trash.

Check for Leaks Under the Sink

Inspect the pipes and connections beneath your sink for any signs of dripping water or dampness. Even small leaks in your bathroom sink can cause water damage to cabinets and floors over time.

Install a Strainer to Catch Debris in Sinks

Using a sink strainer for drain can prevent hair, soap, and other debris from going down the drain and clogging your bathroom sink. A small investment in a strainer can save you from expensive bathroom plumbing sink repairs later on. If you need assistance with bathroom sink plumbing, from clearing clogs to fixing leaks, we are here to help.

Need expert plumber for bathroom plumbing in Edmonton? Trust the experts at Butler Plumbing, Heating & Gasfitting for reliable solutions. Whether it’s plumbing a bathroom, basement bathroom plumbing or fixing a leak, we’re here to help. Call us today!

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