Plumbers like work, but sometimes, repairing the same mistakes over and over again can be a little wearing.
You can save yourself a lot of time and money if you avoid the behaviours that plumbers wish homeowners didn’t do — and you’ll save yourself a fortune if you follow their advice.
So, without further ado, here’s a list of the things your plumber wishes you didn’t do…
#1 – Flush Anything But Toilet Roll
We know how it is; the toilet is right there, it can whisk a cotton bud or a baby wipe away in seconds, so you think: “what harm can it do?”, and you use the toilet to dispose of the item in question.
This is a bad idea; if it’s not toilet roll, don’t flush it; it’s a surefire way to clog your pipes.
#2 – Don’t Know Where Your Main Water Valve Is (Or How To Operate It)
Plumber: “Can you turn the water off for me, please?”
Homeowner: “Erm… where is that?”
It’s different for every house, so ensure you know where the valve is before you call a plumber.
#3 – Forget To Service Your Water Heater
Water heaters aren’t meant to last for as long as houses, and they certainly won’t if you don’t ensure that a professional services them on a regular basis.
A service should be performed annually, and your heater replaced every five to ten years.
#4 – DIY What You Don’t Understand
Professional repair services can be expensive, yes, but the cost of fixing a poor DIY job is always going to be more costly than just getting the right work done in the first place.
#5 – Do Anything To Your Boiler
Leave your boiler alone; this is an appliance that should only be touched by those with the relevant qualifications and experience.
Boilers are genuinely dangerous items, so don’t do anything to them bar open the door to let a service professional or engineer take a closer look.
#6 – Touch Pressure Valves
DIY might sound like a good idea, but pressure valves throughout your entire system are tricky to handle and can be very difficult to correct.
You should always leave them alone unless you have the requisite experience to handle them correctly.
#7 – Put Anything In Your Cistern
It might be a nice fragrance or a product designed to help make cleaning the toilet easier– either way, they’re bad news.
The only items that belong in your cistern are those that are required to keep the system running smoothly.
#8 – Pour Cooking Oils and Fats Down The Sink
It might seem like an easy solution in the moment, but pouring cooking oils and fats down the sink is a surefire to cause drain and sink blockages.
Not only is this bad for you, but it’s outright horrible for plumbers, who have to remove the remnants from pipes– a job that is every bit as unpleasant as it sounds.
#9 – You Don’t Use A “Hair Catcher” In Your Shower
Hair catchers — inexpensive, plastic drain covers — can make a huge difference to the health of your drains.
Given how easy they are to buy and install, you can save yourself a lot of problems by ensuring you have one in place.
You should also use a similar drain cover in the kitchen sink, especially if you don’t use a dishwasher; it can help catch oils and fats from washing up.
As discussed above, oils and fats in your drains are Bad Things, so protect your drains and make life simpler for all concerned.
#10 – Use Chemical Drain Cleaners
Chemical drain cleaners are meant to solve a problem, but they are staggeringly ineffective at what they do.
If you have a drain blockage, then it’s far easier — and safer for you, given how corrosive some of the supermarket cleaners can be — to call a plumber to deal with the issue quickly and effectively from the start.
Before you do that give our homemade sink unblocker article a good read.
#11 – Leave Your Water On When You Go On Holiday
If you head off on holiday for a fortnight and don’t turn your water off, then a small problem can become a catastrophic one in the days you’re not there to notice it.
The cleanup job is always harder and the fix is more difficult, so turn your water off if you’re going to be away from home for more than a couple of days.
There’s no doubt that if you ban yourself from doing the above, your life — and that of your plumber — is going to be far easier.
With a few simple changes, you can ensure the maintenance of your home, and make any repair jobs that do become necessary far easier to complete.