Top Plumbing Mistakes

With our 15 years of experience as professional plumbing specialists in the Toronto area, we’ve seen it all; from your standard leaking faucet fixtures to full blown plumbing disasters, we’ve been there.

But did you know that a majority of plumbing problems are self-inflicted?

That most often, extensive plumbing repairs are the result of careless use and poor maintenance techniques?

In this blog post, we’ll go over six of the most common mistakes we’ve seen homeowners make with their own plumbing, and advise you on alternative ways to care for your home drains and pipes… ones that will ensure high performance plumbing for years to come.

- Ignoring Signs of Plumbing Failure

One of the most common plumbing mistakes we see comes from the carelessness of Toronto homeowners; they see and acknowledge the signs of a plumbing problem, but put them off until later, or ignore the issue altogether. When you don’t take immediate action to keep your pipes running effectively, you create conditions in which these issues and minor symptoms can snowball into full-blown plumbing disasters.

When you notice frequent drain clogging, insufficient water flow and pressure, leaks and irregular water concentrations, act. Too often, major plumbing problems are the result of homeowners letting smaller, minor problems slip by; these indicators will often worsen over time, and require extensive plumbing repairs later on if left untended to.

- Poor and Irregular Plumbing Maintenance

However, you shouldn’t wait for the warning signs of plumbing failure to maintain your pipes; a regular, once a month self-inspection could help prevent a slew of major plumbing problems from developing down the line. The key to plumbing self-inspections is prevention. With a regular inspection schedule, you can stay ahead of any plumbing issues and resolve them proactively, before they can develop into disasters.

Additionally, we recommend having a professional plumbing inspection at least once per year. Trained specialists will have a stronger eye for plumbing issues you may not even be aware of, so having that input could save you money in the long run, should they catch an undetectable warning sign early.

- Gratuitous Use of Chemicals

Another common Toronto plumbing mistake is the gratuitous use of chemical cleaning products to dislodge drain clogs. These products, while an emergency solution for minor clogging and grime buildup, can actually harm your pipes after extensive use, as the chemical reactions that make these products work can eat away at inner pipe walls, and are even dangerous upon contact in some conditions.

Instead, we recommend less harmful home remedy solutions, such as simple vinegar and baking soda solutions, or even a hot water flush. Chemical cleaners can be counterproductive when run through your plumbing systems; instead, opt for equally effective, much safer alternatives.

- Careless Drain Use Behaviors

Many Toronto plumbing problems also come from poor treatment of pipes, drains and garbage disposals. Often, homeowners run whatever they want through their plumbing, thinking their pipes and disposal systems can take it; however, this is a grave mistake, and very commonly leads to severe pipe damage and buildup later on.

Know what can and cannot cycle through your garbage disposal. For instance, avoid running fibrous, stringy foods, plastic wrappers, animal bones and excess fat/grease in your disposal. These agents can damage your disposal’s blades, and very often cause significant buildups within home pipe systems.

- Trying DIY Repairs Unprepared

Another extremely common (and extremely risky) plumbing mistake we come across occurs when homeowners attempt DIY plumbing repairs without the right tools, techniques or system know-how to effectively resolve their plumbing issues. Frankly, it’s better to seek a specialist’s opinion than to get in over your head with difficult DIY repairs.

However, if you do attempt DIY repairs to fix issues with your home plumbing, it’s important that you have the right tools on hand; fortunately most of the plumbing tools you’ll need will be available at your local home improvement store. These tools include:

• Basin wrenches and standard pipe wrenches
• A metal file
• A Hacksaw, for cutting through existing pipe
• A plumber’s snake, which can be your best friend when dealing with frequent drain clogs
• Adjustable, hex-shaped wrenches

Beyond having the right tools, also make sure you know fully what part of your plumbing system is causing a problem, and how best to fix that problem. With something as sensitive as plumbing, you don’t want to go in “blind” and make matters worse.

- Not Getting Help When You Need It

The above point, of course, leads us to one of the biggest plumbing mistakes you can make: not getting professional help when it’s necessary. Yes, calling your local plumbing specialist and having an expert inspection and renovation will cost you money… but it will be cheaper than ignoring the problem, or trying doomed DIY repairs.

If you find yourself in over your head with pipe damages or failed DIY repairs, contact a Toronto professional. Not getting the help you need when you need it, or putting off calling an expert until later, are some of the worst mistakes you can make with issues in your home plumbing. Don’t make these careless plumbing mistakes; take care of your drains and pipes, and call a professional when necessary.

If you are still looking for trusted plumber, Mister Plumber in Toronto, Etobicoke, Scarborough, North York specializing sewer repair, upgrade waterline, water service upgrade, drain cleaning, backwater valve installation, lead pipe replacement, re-piping and emergency plumbing, Mister Plumber uses the latest technology to effectively troubleshoot and quickly repair any plumbing problem and offers a fast response and free estimates.

More Info: www.misterplumber.ca 

Reliable and Trustworthy Plumbing services.

Call a fully-licensed, bonded and insured Toronto plumber at 416 939 1530

Common Mistakes You Need to Know About Your Plumbing System

Taking care of your Toronto home plumbing system, and managing your water consumption behaviors isn’t rocket science, by any means. However, you might be surprised what fairly common, detrimental mistakes so many Toronto homeowners make every day. These mistakes can build in severity over time, and snowball into major plumbing disasters if left unattended.

By knowing these mistakes, you can be better suited to avoid their consequences and keep your home plumbing running properly.

- Ignoring the Signs

Easily, the worst thing you can do to your home plumbing stems from negligence; ignoring the warning signs of a pipe failure or other plumbing problems will only cause those problems to develop, and result in higher restorative costs later on. Common signs of a plumbing problem you should take immediate note of include persistent clogging, lawn indents, poor water pressure and lawn moisture.

If you notice any of these signs, do not ignore them or forget about them! By acting fast, you can mitigate not only damage to your plumbing, but the extent of later repairs. Very often, we see major plumbing damages as the result of negligent care; damages which are entirely avoidable with the right care and attention given.

- Using Chemical Cleaners

One of the worst things homeowners can do to their home plumbing systems is also one of the most common methods people use to “clean” their drain pipes. The fact of the matter is that these chemical cleaners can actually be very hazardous to your home plumbing system, and may even damage your pipes. The pressurized, foaming action and unnecessary additives that make these chemical solutions work are also what make them dangerous to your plumbing.

If you routinely use these cleaners to resolve home pipe issues, you may actually be causing the erosion and breaking down of your own pipes! Over periods of use, these cleaners will naturally begin to eat away at the inner walls of your pipe. This corrosion can be completely avoided by merely choosing alternative methods of pipe clog repairs, such as natural, vinegar and baking soda cleanse solutions. These natural reactions work just as well as chemical cleaners in a pinch, and are much less damaging to your pipes.

- Taking On Too Much With DIY

While seasoned DIYers can likely handle any minor plumbing problem with efficient ease, we often find average homeowners taking on huge restoration efforts on their own to save money; while its possible to fix your own plumbing without any prior experience, it’s unlikely to turn out that well.

One of the worst things you can do to your plumbing is cause additional damage by getting in over your head with DIY measures. If you feel uncomfortable resolving a plumbing issue on your own, call a professional for assistance. Often, professional repairs can be done much quicker than DIY repairs, and as it turns out, much cheaper. When unprepared homeowners attempt large-scale DIY plumbing repairs, they can actually increase their costs by using the wrong tools, or taking apart the wrong pipe fixtures.

- Opting for Dated, Impractical Repairs

Even when homeowners finally make the decision to have their home plumbing professionally repaired, there is still room for mistakes to happen; most often, these occur when people opt for outdated repair options. These techniques, which are impractical given today’s technologies, are often overly intrusive and even damaging to properties, and cause more hassle than they’re even worth.

This hassle is due to the physical digging, or “trenching,” of lawns during underground pipe repairs. These techniques can cost homeowners significantly in landscaping repairs, and take days to complete effectively. Fortunately, innovative trenchless technologies all but eliminate this need for digging, and can be finished in less than one day. By using cured-in-place, epoxy-resin pipes and pressurized application, plumbing specialists can mend any pipe damage without actually excavating the pipe, and the area around it!

- Abusing Your Drains and Garbage Disposal

Another common plumbing mistake we see here in Toronto concerns how homeowners treat their drains, waste pipes and garbage disposals. To put things simply, by disposing of trash, grease and many food products, you contribute to drain clogging, buildup and long-term damage.

Under no circumstances should you try to process animal bones, silverware, plasticware or trash in your garbage disposal; as it turns out, everyday garbage is the last thing you’ll want to put down your disposal. Additionally, avoid running fat, cooking grease or oils through your drains, as these substances easily solidify within pipes, creating lasting flow problems for your plumbing if left untreated.

We recommend cleaning your garbage disposal on a semi-regular basis with ice cubes and running water, as these can free problem-causing food debris. You should also run your disposal on a regular basis, as rust can develop and accumulate if it’s left alone for too long a period.

- Letting Aged Pipes Waste Away

One of the worst things homeowners can do to their Toronto plumbing systems, particularly those in older homes built from 1945 to 1972, is let their aging pipes decay. Particularly, pipe deterioration occurs quickest in homes equipped with Orangeburg sewer pipe, as the tar paper materials these pipes are made of absorb moisture, and as a result easily deform with pressure.

These sewer pipe systems have a life expectancy of around 50 years; as most were installed prior to 1972, that means their time is almost up. To combat this pipe degrading, the most proactive homeowners will have these pipes replaced before costly, damaging problems develop; here at Mister Plumber, we’ve found that trenchless pipe bursting is often the most effective and affordable way to do this.

- Skipping Routine Checks

Avoiding all of the above plumbing mistakes, however, cannot make up for general negligence; a vast majority of major plumbing problems can be entirely preventable with routine and annual pipe inspections. For starters, you can diagnose your own pipe and drain problems from home, and check your plumbing performance before the need to call a professional ever arises, by evaluating your water meter and water flow on a monthly basis.

However, that does not mean you should forget about professional inspections altogether. In fact, we suggest getting a specialist to look at your home plumbing systems at least once per year, as their trained eyes can catch troubling signs earlier and far more accurately than the average Toronto homeowner’s.

If you are still looking for trusted plumber, Mister Plumber in Toronto, Etobicoke, Scarborough, North York specializing sewer repair, upgrade waterline, water service upgrade, drain cleaning, backwater valve installation, lead pipe replacement, re-piping and emergency plumbing, Mister Plumber uses the latest technology to effectively troubleshoot and quickly repair any plumbing problem and offers a fast response and free estimates.

More Info: www.misterplumber.ca 

Reliable and Trustworthy Plumbing services.

Call a fully-licensed, bonded and insured Toronto plumber at 416 939 1530