The Three Most Dangerous Household Plumbing Mistakes

Plumbing jobs are often a lot harder than they look. Plumbers with years of experience often have difficulty with some plumbing situations.

Household plumbing is often best left to professionals, because trying to fix a simple problem often makes the situation worse.

Forcing Faucet Handles

Leaky faucets are often extremely frustrating. Leaks within houses typically waste over 10,000 gallons of water per year.

A leaky faucet can be caused by a number of different things. Most homeowners usually think that a dripping faucet can be stopped by forcing the handle down.

The handle is actually a very lightweight lever. Forcing it down may break the handle or the entire faucet. The O ring is a part that holds the faucet in place.

It may become worn out over time. The other metal pieces of the faucet can also become corroded. Replacing these pieces is often challenging because there are many different faucet designs.

You should contact a plumber as soon as a leak occurs. Attempting to perform home repairs may cause the entire faucet to break. This may result in a plumbing emergency.

Exacerbating a Clog

Trying to fix a clog often makes the problem worse. Most people think of clogs as hair or other foreign materials getting stuck in the pipes. Clogs often create water pressure. It isn’t a good idea to try and force the clog down because the pipes may explode.

The pipes may also be corroded. They may have been clogged and leaking for some time. A plumber can usually check for broken or mismatched pipes.

Using Store Bought Drain Cleaners

Store bought drain cleaners usually don’t work very well. Most of these cleaners contain toxic chemicals that can cause serious illnesses. Many people don’t realize that the active ingredient in these cleaners is usually bleach. Bleach can stain clothes and damage carpets.

Liquid drain cleaners are usually a temporary solution. There may be a greater issue involving a compacted clog. Many of these drain cleaners use a weighted drain cleaning solution.

These should force the clog downward and clean it out, but they often backfire because the clog is too deep and compacted.

It may create unnecessary pressure that causes the pipe to break. These problems are best avoided by only using drain cleaners on rare occasions.

Don’t get mixed up in a serious plumbing issue in your Winchester home. Call Powells Plumbing at 540-665-8196 today, and have the professionals clean up that mess.