Photo Courtesy: Scott Feldstein
Last night, I had a dinner party at my house! The entire ambience was created, lawns were set up beautiful, tables were set right, guests had arrived, drinks were served – everything was going as per the plan and the party was one of those perfect get-togethers to remember. But suddenly after ten minutes, it was a bolt from the blue – the toilet overflowed.
Have you also been into a similar situation before? This plumbing disaster was enough to put a damper on a perfect evening fun. To help you avoid any such embarrassing woes, I have compiled some plumbing related tips that you should consider in order to avoid the calamity that ruined my party last night.
Clogged Kitchen Sink
Clogged sink is a common problem, especially when guests are in town and a feast is planned for a humungous crowd. We all are aware that food wastes like starchy vegetables, coffee grounds and cooking oils etc. can lead to a backed up sink.
Right: Justin describes what happened at a BBQ get-together:
“The garbage disposal in the sink gave out just as the party started. The drain totally clogged, the sink non-functional! We still had the bathroom, but still a kitchen sink is a key ingredient for a BBQ.
I took the pipes apart myself, worked to fix them with limited success. Edwin was walking by the house and agreed to get his plumber’s snake and run the problem down.”
Photo & Story Courtesy: Justin Hall
But how do we prevent this?
Always encourage your guests to flip the bin and throw the waste therein. Also, let the water run for min 10-15 seconds continuously before and after using the disposal as this helps the food carve its own way down through the main line.
However, mistakes do happen and controlling the activity of each and every guest all the time would be an unrealistic task. So, if you end up with a clogged sink, just don’t panic. There are a few steps that you can try out before dialling the emergency plumber’s number.
- In case the garbage disposal is completely backed up, then let the sink drain out totally. It might take quite a while but have patience! Thereafter consider putting in some ice cubes into the disposal and let the cold water run through by turning the disposal on. Ice cubes are considered as very abrasive elements and hence might just do the wonders by breaking up the mess.
- Alternatively, you can also consider pouring hot water down the sink.
Bathroom and Toilet Woes
To avoid the situation that I was into, consider these tips and avert the situation before it happens to you.
- Try and ask your guests strictly not to flush any sort of garbage down the toilet, like paper towels, baby wipes or sanitary napkins. These solid wastes cause a blockage in the toilet area and lead to embarrassing toilet woes. Also just DO NOT forget the plunger. Minor toilet clogs can be easily fixed using the standard plunger. In fact these plungers work well even for the shower clog woes.
- Stuff like hair etc. can easily block the shower drains and create hassles for the user. This occurs the most when the number of people at home increases. Here the best idea is to consider investing in a drain auger. A drain auger, also known as snake, is made up of a bendable cable which can go down into the drain and clear the clog.
So, instead of getting mad on your friend Joe for throwing the potato peels down the sink disposal, try out the above mentioned tips and technique and enjoy a woe-free party.
This article is penned by Chase Cullen. He has been working as a pest control and extermination service provider for more than a decade now. He also writes on other home improvement topics in his spare time.
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