You might not think about it very often, but your home’s bathroom is a busy place. Between the sink, tub, shower, and toilet, there’s a lot of water flowing into your bathroom every day, and wastewater flowing out. That’s why it’s so important to keep your bathroom plumbing in good shape.
Nobody wants to think about clogged pipes, plugged toilets, or leaky faucets. Fortunately, there are many things you can do as a homeowner to help keep your bathroom plumbing flowing freely. In this article, we’ll share some tips on what you as a homeowner can do, as well as how Boelcke can help.
7 Tips to Keep Your Bathroom Plumbing Working Properly
While you should always call your plumber for serious clogs or leaky pipes and faucets, there are a few things you can do to help keep your bathroom plumbing in good working order, including:
- Maintain your bathroom sink. Toothpaste, hair care products, lotions, and soap chips can build up in your bathroom sink’s drain, especially if hair has collected there, too. Using a mesh drain cover in your sink can help keep any hair out. Run hot water down the sink weekly to help break up any residue.
- Put a mesh drain cover in your shower drain. This can help catch things like hair and lint, which can end up clogging your shower drain. Avoid pouring chemicals or greasy substances down your shower drain, too.
- Don’t flush unflushable items down your toilet. Ideally, you will only want to flush waste and toilet paper. Paper towels, baby wipes, cotton swabs, and sanitary products should never go down the toilet.
- Check for toilet tank leaks. If you’re concerned that your toilet tank is leaking into the bowl, you can test it by putting some red food coloring into the toilet tank and waiting an hour or so. If it leaks into the bowl in that time, you’ll want to call your plumber as the tank ball will likely need to be replaced.
- Clean the showerhead with vinegar. Mineral buildup, especially in areas where the water is hard, can stop the water from flowing freely from your showerhead over time. To clear mineral deposits, simply unscrew your showerhead and soak it in vinegar for 24 hours. This should help remove the deposits, allowing the water to flow freely again.
- Be cautious of what household chemicals you use. Some chemicals are very caustic and can corrode your plumbing over time. While approved for cleaning surfaces in your home, they can do a number on your plumbing. Some cleaners can become especially corrosive when combined.
- Clean tub and faucet aerators. The aerator is just the cap on your faucet with tiny holes in it. Unfortunately, hard water can cause those holes to clog up with mineral deposits. Carefully unscrew your aerator and gently brush vinegar on the aerator to remove any sediment.
Rely on Boelcke for the bathroom plumbing services you need.
Whether you need new bathroom plumbing installed, your drains cleaned, or repairs on pipes or water mains, Boelcke is ready to help meet the plumbing needs of your home. We also offer products that help improve your home’s water quality, including water softeners and water filters. And, if you need a hot water heater replacement, we provide installation of both tank and tankless water heaters. Simply give us a call at (269) 429-9261, and we will be more than happy to assist you.