Bathroom Habits to Break to Avoid Calling a Plumber

What are These Six Bad Bathroom Habits to Break?

“Bad bathroom habits” to break are everyday habits we gather over time. Let’s face it, this is the most private room in the home, and yet we spend quite a bit of time in there. But whether you call it the restroom, the john, the head, the loo, the throne room, or the bathroom… bad bathroom habits will eventually put an undue strain on your plumbing systems.

Breaking Those Bad Habits

As with any bad habit, an adjustment in your daily routine may be required here. Sorry, to say. But if we speak openly, almost everyone has a bad habit or two that could use some adjustment. In fact, you may not even realize it is a “bad” habit at all. That’s okay; there is no judgment here.

That is why the professionals at Flow Pros Plumbing want to give you a bit of a “heads up” (pun intended) on what those habits are and how to avoid them. After all, it is for the health of your plumbing… and your wallet.

First, Your Toilet is Not a Trash Can

An unfortunately common misconception is that your toilet can flush almost anything you throw in it. But most of us know the toilet shouldn’t be taking down any additional trash. With the recent toilet paper shortages, folks have been, should we say… experimenting with what can be flushed. Needless to say, the results have not been good.

Wet wipes, paper towels, or other trash must be thrown into a trash bin to prevent major pipe clogging and damage. It is worth a trip to the garbage can. After all, it’s for the health of your plumbing.

Please, No Flushing Feminine Hygiene Products

Most people don’t like to discuss this one. Again, sorry. But it must not go unsaid. There is not much more embarrassing than calling a plumber out to unclog a toilet, then learning it is your fault. You see, feminine hygiene products were made to absorb water and not dissolve. Therefore, they don’t break down quickly.

If you flush these down your toilet, there’s a good chance they’ll expand and catch in your pipes. No one wants that. Feminine hygiene products cause nasty plumbing clogs all the time. Instead of flushing your feminine hygiene products, wrap them in toilet paper and throw them away. Your pipes will be forever grateful.

Bad Bathroom Habits are A Hairy Situation

While it may be the long hair that clogs drains the fastest, short hair can cause drain clogs as well. But how in the world do you avoid hair going down the drain? Our hair is continuously growing, and some hair is naturally going to fall out in the shower. The goal here is to avoid letting that hair fall into your shower drain as much as you can. 

Hair in your drain will slow down your pipes and eventually may block them entirely. Besides the shower, you will also need to pay attention to the hair that may go down your sink drain too. The soaps, conditioners, shampoos, and oils will bind together with the hair and for a giant hairball.

With recent quarantines, we have seen more and more people cutting their hair at home. Remember, pushing that large amount of hair down the shower or sink drain will only cause problems. Go ahead and take the time to vacuum or sweep it up. You will be thankful you did.

So, what’s a person to do with the unavoidable hair loss in the shower and over the sink? It is simple, really. Just install a drain catcher over your shower’s drain. When the hair isn’t able to enter your pipes, it won’t clog your drains. Easy Peasy.

Avoid Using Liquid Drain Cleaners and Chemicals

According to Medline Plus and the U.S. National Library of Medicine,

“Drain cleaners contain very dangerous chemicals that can be harmful to your health if you swallow them, breathe them in (inhale), or if they come in contact with your skin and eyes.”

That is the first warning against drain cleaning chemicals. If you have small children in the home, you should never keep these items on hand. 

Furthermore, ask any plumber with experience; bottled drain cleaners are non-negotiable. Never use them in your home. Although they are advertised as quick and convenient in solving your clogged drain problems, they do more damage than good.

Sure, they eat through clogs, but they will also eat through your pipes. With repeated use, the damage from chemical drain cleaners will lead to leaks and even burst pipes. Furthermore, solving a small plumbing issue is never worth creating a much more severe piping problem further down the road.

Do your best to try to unclog it with a snake, call your local plumber, or prevent the clog altogether with the techniques we have mentioned in this article.

Rather than bottles of liquid drain cleaner, plumbers recommend plungers, plumbing snakes, or professional cleaning. Plumbers’ snakes and hydro-jetting can clear away dirty pipes without damage.

Your local plumber will remove serious blockages without creating new problems in the process since the plumber is trained in just that. Instead of fooling with going to the store, getting the cleaner, going through the steps, only to find it didn’t work well or damaged your pipes, why not contact Flow Pros Plumbing? A professional cleaning is safer, more effective, and saves money and frustration. 

Those Long Steamy Showers

We know, and we love them too. But, too much steam too often in your bathroom can propel the growth of mold and mildew if they are left to cultivate. You see, if you don’t ventilate your bathroom correctly, all that moisture sticks around. Over time, it can seep into the walls and floors and will encourage mold and mildew growth.

The answer is easy, though. Always turn on your bathroom fan when you’re showering or bathing. The fan will remove excess moisture from the bathroom air to preventing moisture build-up. What’s more, you can dry off the inside of your shower after every use if mold and mildew are a persistent issue.

So, be sure to not run the shower water longer than you need to and use your bathroom ventilation each time. Hang towels to allow them to fully dry too. That way, the moisture in your bathroom is kept minimal.

Use the Correct Plunger

Most homeowners don’t know different types of plungers are meant for separate applications. There are two plungers you may choose to use in your bathroom. They are the cup plunger and flange plunger. 

Cup Plungers: These are the typical plunger you think of. With the usual wood handle and red cup, cup plungers fit over right sink drains but don’t work well on toilets. 

Flange Plungers: These are the black plastic plungers with an extra rubber flange extending from the “cup” area. That additional part helps create a seal on the toilet bowl’s curved surface and stretches a bit into the toilet drain. Likewise, they are not effective on sinks.

So, just remember to use cup plungers for sinks and flange plungers for toilets. Then you can unclog the sink or toilet quickly. However, if there is a larger item in the drain, you may need the help of a professional plumber.

True story: A plumbing family’s 3-year-old granddaughter once decided to see if her Pocahontas canoe would float to the pond out back if she flushed it down the toilet. Needless to say, it did not, and the family had to call a plumber!

Knowing the Six Bad Bathroom Habits is the First Step

Don’t feel bad if you find out you have one or more of these bad habits. The first step is knowing the bad bathroom habits. Now it is in your hands to correct the bad bathroom habits. Anything is possible, right?

Following this simple bit of advice will keep the plumber away for a few of the common reasons, if not all. And, no doubt, we will miss seeing you, but your budget will thank you.

Never fear, Pinellas County and the Tampa Bay area has a local plumber they can turn to. If your bad bathroom habits have gotten the best of your plumbing, you can call on the friendly plumbers at Flow Pros Plumbing. We guarantee the courteous, effective, lecture-free, and judgment-free plumbing you deserve.

And remember, at Flow Pros, there is virtually nothing we have not seen, including canoes.