Plumbing Myths Uncovered: Inside Info from Your Local Plumbing Pro

Life is full of myths, and many find it entertaining to spend time uncovering the truth (or half-truths) within these myths or exposing them as full-on lies. The world of plumbing is no exception and has its own set of myths that commonly get passed around as fact, when in reality, they are pretty far from the truth and can actually cause problems for home and property owners. Dickens Plumbing Inc. considers it a disservice to our customers, and residents in and around our area in general, to let these myths continue to float around unchecked, so we're taking time to uncover the truth for you.

Here are 3 myths that we often hear and the facts that go along with them:

If it says "flushable,” it's safe for my toilet.

NO! This is far from the truth, and it frustrates us to continually see products marketed as "safe" for septic systems and residential plumbing (we're looking at YOU flushable wipes) when we know, from firsthand experience, that they still cause clogs and long-term issues for many homeowners. When it comes to giving items the royal flush, stick to toilet paper only. Everything else belongs in the garbage.

All bathroom cleaning products are safe for keeping the potty pristine.

This is another issue we face routinely. Cleaning products that are aimed at the toilet bowl (literally!) are generally safe, but items that are meant to be flushed and meant to clean out the pipes, tablets that sit in the tank of your toilet for an extended period of time for "ongoing" cleaning, or harsh chemicals that are meant to take care of clogs without having to call a plumber can actually do a lot of damage to your plumbing. For cleaning, quantity actually matters more than quality in this case. Thoroughly cleaning your toilet often, even with gentle cleaners, will make sure your bathroom stays fresh and sanitary. When it comes to clogs, calling the pros in the first place will save you the headache of extended plumbing issues, and will probably end up costing you less money overall!

Garbage disposals can handle ANYTHING that's food.

False, false, false. Your garbage disposal is a great way to take care of food remnants left in the morning's cereal bowls and those bits of oatmeal from your child's high chair tray, but the bones from your steak and chicken dinner? Yeah, those are a big NO. Bone, large chunks of food, food containing hard seeds or pits (think watermelon seeds or cherry pits), etc. are all culprits for disposal issues. Not only can they jam up the blades in your disposal, but they can actually cause internal working parts to break or overheat, which could kill your entire system. That's an expensive repair or replacement to pay when you could have simply taken the garbage out one extra time. Save the disposal for the easy jobs, and rely on your good old garbage pail for the rest.

It's inevitable that people will still have to learn these lessons the hard way, and when that happens, Dickens Plumbing is here! We serve the greater Winter Haven area with top notch plumbing services. As a licensed contractor, we can take care of any and all needs, from the smallest appliance replacement to a full-scale re-pipe job. Give us a call and find out how we can help you!