Love is in the air! It’s nearly Valentine’s Day, and what could be more romantic than preparing a decadent meal to share with your loved one by candlelight? The one thing to remember is that having to call a plumber could really throw a wrench—pun intended—into your dreamy evening plans. We’ve got five tips for keeping the romance in your dinner and keeping kitchen plumbing problems out.
1. Consider the Smell
Before you begin working on that dinner, and before you invite your date into the kitchen, take a good sniff. You don’t want to start on the wrong foot, so let’s get your kitchen smelling better. Odors in your drains are most likely just caused by bacterial growth in lingering food particles. Pour a cup of baking soda down your sink and follow it with a cup of vinegar. Let it bubble for ten minutes and then rinse.
If you have a garbage disposal, try another trick: Cut an orange peel into small pieces and put it down the disposal. Lemon, lime, or grapefruit peels work, too. This will instantly give your sink a clean, bright citrus smell.
2. Be Kind to Your Disposal
Don’t put things down your disposal that could cause harm. This includes hard items you’d be unable to chew (bones, popcorn kernels) and stringy items that could tangle in the disposal (celery, corn husks). It also includes starches like pasta or rice that will soak up more and more water, bloating until the drain is clogged. And it might be called a “garbage” disposal but never put actual trash down your sink.
3. Watch for FOG
No, we’re not talking about the weather. FOG is plumber shorthand for Fats, Oils, and Grease. These substances are the cause of many plumbing issues, especially slow or clogged drains. It might go down the sink as a liquid, but when it gets cold, it will become a solid lump that can obstruct pipes. It can bind together with any other bits of food or waste and create a severe blockage.
4. Have Tools on Hand
There are a couple of things you should always have at the ready, especially at times when you don’t want to have to rush out to the hardware store, let alone call a plumber. You need a small, sink-sized plunger and some sort of drain snake or hand-cranked auger. The majority of clogs can be sorted out, at least temporarily, with these methods.
5. Consider Preventative Treatment
Did you know that drain and sewer line cleaning can be done as part of routine home maintenance? Instead of waiting for clogs and blockages to occur, you can stop them in their tracks before they have a chance to fully develop! A qualified plumber can clear away accumulations of FOG, sediment, mineral scaling, and more, leaving your drains perfectly clean.
We wish you good luck with your romantic dinner plans! And we’re here if you need us for kitchen plumbing in Boston, MA, or any other plumbing needs.
Reach out to Cooling Unlimited, Inc. to speak with qualified plumbing experts.
