It’s that time of year again—kids are home for summer break, which means your plumbing will be working overtime. To keep your toilets, sinks and other water fixtures in good working order, use your parental radar and arm kids with the smarts to help them help you. You can indeed make it through the summer months with your sanity intact!
That being said, to avoid needing to call a plumber in Grand Rapids, MN to deal with water fixture or pipe related disasters, you should know ahead of time some of the ways kids can take a toll on your home’s plumbing this summer.
Total toilet destruction
Anyone with children in their lives can attest to the phenomenon of the clogged toilet. No matter how many times you show them the right amount of toilet paper to use, they just can’t seem to remember the square count. And anyway, there are many other objects they could try flushing down the toilet just to watch them spin around the bowl—think hand towels, army men and stuffed animals. Kids also have a knack for jumping on and breaking toilet seats and tank lids and excessively jiggling flush handles until they fall off. It’s okay to sigh—just know that these things can be prevented with proper teaching.
Bathtub war zone
So your kid decided to run his own bubble bath complete with too much bubble solution and, for some reason, tiny garden pebbles. To top it all off, he’s covered in dirt and the dog has joined him. The aftermath is not only a bathroom covered in mud and dog fur, but pebbles and dirt clods twisted in fur, stuck somewhere deep within your bathtub drain. Avoid a plumbing-destroying war zone by teaching kids other ways to make bath time fun, as well as how to run a proper bath.
Dishwasher hiccups
There are more dirty dishes when the kids are home on summer break, which undoubtedly means heavy dishwasher use. If you want your children to put their own dirty dishes on the rack, show them how to do it properly: scrape dishes off in the garbage can, rinse them in the sink before loading, don’t set dishes over spray jets and remove drain-blocking pieces of food at the bottom of the machine before starting it. And because kids may use regular dish soap or put in too much detergent, it’s best if you’re the one to add the dishwashing tablet. This will avoid a flood of bubbles and water in your kitchen.
The junior plumber
When kids are stuck home for summer break, their imaginations can run wild. They have so much energy that, if you don’t encourage them to physically play it out, they may turn their curiosity to exploring around the house in search of something to do—like investigating the inside of the toilet tank or tinkering with exposed pipes. Unfortunately, this can lead to damages caused by your junior plumber.
When you’re in need of a professional residential plumber in Grand Rapids, MN, look no further than the pros at Rapids Plumbing and Heating Inc. Here’s to a fun and problem-free summer!