FAQs :Toilet and drain stoppages

  WHAT CAUSES THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF STOPPAGES?

TOILET stoppage - Often a recurring stoppage in a toilet is caused by an improperly adjusted fill valve in the tank. In the past, toilets had 3 gallons or more with which to flush the solid waste through the curves and bends in the toilet and down the drain. New toilets are required to use no more than 1.6 gallons of water. This means that the water used must be used in the most efficient manner, otherwise it is hard to get the solids to make the turns that it has to make to go down the drain. Recently, many toilet manufacturers have significantly improved their designs, making it much easier to flush the solid waste down the drain. The most common improvement made was making the flush valve and flapper in the tank much larger than previous models. This enables it to still use the required 1.6 gallons or less; however, it allows much faster evacuation of the water in the tank into the bowl. This gives the solid waste a quick ride down the drain pipe.

 A word about things you flush down the toilet

 It has become increasingly common for things other than toilet paper to be flushed down the drain. A good test to see if you can safely flush an item is to hold it under a stream of running water from the faucet. If the item begins to dissolve then it is most likely ok to flush. If it does not begin to dissolve, DO NOT FLUSH IT!

 That means that those so called "flushable" baby wipe type products are not good to flush. You may get away with flushing these items for a short time, but because they do not dissolve they will often get hung on one of many irregular surfaces in the pipes further down the drain. They have a tendency to hang around for a long time, waiting to be joined by more of the same. When they build up over time, you can end up with severe problems - including stoppages and possibly even flooding.

 Another item that you need to avoid flushing is feminine hygiene products - including tampons. Also, paper towels can clog up your pipes very quickly.

 And please be careful with the things you put on top of the toilet or on adjacent countertops. Some of the items most often pulled out of clogged toilets include the following: toothbrushes, combs, cotton swabs, toys, cloth diapers, small shampoo and lotion bottles, eyeglasses, paper towels, tampons, baby wipes, and believe it or not, even cell phones!

 We offer video sewer camera inspection! Expensive diamond rings have been recovered that have gone down the drain thanks to advances in video technology.