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5 More Plumbing Myths | Busted

Today, we’re going to blast some popular plumbing myths as a second part to our mini-series!

1. 1. Chemical Drain Cleaners Are Safe

      Chemical drain cleaners have done an incredible job marketing themselves as a great DIY alternative to calling a plumber out to clear your stoppage. What they don’t mention in their marketing campaign is how dangerous they can be to both your plumbing system and your physical well-being. Not all plumbing systems can handle chemical cleaners, especially older systems using outdated plumbing methods. For example, if you have a cast iron drain line, the chemical drain cleaner can eat through the pipe causing more harm than good.

      Chemical drain cleaners can also burn your skin, and many homeowners in their attempts to clear a plumbing stoppage often use a chemical drain cleaner, only to discover it didn’t work. Consecutive attempts may then include DIY tools like a plunger, a blow bag or a stoppage retriever, with the end result often being chemical burns on your skin, still having a stoppage, and further frustration.

      If you do have a stoppage, it is best to leave it to the professionals, especially if you don’t know for sure if your drain system can handle a chemical drain cleaner.

   2. Flushable Wipes and Feminine Products Don’t Impact Plumbing

      It says flushable, so we can flush them, right? Wrong. Flushable wipes can mean bad news for your plumbing system because they do not dissolve. Your drain system, unless brand new, needs to be handled with care to ensure stoppages are not a regular occurrence in your home. Your sewer line, over time, starts to settle, get bellies (a plumber’s term for sags or warps), cracks, buildup and can even have roots in it. These are all great places for wipes to catch and create a stoppage.

      Ladies, ladies, ladies: stop flushing your feminine products! I know many boxes say they are flushable, but they should say “flush at your own risk – we don’t know the condition of your plumbing system“.

   3. Flushing All Toilets Unanimously in Skyscraper Will Destroy It

      Who thinks of these things? Never mind, I probably don’t want to know. While the likelihood of every toilet being flushed in a skyscraper at the same time is about zero, the fact of the matter is, the plumbing system is designed to handle it. A lot of math and engineering goes into the design of a plumbing system. Each fixture is assigned a fixture unit count and the plumbing system is designed by size, length, and slope to accommodate the fixture units assigned to them.

   4. Giving Scratched CDs a Swirly Will Fix Them

      I am literally shaking my head on this one. Apparently, back in 2013, this became all the rage in high schools around the country. This rumor went viral on the internet through forums, recommending that if you had a CD that wasn’t working, you could put it in a toilet, give it a swirly and buff out any scratches. The truth? All that will happen by putting your CD’s in your toilet is they will get covered in toilet water, and you’ll probably end up scratching them even more as the swirly action beats them against the porcelain bowl.

   5. Tankless Water Heaters Give Instant Hot Water

      There is a myth that tankless water heaters instantly heat the water – this simply is not true. Tankless water heaters are becoming the new standard for homeowners in the Phoenix area, but this is a myth that we really want to clean up as we are huge fans of this new technology. Tankless water heaters provide endless hot water, not instant hot water. When we think of instant hot water, we think we are going to turn on our faucet or shower, and within seconds we will have hot water – a tankless water heater cannot produce this result. The cold water that is in the line still has to run through before the hot water can get there.

      The only way to have instant hot water at your faucets and showers is to have a recirculating pump installed on your plumbing system. A recirculating pump pulls the cold water out of the water line and puts it back into the system allowing room for the hot water to instantly be there.
      Do you have a plumbing myth? Let us know!

   Still struggling with plumbing myths?

   Did you happen to miss our other fantastic entries on popular plumbing myths? Your friends told you it’s okay to do “this” or “that” to your plumbing system and those myths somehow got the best of you and your home’s pipes? Don’t worry, Robins Plumbing is here to help. We specialize in toilet plumbing, drain cleaning, jetting services, and we can even get your garbage disposal working like brand-new again! Contact us when you have a plumbing problem, big or small, daytime or night-time. Robins Plumbing will be glad to help you!
   In the meantime, browse our other blog entries in the Plumbing Myths series:

   1. The original plumbing myths buster
   2. Plumbing Myths Busted Part 3

   Services in Phoenix & Beyond

   When you’ve found yourself in need of plumbing services in the Phoenix, Glendale, Scottsdale, or Chandler area, you can trust Robins Plumbing to provide you with prompt and expert care, contact our team today! In addition to our toilet services, we also offer a variety of residential and commercial plumbing services, including: drain cleaning, water heater repair and replacement, sewer camera inspection and locating, backflow prevention, commercial and residential jetting, water treatments, and more. Visit our reviews online to see what others have to say about our local plumbing company!