Plumbing problems can be truly frightening - and the sights, sounds and smells that accompany these disasters are not for the faint of heart. Many of these issues are caused by the countless common habits that wreak havoc on your plumbing over time. Check out our insights on everyday mistakes to avoid.

Hair in the Shower Drain

The average person loses up to 100 stands of hair every day - a majority of which falls out while bathing. Unfortunately, hair that slides down your shower drain can quickly become a nightmare. Clogs and backups will become increasingly common as hair coats and eventually blocks the pipe. In our area, this problem is often compounded by hard water, which reacts with soap to form soap scum, which causes hair to clump together.

Hair can even travel far down the drain line and cause backups that affect the plumbing throughout the rest of your home. Do yourself a favor and purchase a drain guard to catch as much hair as you can before it's washed down the drain.

Overusing Chemical Drain Cleaners

Many chemical drain cleaners claim to be able to tear through the toughest drain clogs and eliminate nasty backups. While these claims may be true, they often come at great cost to your home's plumbing system. The harsh chemicals that allow the liquid to cut through your clog also eat away at the pipes themselves. Hydrochloric acid is a prominent chemical in most of these solutions, which damage your pipes by eroding the finish - a problem that can be expensive to fix in the future.

Instead of endlessly pouring toxic chemicals down the drain to clear a clog, call a plumber to investigate the root cause and safely clear your pipes.

Using the Toilet as a Trash Can

It's small and waterlogged - so it should be harmless to flush down the toilet, right? Wrong. Many homeowners are unsure of what they can and cannot safely flush. Unfortunately, even products that are labeled as "flushable" can still cause pipe problems in the future. This is because any item that does not dissolve quickly - or does not dissolve at all - will eventually get caught somewhere within your pipes, where it can cause buildup that may eventually become a sewer backup.

Items you should never flush down the toilet include:

• Baby wipes or bathroom wipes
• Bandages and wrappers
• Cotton balls and swabs
• Dental floss
• Diapers
• Facial tissue
• Feminine products
• Medications or vitamins
• Cat litter
• Chemicals and solvents
• Cigarette butts
• Coffee grounds
• Oil or grease
• Paper towels

Plumbing problems like the ones above only get worse when left ignored. Don't make the mistake of waiting to address plumbing issues - call the experts at David Gray Plumbing at (904) 467-0784 or visit our website at www.davidgrayplumbing.com.