Small children view the faucets, bathtubs, toilet seats, sinks, and plumbing features in your home as an endless source of wonder and amusement, says KRS Property Management. They love the home’s plumbing as much as you do, but not for the same reasons that adults value and use these features.
Kids love that some of your home’s fittings are shiny and have lots of water for playing with. They are also fascinated by a drainpipe’s uncanny ability to make small items disappear. That’s why they poke small toys into the toilet, shower, or sink drain to see them magically vanish.
Because children are infinitely curious, they are driven to explore everything in their environment. That means that those funny-looking pipes underneath your kitchen sink and in other parts of your home will not be spared your children’s prying eyes and prodding fingers.
What is harmless fun to children can cause massive problems for you. When playing with your home’s plumbing, kids can accidentally flood the house. They can break expensive fixtures or even cause a sewer backup if they block the drainage lines with toys and small objects.
How do you protect your faucets, sinks, drainpipes, and other features of your plumbing from kids?
7 tips to childproof your home’s plumbing fixtures
- Install a safety toilet lock
Toilets are a favorite location for small children. Apart from the risk that they will get unsanitary water into their mouths, there is a possibility that they will dump toys, pets, or other objects into the toilet. Installing a safety lock on the toilet can help to minimize these risks. A safety lock will secure the lid of the toilet seat, making it almost impossible for kids to gain access to the bowl.
- Secure exposed pipes and fixtures
Exposed pipes under the sink and inside cabinets can attract the attention of small children. They can tug at these pipes and dislodge them. Also, children may be injured by the rough and sharp edges of exposed pipes. To protect the plumbing and prevent injuries, you can prevent access to pipes by locking cabinet doors. Adding foam insulation to pipes that cannot be hidden will make them safer and less prone to damage if children happen to interact with them.
- Install drain Covers
It is virtually impossible to keep your eyes on toddlers and two-year-olds all the time. You also cannot predict the infinite variety of items they will try to insert into the drains. The best way to protect your sanity and your home’s plumbing is to install drain covers on the drain openings in the house. Even if there are no small children in your home, drain covers are still necessary. They help to keep a myriad of stuff out of your drain lines and sewer system.
- Install anti-scald devices
Children will play with faucets. They will experiment with their ability to control the flow of water. And in the excitement of turning the water on and off, they may open the hot water tap and get burned. To prevent this, install anti-scald devices on your faucets and showerhead. Some new plumbing fixtures come with built-in temperature controls. However, you can also retrofit older faucets and showerheads with anti-scald devices at a very low cost.
- Educate your kids
Children love to flush the toilet. They are fascinated by the sound of water gushing into the bowl, swirling around, and, ultimately, disappearing some objects into the dark bowels of the toilet monster. You can manage your child’s curiosity by explaining what happens to items they flush into the toilet and letting them flush the toilet under supervision. You will find it helpful if you educate the kids on what they can and cannot flush into the toilet. The best way to do this is to set an example by not flushing the wrong items into the drains and toilets yourself.
- Lock your toilet
If all other measures fail, you may have to resort to locking your toilet, kitchen, and other high-risk areas of your home. If toddlers can’t wander into the toilet, they cannot toy with the toilet bowl. If they can’t enter the kitchen, they can’t play with the pipes under the kitchen sink. The general idea here is to restrict access to any part of the home where there is any piece of plumbing that can be damaged by kids.
- Clean your drains on a schedule
Professional drain cleaning will help you get rid of items your kids accidentally flush into the toilet. Hydro-jetting and sewer rodding are the top two recommended drain-cleaning methods, and they will dislodge toys and other small objects from your drainpipes and sewer system. Unlike chemical drain cleaners, hydro jetting, and sewer rodding will clear your drain lines without damaging the pipes.
Lastly, you should have a professional plumber inspect your entire plumbing, especially the drainage system, at least once every two years. Professional camera inspections of your sewer line will uncover issues that need urgent attention and save you money.