Household pets are one of life’s best gifts to their owners. Pets can love you as much as or even better than another human ever could. In return, we treat the furry, feathery, or scaly members of our households with the same care and attention we show humans.
But while you cherish and value your pet, the plumbing system in your home may not share those feelings. Pets always have a way of affecting plumbing, and some plumbing issues in your home are the direct result of having pets in the home, says Sutton Group Grand Praire Management.
Pets, especially dogs, like to chew on things and exposed pipes are one of their favorites. Pets also shed copious amounts of dander, which can cause serious problems if it find its way into the plumbing. Dogs may dig in your yard and unearth buried plumbing pipes.
However, these problems are not insurmountable. With a little knowledge and a few proactive steps, you can create a home where pets and your plumbing system co-exist without any problems. The following plumbing tips will show you how to do that.
8 essential plumbing tips for pet owners
Cover exposed pipes
When they are young and teething, dogs love to chew. But some dogs will continue to chew even as they get older. If you own a large canine (between 40 and 100 pounds ) that likes to chew, it can do massive damage to your personal belongings and home. Even small breeds – beagles and chihuahuas – can also cause a lot of harm. To protect the exposed pipes in your home from pets, cover them with metal/plastic covering or chew-resistant material. Or you can hide the pipe.
Install drain strainers
Drain strainers are affordable but highly effective for keeping hair, soap scum, and debris out of your drains. It is recommended that you have them installed in your tub or sink every time you are planning to bath your pet. You should have a drain strainer in place at all times because you can’t stop pets from shedding or predict where all that hair will go. Drain strainers help to ensure they do not end up inside the plumbing.
Never flush cat litter
Even if the packaging describes it as flushable, never flush cat litter into your toilet. It does not have any place inside your drains. That is because once inside the drainage system, cat litter will absorb water and swell to several times its size. Also, the materials used to make cat litter – sand, clay, and other substances – can clog and corrode your pipes. To avoid clogs and blockages, keep cat litter out of your drains.
Watch where your pet digs
If your dog loves to dig there is not much you can do to stop it. But you can still let it have fun without interfering with the buried pipes in your yard. Firstly, make sure the pet doesn’t dig near your water pipes or drain lines. Secondly, make sure the dog doesn’t dig too deep into the ground. Lastly, keep an eye on the dog to know when it has found something interesting inside the ground. Check to be sure that it didn’t uncover a pipe.
Keep toilet lids closed
If they are thirsty, pets will drink water out of the toilet bowl. This is not good for animals; chemical residues inside the water – cleaners – can make that pet sick or even kill it. But pets will only drink from the toilet when their primary source of water is dry. You can solve this problem by always keeping the toilet lid closed. More importantly, make sure your pet always has access to lots of safe drinking water.
Store cleaning products in a safe place
To keep pets safe, it is necessary to pet-proof your home. Part of the process of doing this is finding out-of-reach places for cleaning products and other potentially toxic materials inside your home. Curious, bored, or mischievous cats and dogs will play with anything that looks interesting. You don’t want them getting cleaning chemicals in their mouth and eyes, or on their skin.
Have your plumbing inspected yearly
Problems arising from the interactions of pets with the plumbing system don’t always give you a warning sign before they happen. Since you can’t always keep an eye on the pet, you may not know what they are doing to your plumbing. The best way to avoid unpleasant surprises is to have the plumbing inspected on schedule by a professional plumber.
Clean your drainpipes periodically
Regardless of your best efforts, it is not completely possible to keep dander – fur, scale, and feathers – out of your drainage system. With time, these materials will start to cause drainage problems in your home. To prevent the buildup of dander inside the pipes, have your drainage lines cleaned by a plumber at least once a year.
Before taking the above steps you may want to have an experienced plumber do a full assessment of your plumbing, to identify existing issues and advise on the best ways to solve them.