The sewer system is ranked among the most critical plumbing sections in any plumbing system. This is due to the fact that the sewer system handles all flushable waste in your home. The sewer system is in charge of disposing of a huge fraction of all the waste produced in your home. Not to forget that the sewer system includes the drainage section and the sewerage system. The drainage section includes all plumbing fixtures and appliances that produce or handle waste water and all the pipes that drain this waste water from them. This includes the sink drains, toilet and shower drains, the garbage disposal units, the drain traps, and all the drain pipes. The sewerage system connects the drainage system to the private septic tank. The sewerage system mostly runs underground and it mainly consists of underground sewer lines or pipes. As a whole, the sewer system starts in the house and continues all the way to the private septic tank and onwards to the municipal sewer system. The following care and maintenance tips will help you maintain your home sewer system in excellent condition.
The most elementary care and maintenance tip for any sewer system is to avoid dumping non-flushable waste in it. You should never use the sewer system to dispose of any non-flushable waste from your home. This kind of waste should go into your garbage bins for collection by the garbage company. By non-flushable waste, we are referring to all insoluble waste products and other solid objects that are sometimes dumped into the sewer system. This includes seemingly soft waste products like gum, oils and fats, sanitary pads etc. If you wish to dispose of other insoluble food waste through your drainage system, then it is imperative that you install garbage disposal units under your kitchen sinks. The garbage disposal units contain shredders that reduce the food waste into flushable gooey that can easily pass through the drainage and sewerage system without clogging it. Garbage disposals are very effective in disposing of fibrous food waste but they should never be used to eliminate oils, fats, and greases from the house.
Some commercial drain cleaning detergents are made from very harsh chemicals that are harmful to your health and also to the environment. You should always be very careful when using off-the-shelf commercial detergents to clean your sewer system. Make sure that you read the constituent compounds in any detergent to ensure that it is not hazardous to your health, to your home sewer system, and also to the environment. You are advised to use enzyme sewer cleaners instead of chemical-based detergents. Enzyme drain and sewer cleaners are safer and healthier to use than the chemical-based alternatives. And in the same light, you should also be very careful when using toilet fresheners. Some toilet fresheners contain harmful chemicals that can damage your toilet bowl and are hence not worth the risk.
The last care and maintenance tip for your home sewer system demands regular inspection and timely repairs of your entire drainage and sewerage system, including periodic camera inspections. You should conduct regular DIY and professional inspection runs of your sewer system to ensure that it's in excellent condition. Following the inspections, hire a reliable DC plumbing company as soon as possible to fix any existing and potential faults in your home sewer system.