Three Plumbing Myths

In the age of the internet – not to mention the “wisdom” of those around you – misinformation abounds. And that’s true for plumbing as well. If someone is recommending a tip or trick to save you money or time, you will want to do a little research before you start. Make sure you aren’t falling prey to one of these plumbing myths.  

Myth: Use a brick in your toilet saves water (and money) 

While a brick can save a small amount of water per flush, it’s still a bad idea. Most modern toilets are engineered to use a specific amount of water (and not much) – putting an object like a brick in your tank can affect the toilet’s performance. It can even stop your toilet from flushing correctly. 

In addition, the brick can degrade, and cause problems with your toilet.  

Inserting an object into the toilet tank that can displace water, like a brick, may work better for older toilets, but you’d be much better served upgrading to a low-flush toilet. 

Myth: Drain cleaners are the best way to clear clogs 

Not only are drain cleaners bad for the environment, but they are bad for your pipes. Liquid drain cleaners will eat away at your pipes, which – you can imagine – isn’t ideal from a plumbing standpoint.  

In addition, if you use drain cleaners in conjunction with plunging the drain, you can cause the caustic chemicals to splash back up on your skin and cause dangerous burns.  

Truthfully, they don’t work that well anyway. It’s better to use an auger or drain snake, or a plunger on its own. You can also try baking soda and vinegar for mild drain clogs.  

Myth: Following oil or grease with hot water keeps it from clogging the drain 

Heat will keep oil or grease softer, but not for long. As the grease or oil travels through your pipes, it will solidify and eventually build up. Once it creates a clog, that clog will only get bigger, because more debris will stick to it. And typically, the clog happens in a place far enough down the pipe that a hand auger won’t be able to reach or be powerful enough to move it. This means you’ll have to call in a plumber to clear the clog, which can get expensive. Especially for something with such an easy fix – put your grease in a container (think about tin cans) and throw it in the garbage when it solidifies.  

Of course, there are a lot of other things that people believe about plumbing that aren’t true. What common plumbing myth do you know about?