Kid Proof Your Plumbing in 7 Easy Steps
Want to know how to protect your precious plumbing from your little nippers? When you have babies and toddlers running around your home, it’s crucial to child proof your plumbing systems. Not only does child proofing protect your plumbing, but it also keeps children safe from potential drowning hazard concerns and other health problems.
Read on to find out what to do when your little ones wreak havoc with plumbing dramas in and around your home.
Are Your Kids Causing You Plumbing Problems?
Don’t worry, we have you covered with this quick and easy ‘how to kid proof your plumbing in 7 easy steps’ guide.
In between potty training and late-night nappy changes, it is easy to ignore the potential chaos young children can have on your plumbing system.
From putting the wrong things down your toilet, to embarking on drain adventures, there are numerous problems to look out for and hazards to avoid when it comes to your plumbing.
1. Foreign Objects and Your Kids
Toilets are only designed for three things and three things only. Water, toilet paper and human waste are all that you should flush down your plumbing pipes. In short, the toilet is not a trash can.
Young children flushing small toys, other foreign objects, and entire rolls of toilet paper have lead to toilet blockages and countless other plumbing issues. Rest assured, these problems can be avoided with the techniques below.
2. Don’t Just Blame A Plumbing Issue on Your Kids
Sometimes it is not just children causing these problems. Parents are also guilty of causing big plumbing blockages by attempting to flush nappies and baby wipes down the loo. Needless to say, this does not end well with horrible clogs ensuring the need for an expert plumber.
As a reminder, and to make things easier, tuck a small bin tucked away beside your toilet to help you avoid the temptation to place any forbidden objects where they do not belong. Find out what else should not go into your plumbing here.
3. Toilet Lid Lockdown
How do you avoid your kids putting the wrong things down the loo? The temporary answer is simple. Keep that lid on lockdown.
While this probably will not be enough to keep your industrious kids away, you could also get your hands on a safety toilet lock. These are a great way to secure toilet lids. They keep your kids away from putting anything into your toilet while also keeping their hands away from anywhere unhygienic. Toilet lid locks are simple to install and operate and pretty cheap.
4. Drain Covers and Your Kids
It is no surprise, but kids love exploring small spaces. Curiosity and exploration are an integral part of your child’s development – until it comes to your drains that is.
Outdoor drains are cesspits full of germs, funky smells, strange slime and other debris (that a kid will instantly put in their mouths, trust me). Not to mention, they are often the homes of snakes and spiders.
Especially relevant to outdoor drains, kids will often drop toys and other things down them causing mysterious blockages. These often only become apparent after heavy rain causes your septic tank to overflow.
Install drain covers to keep your kid’s destructive fingers away from places that they don’t belong. This simple precaution can save you plenty of time, money and consternation.
5. The Flushing Toilet Mystery
Why children love to flush a toilet is one of those mysteries that has been puzzling scientists and philosophers for time immemorial. Curious toddlers just love to press that button and watch the water whizz away. Ahhh, simpler times.
For parents, this can be a headache. Ballooning water bills and the risk that your child might fall and in and drown are just two considerations that eagle-eyed parents must consider.
6. Teach Your Kids Plumbing Respect
Want to know the most foolproof way to avoid all plumbing-related calamities with your child? Teach them how to behave around your plumbing fixtures and toilets.
Parents of adventurous children quickly discover that drain covers and toilet locks will only keep your determined progeny away for so long. Despite a litany of safeguards designed to deny and bamboozle, the best way to keep your plumbing safe is to teach your children from a young age how to behave with it.
Demonstrate to your children how to clean hair out of the drain after a bath. When a child throws the wrong thing into the toilet, immediately react by fishing the item out and explaining why this is not the right behaviour.
7. Let the Plumbing System Professionals Fix It for You
Despite your best efforts, have your children managed to block the sewer lines in your plumbing? Perhaps you did it to yourself by throwing a nappy into your toilet?
Either way, if you have a clogged toilet or a clogged drain that needs repairing, the experts at Metropolitan Plumbing are who you should contact to get out of hot water. From the bathroom to the kitchen and everywhere in between, we have you covered when you need to kid proof your plumbing.
Please note: This information is provided for advice purposes only. Regulations differ from state to state, so please consult your local authorities or an industry professional before proceeding with any work. See our Terms & Conditions here.
Published: 2020-03-26