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pet-proofing home’s plumbing

Themes for Pet-Proofing Your Home’s Plumbing, Part 1

If you have pets in your home, there are several important areas of home maintenance and upkeep that change ever so slightly. Two such areas that are particularly impacted are your plumbing and your HVAC components.

At Action Plumbing, Heating, Air & Electric, we find it curious that most of the conversation here is about HVAC areas. These are vital, to be sure – changing your filters more often is important with pets in the home, for instance, and their hair and dander can definitely impact air quality. But we’re also here to make sure you don’t forget about important plumbing areas in this realm – this two-part blog will go over some important plumbing-related pet-proofing considerations you might want to think about.

Drains and Bathing

If you have a dog or any other animal that you choose to bathe in your own bathtub or sink, it’s absolutely vital to protect the attached drains from dealing with all their resulting hair. Many pets shed at extreme levels, and simply pushing all that hair down the drain risks major drain clogs far faster than you’d ever deal with otherwise.

The top tool at your disposal here is a drain stopper or strainer. These are simple items you can purchase at home improvement stores and place over drains and block hair from entering. It costs you very little to get one of these, but can cost you a lot if you don’t.

Toilet Concerns

A couple important notes on toilets and pets:

  • Drains are not for cat litter: Toilet drains should be used for exactly two things: Human waste and approved toilet paper. Nothing else whatsoever should be flushed down, even including cat litter that may have “flushable” tags on the packaging. Find other ways to dispose of kitty litter.
  • Lid closure: Many pets, dogs in particular, will view the toilet as a source of water and will lick at it. This is not only gross, but could risk their health if they ingest cleaners or any chemicals nearby. Keep the lid closed and perhaps the door sealed as well.

Balancing Valves

One minor tip for those who bathe pets in the bathtub: Make sure faucets in your home have pressure balancing valves installed. These are valves that balance the temperature when someone uses another plumbing item in the home – we’ve all been in a shower that turns ice cold or scalding hot when someone else flushes a toilet, but that won’t happen to you or your pets if you have balancing valves installed.

Caged Animals and Floor Drains

If you keep a small caged animal like a hamster, bird or something similar, it’s important to cover floor drains in your home. This is to prevent these pets from ingesting anything in or near these drains.

For more on pet-proofing your home’s pluming, or to learn about any of our plumbing or HVAC services, speak to the staff at Action Plumbing, Heating, Air & Electrical today.