Your toilet is an essential part of your home. Of course, it is one that is often overlooked. After all, who wants to spend their time thinking about the toilet and the sewage system? However, when problems happen you may wish you had paid a little more attention.
Of course, you can contact the emergency plumber and get the issue sorted. But, this costs a significant amount of money and it is much better to prevent the issue from happening in the first place. Your plumber will be just as happy with the annual inspection and maintenance as they will with emergency call-outs.
Kid Related Toilet Issues
In general, the biggest problem caused by children is things going down the toilet that shouldn’t. These can be items like your phone that you fish out and then have to replace. But, slightly smaller items, such as toys, can go around the initial bend in the waste pipes and then get caught in the main sewer line.
These items will start a clog which will quickly build up with toilet paper and waste. Your toilet will initially drain slowly and then will not drain at all, potentially pouring sewage water into your home. As sewage is hazardous to health this is not a pleasant outcome.
The only thing that should go down the toilet is human waste and toilet paper. Everything else should go into the bin.
Educating Your Child
One of the best ways of preventing this issue is to educate your child. Of course, how receptive they are will be slightly dependent on their age. It is worth telling them how the sewage system works, the size of the pipes, and how the simplest of things can cause a blockage with potentially disastrous consequences.
If they are old enough to understand then talking to them is often enough to prevent any issues from occurring.
Closing The Lid
If your children are very young then you will want to get a child lock on your toilet. This means keeping the seat down, the child lock will secure it down and need to be released before the seat can be opened. While this may make it harder to encourage children to use the toilet themselves, it will ensure nothing can be ‘accidentally’ put into the toilet.
Fit A Valve
Most cisterns have a valve on the incoming water supply. If yours hasn’t got one you should have one fitted. It is practical when you need to do work on the toilet. In addition, you can turn it off after you flush. This will stop water from entering the cistern and make it impossible to flush the toilet.
The advantage of this is that you will be able to see foreign objects in the toilet and remove them before they get into the pipes and cause additional issues.
Don’t forget to make sure all older children and adults also appreciate that the toilet is only for human waste and toilet paper.