Webster’s defines a myth as “a popular belief that is false or unsupported”. While myths may seem harmless, when it comes to your home and the systems that run it, it’s important to be certain you are making decisions based on reality and not myths.
So, the natural question to ask is, “What are common plumbing myths?” Below you’ll find a few of the most popular ones debunked for you.
MYTH: Ice cubes sharpen garbage disposal blades.
TRUTH: Ice cubes don’t sharpen disposal blades, but they can help clean them. Experts recommend using ice cubes once a month as preventative maintenance for your disposal.
MYTH: Lemon peels will clean my garbage disposal.
TRUTH: They may make it smell good, but the skins can clog your disposal while the corrosiveness of the citric acid can wreak havoc on the disposal’s mechanisms.
MYTH: Cat litter is flushable.
TRUTH: In theory, yes, it is possible to flush cat litter, but don’t do it! Cat litter can carry a parasite called Toxoplasma, that can cause a condition called toxoplasmosis, which can be harmful to pregnant women and marine life.
MYTH: Lightening can’t travel through plumbing pipes.
TRUTH: If your home still has metal pipes as part of your plumbing system, then you possess the perfect conductor for lightening (if it were to hit your plumbing system outside). If you have PVC pipes, then you are much better off. However, water can be a great conductor of electricity especially with a little help from various impurities that are commonly found in public water systems.
MYTH: Toilet bowl tablets are safe for my toilet.
TRUTH: In reality, if the toilet bowl tablets contain bleach this can me very harmful to your toilet and the mechanisms supporting it over time. While using bleach to clean your toilet is ok, the fact that these tablets are designed to stay in your toilet bowl 24/7 is the issue.
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Have more questions? Call us—we’d love to help! Call the professionals at Go Green Plumbing at 336-252-2999 for service 7 days a week/24 hours a day. If water runs through it – We Do It!
