13 Things Plumbers Wish You Knew

1 Water damage is the leading cause of home-insurance claims, accounting for around 40 per cent. Basement flooding and sewage backups, often caused by increasingly intense precipitation, are responsible for the most problems.

- Anna-Kaisa Walker

2 Don’t flush floss, tampons or even so-called “flushable” wipes. They don’t break down like toilet paper does and can come back to haunt you later. “Toilets are more water-efficient now than they were 20 years ago, so there sometimes isn’t enough volume in the flush to force debris down,” says Marcin Wroblewski, president of ExpressRooter Plumbing in Toronto. “An object will get lodged in the trap and cause a blockage when waste builds up days later.”

3 Same goes for cooking grease. “Don’t pour fat down the drain. Wipe your pan with paper towels and compost them,” Wroblewski advises. Grease can become rock-hard and may require professional removal.