How to protect pipes and plumbing from your dig happy dog

We all love our furry family members but often when they’re exploring their domain in the gardens, their digging, snuffling and chewing could be causing headaches for your plumbing and drainage systems. Even some of the everyday pet caretaking and washing around the house could be causing future issues. Just by keeping an eye on their behaviour and being aware of some of the risks around the home to both your piping and your pets, you could majorly save on potential repairs down the road…

Here are a few things to keep an eye out for to avoid those problems when pets meet plumbing…

Watch where they’re digging

Dogs love to busy themselves digging in the back garden but if they come across submerged water or sewage piping, they can cause breakages, tears or leakages in the system. Have a look through your plans or have a professional map out where your piping is to monitor and work out if you need to discourage them from certain areas.

Wash them outside

Pets are forever coming back to us in mud, grass and sand after running around outdoors and even the most fastidious species need a regular shampooing to stay healthy. It’s important not to wash your animals indoors in bathtubs and sinks down an open plug as their hair and the dirt can end up giving you a blocked drain. It is far safer for your drainage to wash them outdoors instead of in the back garden or driveway. If a smaller indoor animal needs washing consider plugging the sink or using a debris collecting drainage guard on the plug hole to catch the fur and dirt being washed down before it enters the system cause costly build up over time.

Close the lid on toilets

More of a tip for protecting your dog’s health than the system itself, make sure to keep lids down on your toilets to prevent your dogs from going for a drink. Despite being obviously unhygienic to us, it looks like a continuously refreshed source of water to them. However, the toilet bowl will also include chemicals from cleaning the bowl and the cistern as well as harmful bacteria that could be quite dangerous to them. Also by keeping their water bowl topped up regularly, there will be less temptation to seek water out elsewhere.

Cover exposed piping

Any exposed piping could provide a temptation to your dog to chew on so it is important to monitor your pet’s behaviour and ensure any such piping is covered. Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) piping can be easily damaged by sustained chewing not only causing leaks and damage to the system but it could also be toxic to your dog causing pain at both ends of the equation. Have a look down at the hardware store or talk to your plumber about what might be available to cover those areas in a discrete or attractive way.

Careful what you flush

While it may seem convenient to flush away your pet’s leavings or waste material it is important that the only things that should really be flushed are toilet paper and human excrement. Other substances such as kitty litter could easily cause blockages in the system even if some of the packaging may describe it as flushable.

Protect pipes and your pets with a check by the experts at No Probs Plumbing

Whether looking to prevent costly repair in the future or keeping your pets and plumbing safe, the No Probs Plumbing team are your local Perth plumbers.

With no call-out fees and obligation-free quotes, No Probs Plumbing is your solution for all plumbing system services in your home or business.

 

We tackle everything from burst pipes to leaking taps, faulty hot water system repairs and blocked drains, appliance installation and all gas fitting needs.

Call us now on (08) 93155545 or drop us an email at info@noprobsplumbing.com.au.

 

This article is a repost from our friend’s at Fosters Plumbing.