Teaching your children about plumbing is one of the greatest ways to get your child to take on more responsibility for how to take care of the home they live in. Every child has accidentally messed with the plumbing once, whether it’s overflowing the sink, stomping up the toilet, or anything else. Accidents happen, and when it comes to accidents, it’s important to learn from them.
This lets them know what not to do, and it also helps out in preventing parents from having to hire a plumber. So as a parent, what can you do to teach your little ones about plumbing? Most adults have basic skills and ideas when it comes to plumbing, and this is all a child needs as well. So it all starts with teaching them what you know.
Teach them what they can and cannot flush
This is something to teach your kids while they’re young, very young. If you get started early, it will help prevent any mistakes. They need to know what they can and cannot flush. This can include:
- Cotton swabs
- Floss
- Toys (especially bath toys)
- Hair
- Diapers
- Underwear
- Towels
These are some of the most common items that a child will try to flush down the toilet. So it’s best to have a conversation early with them about what can and what cannot be flushed. If you teach this to them while they’re potty training, it tends to stick earlier in life.
Teach them about drains
If they’re old enough to wash dishes, then this is something to teach them. Oftentimes, blocked drain plumbers are needing to be called in because old food or grease gets stuck inside the pipes. While this is just one scenario, it’s important to let your child know what can and what’s can’t go inside of the drain.
As much as we like to think pipes are invincible, it’s merely further from the case. So that’s why you need to let them know about drains and why certain things cannot go in. One way to completely avoid the situation is to have a sink drainer. These help weed out what can and can’t go down the pipes.
Talk to them about plunging a toilet
While all toilets are different, some toilets can easily be unclogged with a plunger. While this is going to depend on the age and height of your child, letting them know about the plunger and how to do it will greatly help them out in case the toilet gets clogged.
Don’t forget about the leaks
Leaks happen, it’s completely normal and they can be addressed in no time. Since there are different plumbing problems you’re going to come across, this is going to be one that your children’s eyes should be peeled for as well. Let them know, that if they hear or see a water leak, they need to notify you immediately. As you know, water leaks are expensive and the longer the leak, the bigger the bill. So you definitely cannot forget to teach this to your child.
Thank you! There is also a list of things that should not be flushed into the drains: https://happyhiller.com/plumbing/drain-cleaning/.
Actually, only paper should be flushed down in toilets. Even if other products say they are flushable, they’re not really flushable.
Thanks for sharing!