It's one of the worst types of clogged drains you can get, and unfortunately, one that most of us will have to encounter in our lifetimes: a clogged, overflowing toilet. It can result in hours of cleanup and plenty of headaches – but don't panic! The first thing you need to do is to turn off the toilet's water supply to keep the flooding from getting worse. Next, attempt to clear the clog in the toilet so that the excess water can drain out. If you're unable to clear the blockage, call a professional ASAP. The sooner the clog is cleared up, the sooner you can get back to having a sanitary, functioning bathroom, so don't hesitate to call in the big guns of your local plumbing company in Florida!

Cut off the toilet's water supply by turning off the main shutoff valve.

The first step in addressing a clogged and overflowing toilet is to stop the influx of water. Take the lid off of the tank of the toilet and locate the flapper that allows...

Flushable wipes appear to be the pinnacle of toilet-paper evolution. They're convenient, sanitary, and easily disposable! 

But the question is, are flushable wipes really the greatest thing since...well, the invention of toilet paper, or do they cause more issues than companies like to advertise?

After the pandemic caused a massive toilet paper shortage, flushable wipes became the best alternative for many people. However, for most professional plumbers, it just meant their schedules were about to get a whole lot busier. 

Curtis Plumbing has dealt with a ton of clients in Riverview, Brandon, Valrico, and throughout Central Florida whose toilets or septic tanks became clogged or backed up due to these "flushable" wipes. Because of this, there are several reasons why we don't recommend people try flushing their wipes down the toilet.

If the wipes say they're "flushable", then what's the problem?

Despite...

A clogged drain is normally easy to spot. You can normally determine you have a clogged drain based on the following signs:

• A slowly draining sink
• An unpleasant smell
• Toilets that back up rather than flush

Though a clogged drain may be easy to spot, you may be unsure of where the clog came from. No matter the culprit of your clog, we are prepared to help. Our team of expert plumbers offers drain clearing and other plumbing services to residential and commercial properties located in and around Valrico, Brandon, and Riverview, FL.

Our team at Curtis Plumbing wants to help you avoid the headache that a clogged drain can cause at all costs. Check out these five items you should never put down a kitchen or bathroom drain.

1. Flushable cat litter can damage your septic system.

You may purchase flushable cat litter in hopes of an easy cleanup process. Even though it's marketed as flushable, we recommend you avoid flushing this kind of...

We've all been there—the toilet flushes and all of a sudden, water begins to fill up the bowl and overflow onto the floor, causing you to panic and reach for the plunger in an attempt to stop the water flowing out of the toilet. A toilet clog can be a major or minor inconvenience, depending on how bad it is and the underlying cause. 

Here are some ways you can work to avoid your toilet clogging in Riverview, Brandon, Valrico, and surrounding Florida communities.

Don't Use Excess Toilet Paper

One of the more common toilet clogging issues we see is when people use excess toilet paper. Yes, toilet paper does dissolve in water, but it's not instantaneous. Try to limit toilet paper use to what you really only need, and if you do need to use more, it's advised to flush once, use more paper, and then flush the toilet once more. This at least distributes the toilet paper more evenly and doesn't cause a clog in the pipes.\

Have you ever thought about how much water is used to power each toilet flush? Back in the 1980s, it was over three gallons each time. To put that in perspective, it’s recommended that an adult should consume two liters, or half a gallon, of water each day.

Water conservation is high on people’s lists these days and there are many ways to save on water consumption within your homes or commercial properties. Converting to water-saving toilets is one way to do this.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, changing to high-efficiency toilets in a home reduces toilet water usage more than 50%. For a family of four, that means saving 15,000 or more gallons per year.

So, are high-efficiency toilets worth the investment? Yes, not only for your water bill, but also for the overall well-being of our environment.

How Do Water-Saving Toilets Work

The National Energy Policy Act of 1995 brought into law that all new toilets had to be low flow, meaning...