Having children is such a wonderful blessing, isn’t it? All those hugs and kisses and cuddles. Watching their little personalities blossom into kind and loving beings. Well, what no one tells you is that it takes a lot of work to shape those tiny dictators into kind and loving grown ups. Sometimes, the kisses and hugs are simply to distract from the fact that they recently completed their mission of flushing an entire roll of toilet paper (cardboard roll included) down the toilet. Why are kids obsessed with flushing things? Who knows. But if you are planning on having kids, (and do! They really are worth it.) know that you might find yourself on first name basis with your plumbing repair company.
The nice thing about a plumbing repair company is that they tend to do everything from fixing a toilet that won’t flush something properly to deep down sewer repairs.
The problem is, if you can’t teach your children to stop flushing things and shoving things down the drains, you’ll never be able to stay in a hotel or take them to the restroom in a business or restaurant. Commercial plumbing is quite a bit more complex and you really don’t want to find yourself facing a commercial plumbing repair company’s costs. So, to avoid plumbing services in public, here are a few ways to keep children out of the bathroom, whether you are the business owner or the parent.
- Don’t allow kids to go alone.
This is the best method. Don’t let kids go to the bathroom unless they are accompanied by an adult. This may be a hassle for the parents but it is a very effective method of keeping your plumbing clear. If an adult is near by, they won’t have time to get anything into the toilet or drains. Then again, kids are kind of like ninjas and move frighteningly fast. So, the adult should also be on their guard at all times, ready to stop anything going down. - Make toilets harder to flush.
Automatic flushing systems and easy flushes should have an auto dialer connected to them that calls the plumbing repair company. Flushes should either be placed out of reach of children, such as the olden days chain or they should be stronger than a child’s hand. Children are not very strong so this shouldn’t be very hard; simply a matter of tightening the flush handle. As they get older and more responsible they will be able to push the flush handle themselves. - Keep the bathroom door locked.
If the door is locked, a kid can’t just saunter in and be in there for as long as they wish without someone knowing about it. If you are home or at a restaurant or place of business, whoever hands over the key will realize that the person has been in the bathroom for a long time. This length of time is preferably not long enough for a child to flush things down the toilet. - Childproof the toilet.
You’ve probably seen the movies or commercials with the child proof seats that are impossible for adults to open as well. This isn’t the case. The media and Hollywood exaggerate these instances for the laugh factor. In real life, a child proof seat is simply opened with the bush of a button. However, a young child can not usually figure out how to push the button and open the lid at the same time. They just don’t have that kind of coordination. - Check the bathroom often.
Yourself, or an employee should be checking the bathroom periodically. This is to make sure that it is clean but you can also make sure that no little people are trying to flush the unflushables that are within their reach.
If you follow these tips, you’ll be able to stop a lot of mishaps in the toilet. In a place of business, you can hang signs making sure that children are not going to the bathroom unaccompanied but just in case parents don’t adhere to that, these other ideas should help. It;s the law to have a bathroom in each establishment so not having one won’t solve anything.
