Why Residential and Commercial Plumbing is Important Now More than Ever

If the current pandemic has taught us anything, it has taught us to be grateful for advances in indoor plumbing and the ability to wash our hands as many times a day as we want. The coronavirus is a pandemic created by a virus that we don’t know a lot about. But the one thing we do know is that transmission can be prevented by social distancing along with rigorous and thorough hand-washing. Here are some of the ways plumbing is going to help us wrangle the current crisis:

Well-Functioning Plumbing Protects Our Families

The reason a well functioning plumbing system is so crucial now is because of the numbers: we know that current data suggests that every person who gets it is likely to infect two more people. 

While other diseases have a higher death rate, they haven’t had the extreme effects on the world as the coronavirus. They also didn’t have such successful, single-function protection, the success of which is determined by the ones who do--or do not--stand at the sink, soap bar in hand, and lather up every tiny crease in and around each palm, knuckle, and phalange to the tune of ‘Happy Birthday.’ 

Plumbing Relieves Fear

Our plumbing system has gone beyond basic hygiene and the capacity to help keep us calmer. People like to feel like they’re doing their part to protect themselves or prepare. (That’s part of the reason for the toilet paper shortage.) The sink and faucet are now an essential part of personal and community health and safety. All we have to do is use soap and water and wash away our fear in a swirl of soap and dead germs down the drain. 

Beyond Residential Plumbing

Commercial plumbing also represents a framework for stopping contagion on many levels. Soap and running water that safely drains away is an even greater tool than any current immunizations or antibiotics. All over the world, medical professionals and facilities are doing their part by responding to the heightened need of patients for proper washing of hands, and by keeping facilities clean to lower the reinfection rate.

All Clean on the Home Front

Families are protecting themselves and their homes, too. Washing machines and dishwashers take cleaning to the next level by keeping clothes and dishes out of the realm of contagion. The CDC recommends washing all frequently-used surfaces thoroughly with a regular household detergent and water. These measures are slowing contagion and keeping home quarantine areas safe.

Say ‘no’ to Wet Wipes

Wet wipes are the bane of every plumbing system. When the makers of wet wipes optimistically tout them as ‘flushable,’ you can bet they meant they are flushable in a home where no one minds if the plumbing backs up. Unfortunately, the problem has extended to municipalities, who are warning residents that the toilet paper crisis will turn into a municipal wastewater nightmare unless residents curb their wet wipe flushing. A trash can beside the commode can hold used wipes, an inconvenience until one recognizes that it is saving the cost of an emergency plumbing clog caused by flushing wet wipes.

Thanks to the current state of affairs, it could be said without hubris that residential plumbing is crucial to the stop of the spread of coronavirus. We are all doing our part. Social distancing has become part of American life for the time being. The only other thing we have to do is keep washing our hands!

Plumbers aren’t on the front lines of treating the sick. But, we are on the front lines of preventing the spread of this prolific virus whenever we do a plumbing repair. While the exterminators and painters are limiting themselves to exterior work, we plumbers are still on call to keep the plumbing functional and maintain a family’s ability to protect their health. 

About the Author: Richa is a content writer specializing in plumbing and HVAC related topics. This article is written by her for King Plumbing, Heating and AC – Mesa’s top rated plumbing and HVAC company

Guest Contributor: Richa Khandelwal