With the back-to-school season comes homework, new clothes, and schedules! Trying to get a whole family ready and out the door for work and school at the same time during this busy time of year is very stressful. With all of the tasks that need to be done before anyone can leave the house, it is only natural for people to want to take shortcuts here and there during the morning rituals.

Here are some areas to be considerate of when trying to get out the door on time:

• Don’t use your garbage disposal as a garbage can. While it might be enticing to just shove all of the leftover breakfast foods into the garbage disposal, many foods can cause your drain to become overwhelmed. Often times, the dishwasher and garbage disposal are configured to use the same drain, and the food from the dishwasher combined with the food from the garbage disposal can cause the pipes to become clogged. When a garbage disposal clogs, the pipes under the sing must be taken apart and the clog dug out. This process is messy and will cause a serious interruption in your day.
• With several people in the home needing to take a shower or bath and get teeth brushed both before bed and in the morning, consider creating a schedule so that some people take their shower in the evening and some in the morning. This will not only ensure that everyone has hot water, but it will reduce the chances of water flooding the floor from several people getting in and out of the shower. Most accidents in the home happen in the bathroom because of the floor being wet and slippery.
• Keep the fan in the bathroom running while people are taking showers and brushing teeth. In the bathroom, it is especially important to keep the humidity and condensation to a minimum. If condensation is allowed to accumulate on the bowl of the toilet, it will then drip down onto the floor creating a standing water puddle. This can easily encourage mold and mildew to grow and ruin the subfloor.

If any of the shortcuts that you take involve your plumbing system, it is best to avoid them. In fact, taking shortcuts with your plumbing system could cause serious failures that will interrupt your schedule for several hours.