Five Helpful Tips

1. Garbage Disposals - use sparingly. Scrape plates, pots and pans into trash receptacles. Run a tray of ice cubes once in awhile to clean blades. Use lemon or lime juice [not peels] to help with odors.
2. Toilets - Don't use chlorine tabs in tanks as they are destructive to plastic parts.
3. Faucet/Tub/Shower drips, constantly running toilets and any and all leaks should be repaired ASAP. The extra charge on your water bill will soon exceed the cost of having it repaired. Also, leaks that moisten walls, floors, ceilings, etc... can cause mold to occur. They can also have a severe effect if your sewer line gets clogged.
4. Roots in sewer: Some people (even some plumbers) will advise you to just snake the line once or twice a year, which they will happily charge you for. The problem[s] with this is, first of all, we are plumbers - not gardeners. There is not supposed to be any plant growth in your plumbing. When your pipe was installed, it was a closed system after which the roots had to break into that pipe. It is not a static problem either. It gets worse over time. I've seen pipes with roots over 2 inches thick, some infesting the entire line, breaking into and separating the pipe with most of the sewer water being absorbed into the soil instead of going into the city mainline in the street. Referring back to tip #3: If you go away for a weekend or longer and your sewer clogs up while you're gone. the water from those dripping faucets and running toilets has to go somewhere and it often backs up into your house. You could come home to find your hardwood floors, carpets and everything else covered in raw sewage. Unfortunately, this happens.
5. DIY (Do-It-Yourself) plumbing repairs. Only you know your mechanical abilities. If you're not comfortable with tools, don't do it. Even if you are comfortable with tools, work gently. A lot of faucet and other plumbing parts are fragile. You can easily turn a small repair into an expensive one.