3 Ways to Keep Your Drain Clear
When a bathroom or kitchen drain in your home is clogged, it can cause a number of problems. There is the mess and hassle of clearing the clog, and a clogged drain can easily cause water damage that’s expensive to fix. Avoiding and clearing a clog is possible without any formal training, so it’s always worth attempting it yourself first to save time and money. But, if you find that you have a persistent clog that’s hard to remove it’s a better idea to contact a
local certified plumber and they can address any underlying issues that could be causing the problem. Let’s take a look at three simple ways that you can keep your bathroom and kitchen drain clear.
- How to Clear a Drain
The chances are that if you’re reading this article, your drain is already clogged. It may be tempting to use store bought chemical cleaning products to clear the clog, but this is a bad idea. The caustic chemicals in these cleaners are very harsh, and they can even damage your plumbing. It’s a better idea to loosen up and remove the clog with a gentler chemical reaction that you can create with some simple items in your store cupboard. Boil some hot water, pour it into the drain and add half a cup of baking soda. Leave this mixture for a few minutes, mix a cup of boiling water and a cup of vinegar and then pour it into the drain. Cover the drain with the drain plug and let the whole concoction sit overnight in the drain. In the morning, boil a large pot of boiling water and pour it into the drain to flush it clear. This method should deal with most clogs, if it doesn’t work, you can repeat the process, and if the clog is especially stubborn, it’s time to call out your local plumber for expert help.
- Regular Garbage Disposal Maintenance
Having regular garbage disposal maintenance carried out is a great way to keep it working efficiently. There are things that you can do to keep your garbage disposal working well, and this starts with what is put in it. Sadly, many people put all sorts of material into their garbage disposal that should go in the trash instead. Avoid putting materials, such as fibrous waste, eggshells, banana peels, coffee grounds, in your unit. When you clean the unit wash it down with cold water because hot water can break the waste down and encourage grease to coat the drain. If the drain does block, attempt the method detail above to attempt to clear the clog.
- Bacterial Cleaning Products
There are many types of bacterial cleaning products available on the market now that are far kinder to your plumbing. Be sure to follow the directions carefully when you start to use these products because they are quite different to harsher chemical based cleaners. These types of cleaners work well, but they are not very effective at removing clogs that contain a lot of hair. Otherwise, they will happily eat through the gunk that has formed in your drain and break it down to a point where it can be easily flushed away.
By Giovanni Longo President Flood Brothers Plumbing
Giovanni Longo is a 3rd generation master plumber who has been practicing his craft and trade in the greater Los Angeles area for well over a decade and a half. A plumbing and hydraulics-engineering innovator, Giovanni’s particular world-class expertise focuses on dealing with challenging sewer system designs as well as resolving complex commercial and residential draining issues. As a certified Flood Mitigation expert, he is also well versed in a wide variety of water damage and remediation solution.
