5 mistakes to avoid with drain cleaning

0
108
5 mistakes to avoid with drain cleaning

Is there anything more annoying than a clogged drain? Well, overflowing toilets and sinks can also be annoying, but the root problem is the same: clogged drain. When dealing with this issue, there are five major mistakes you want to avoid.

Mistake number one – letting it happen. Yes, having a clogged drain is your fault. Nobody wants to hear it, but it is the truth. Hair, vegetable peels and big wads of paper don’t belong in the drain. Because we are in a hurry or don’t use prevention as much as we should, we let hair and other things slipped into the drain. Eventually, it catches up with us and we are stuck with a clogged drain. The easiest way to avoid it is to trap hair and other things and put them in the trash instead of the pipes. For pieces of food, dispose of them in the composting instead of in the drain or in the garbage.

Mistake number two – too late, prevention did not work, and you are stuck. You might be tempted to use chemical products sold in store. After all, those products are designed to get rid of clogs in household drains. Wrong! Aside from being highly corrosive, their harsh smell might make breathing difficult for people in your house, especially individual with asthma or allergies. Furthermore, they don’t always work and might cause more damage to your pipes by eroding the interior surface. Avoid this method as it will cost you more in repairs in the long run.

Mistake number three – going fishing. You think that because there is a clog, you might be able to fish it out. What will you use? A knife to cut at it? A broomstick to push it down? Better yet, a coat hanger to snake it out. Although you might be able to remove part of the clog with the hangar, chances are you will push the main part of it further down in the drain, leaving you with an even greater problem. Worse, what happens if the tool you used gets stuck in the drain? Before you know it, you will be left with a hefty plumbing bill.

Mistake number four –  taking the plunge. Unless you have some practice, most people do not use plungers adequately. Aside from not using the right plunger as there are different models for different purposes, people usually push up and down on a plunger as if they were performing some cardio-vascular exercise. This will generally result in splashing you and the room in gray water. If you are determined to plunge, make sure you use the right product. A sink plunger is flat while a toilet plunger is curved. Create a seal around the drain and push gently and slowly up and down.

Mistake number five – homemade remedies. The most popular, green options involve baking soda, vinegar, and boiling water. The ingredients, when mixed together fizzle and magically dissolve the clog. Really, they simply allow for the clog to move further down the pipes. If you are lucky, this will help for a few weeks, but the problem will come back as the root cause has not been removed.

When you are done trying to solve this issue on your own, call the specialist. No one would dream of performing surgery on themselves, instead, we let the surgeon do his job. Plumbing is the same, when in doubt, let the specialist handle it and call you local plumber in Sydney.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here