subject: Tips And Techniques For Unblocking Your Drain [print this page] Blocked drains are definitely an unpleasant site. The scent of stagnant water on top of your sink and drains can be uncomfortable to the senses. Even worse, it can result in structural damage in your home. Also, threatening molds and mildew could cause infliction or sickness. Fortunately, majority of problems about blocked drains can nearly disappear with just a couple of quick fix solutions.
When you have a blocked drain, try to understand or figure out where the blockage stems from. If none of your sinks are most often affected then the blockage could only be from the drain close to the sink. So you won't have to check every sink for blockages.
Among the first things you need to try is to pour boiling water down your drain. This straightforward step might help disengage the blockage because more often than not, the blockage is caused by the accumulation of grease in the pipes. Also, the boiling water melts down the grease and makes it pass through more quickly.
If your drain's condition does not improve, why don't you try using a simple plunger to dislodge the gunk in those pipes? This step is a trusted solution that many plumbers use, especially if the clogging is not that serious.
If it still does not work, you may then try putting caustic soda down the blocked drain. Often, this chemical is available in crystal form. This is often known as sodium hydroxide or soda crystals by other hardware and supermarkets.
Remember, you should extra cautious when using caustic soda since it is highly corrosive and can damage your clothes or skin. You must use safety equipment like goggles and plastic gloves.
Again if desired improvement is not achieved, then it is safe to say that the blockage is serious and therefore requires more effective measures.
In this case, you could use drain cleaners and cleaning products and dislodge the clog using a stiff wire or a plumber's snake. Unless you have one, a wire coat hanger modified for the task could also be used.
Sometimes precautionary maintenance could help you save a lot of trouble. To avoid clogging, you should utilize drain cleaning solutions a couple of times yearly. Pouring boiling water down your drains once a week to avoid grease from accumulating is additionally helpful.
It may be better when you can avoid letting grease and other food particles from accumulating around our drains as this is the most common cause of problems on kitchen sinks. It's always vital that you use a filter.
When you own the house, you're usually in charge for repairing and clearing the drainage systems. If you are a tenant, the owner is usually responsible, depending on rental agreement. In either case, a blocked drain is inconvenient and can even be dangerous if it is not handled properly and therefore it should be given attention by either party.
Should any of these tips fail, contact a professional plumber today since the problem won't just disappear magically. You need to work with one so that the problem could be easily and quickly fixed.
