The Ultimate Guide to Unclogging Your Drains

1. Signs Of A Clogged Drain

2. TABLE OF CONTENT  Signs of a Clogged Drain.  What Clogs Your Drain.  Methods to Use.  Tools that You May Need.  Do’s and Don’ts.  Why You Need Experts.  When You Need to Do More than Unclogging Your Drains.  The Wrap.

3. INTRODUCTION At home, there are a number of home repairs that call for immediate attention. One of them happens to be clogged drains. Genuinely, a blocked drain can be a nuisance if you don’t attend to it soon. You have to stop everything you are doing and think of how to decongest the blocked pipes. While it may be a convenient thing to call your local handyman, some fixes are purely DIY. It is highly recommended that you learn to distinguish between a DIY project and one that call for expert input. If you do it yourself, you’ll save yourself a lot of time and more importantly, money. But first, you have to diagnose the problem and devise a better way to handle it. Here is an ultimate guide that will get you equipped.

4. SIGNS OF A CLOGGED DRAIN You can know if your drains are clogged by identifying the following signs:  Slow Drainage: When your sink or bathtub channel is draining slowly, this is an indicator that your pipes are clogged. You need to address the issue at this stage before the pipes fail to drain completely. The sign is usually obvious on the sink since you easily notice it when it starts to drain slowly. However, you have to take a keen eye on the bathtub. If it’s the toilet, you’ll notice that it takes too long to flush. You shouldn’t take such a sign lightly since it may lead to something serious.  Bad Smell: If there is an odor coming from your drain, this is a possible indicator that the pipes are blocked. The clog normally attracts bacteria that produce the bad smell. The other source of the bad smell is mildew that builds up due to the accumulation of organic deposits. Besides, the humid condition facilitates their growth.  Rust: Lastly, if your metallic pipes show some signs of rust, this can be an indicator that the drain is clogged. In such a case, you can only hope that the congestion is not extensive. You need to unblock the pipes as soon as you see the rust deposit. If you are not sure, just call an expert.

5. WHAT CLOGS YOUR DRAIN Bathroom Sink: When it comes to the bathroom sink, the main source ofclogging is hair. The others are toothpaste and soap scum. Kitchen Sink: The kitchen sink is mostly blocked by FOG (fats, oils, and grease). The other possible causes are food products such as coffee grounds, vegetable parts, and fruit peels. The Shower: This is mostly blocked by hair, dirt, dead skin, and scum. You can always know that the shower is blocked when it starts to drain slowly. Garbage Disposer: The garbage disposer is mostly blocked by food items such as eggshells, potato peels, carrot peels, noodles, rice, and fibrous veggies. The Toilet: Possible sources of clogging include wipes, dental floss, and feminine products (tampons and pads).

6. METHODS TO USE There are a number of techniques that you can use at home to unblock your drains but here are 7 of the easiest ones: 1. Boiling Water This is among the fastest ways of unblocking your drains. It’s not great with dislodging grease clogs and soap suds but will clear kitchen waste and sewage blockage. You have to be careful, however, with where you are pouring hot water. It’s not recommended for PVC pipes since it may damage them. So, you should use it on metal pipes. You need to boil water in a kettle and pout it directly to your blocked drain. 2. Drain Snake A drain snake is a long PVP pipe that is flexible to bend easily. You can buy it from your local hardware. It has to be long enough to dislodge the clog to the other end of the drain. The technique is very effective when the clogging agent is hair, a piece of fabric or any other lightweight material. Alternatively, you can make your own drain snake form a wire hanger and auger. You’ll,however, need to be careful with this approach so as not to damage your drain pipes.

7. 3. Commercial Cleaner There are so many drain cleaners on the market that you can buy. You need to buy the one that is suited for your drain. If you are not sure what reagent to use, you should talk to your storeman. Before you use any chemical cleaner, it’s necessary to read the manufacturer’s instructions. This will help you know how to better apply the chemical and what safety measures to take. Lastly, you need to wait for the specified time before trying to flush your drain. 4. Baking Soda + Vinegar Instead of buying a commercial cleaner from the store, you can make your own at home using ½ cup baking soda and 1 cup vinegar solution. So many plumbing experts use this technique because it’s quite effective, more so when the clog is grease or related things. To unblock the drain: • Pour the baking soda directly into the blocked drain. • Follow it up with vinegar. Close the drain to allow the reagents to work. You should skip this step if it’s a blocked toilet and flush instantly. • • For other drains, pour hot water to flush out the reagent after 30 minutes of action.

8. 5. Bacterial Products Since pouring hot water into a drain that is clogged with grease may make the clog to go further down your drain without decongesting the pipe, you should try this approach. The products are also known as biological enzyme cleaners and are suited for organic clogs. The cleaner introduces bacterial cultures which digest the grease clog thus reducing its size. Because of their effectiveness, these cleaners are costlier than the conventional drain cleaners. 6. Plunging There are two types of plungers; toilet plunger and cup plunger (suited for the sinks). The cup plunger allows you to place it directly on the mouth of your drain when decongesting it. Plunging is generally an easy technique provided that you have the right tool. You need to put the tool on the drain and apply some pressure to pull what is blocking your drain. It works through suction.

9. 7. Salt + Hot Water Technique This technique is effective when dealing with soap and FOG clogs. You can use it to decongest your bathtub or the kitchen drain. You need to: • Pour ½ cup table salt or sea salt down your blocked drain. • Follow it up with 2 liters of hot water. You can repeat the procedure severally till your drain is unblocked. The technique will work because of two reasons. To begin with, the hot water acts as a melting agent that reduces the size of the clog. Secondly, the salt acts as a scouring substance that forces the clogs out of the drain.

10. TOOLS THAT YOU MAY NEED Here are 5 major tools that you need to perform the above techniques:  Auger: This is a clog removal DIY tool that you use to decongest your toilet or sink drain. It works with a long wire.  Plunger: This is used to suck and dislodge food particles and lightweight materials trapped in your sink drain.  Boiling kettle: You’ll need this appliance to boil water that you’ll use to unblock your bathtub or kitchen sink.  Long wire: This is used to make a mini drain snake that you can use to unblock your slow-moving drain.  Long pipe: This serves the same purpose as the drain wire, only that it’s more forceful.

11. DO’S AND DON’TS The Do’s  Use an effective strainer to help you trap materials that will block your drain. You can buy the accessory from any store that deals with plumbing and heating accessories.  Clean the drain stoppers regularly. You need to clean the feature each time you use your bathtub. Since it’s used to trap debris, some may find their way into the drain if you don’t remove them in time.  Have a routine maintenance program for your drains. This also brings us to the idea of visiting a plumbing and heating company for expert help. If your drains are regularly checked by an expert, it’s easier to avoid the repairs.  Flush salt followed by hot water at least once a month into your kitchen sink to prevent blockage.

12. Don’ts  Don’t dispose of everything that looks like refuse to your garbage disposal. Things like eggshells, potato peels, and vegetables may block the drain resulting in expensive repairs.  Don’t pour FOG into your sink. Since the pipes are plastic or metallic, they easily cool the grease resulting in blockage.  Don’t flush anything that is not toilet paper. Even if the material is advertised as flushable, you shouldn’t flush it down the toilet. Things to avoid include feminine products.  Don’t flush the toilet when it’s already blocked. It surely does not make any sense to do it. Instead of decongesting the drain, flushing will mess up your floor.  Don’t use hot water to dislodge FOG clogs. The water will push the clog further down the pipe instead of dislodging it.

13. WHY YOU NEED EXPERTS There are several reasons why you need a plumbing and heatingexpert. For example, there is no guarantee that the discussed methods will work with your drains if you choose to DIY. Sometimes, they fail if you are using the wrong technique or if you are doing the right technique incorrectly. Every so often, the clog is somewhere in the wall, far beyond your reach. Only an expert can know how to dislodge it. The first thing that the expert will do is to employ a sophisticated approach such as an advanced camera to diagnose the source of the problem. After this, the plumber will get straight into the unblocking process using cutting-edge techniques such as hydro-jetting or cable drain cleaning.

14. WHEN YOU NEED TO DO MORE THAN UNCLOGGING YOUR DRAINS It’s important that you know your limit when you are fixing a draining issue at home. The cleaning chemicals that you buy or the ones that you make will only provide you with a short-term solution. If you don’t take care of your drain and do not address the source of blockage, you should not be surprised when the clog comes back. Therefore, you need to adopt an effective preventive approach as briefly described here:  The Sink: Whether it’s the kitchen sink or the bathroom sink, you need to keep it spotless. Make sure that the drain stopper is clean whenever materials are trapped there. If you are not careful, the materials will find their way into the drain. As for the kitchen sink, avoid disposing of hostile materials like bones, meat, and grease.  The Shower: You need to make sure that the drain stopper is clean so as to facilitate the free flow of water. Also, check for possible clogs such as soap scum and hair often to ensure that they don’t end up blocking your drain. You should fit a hair strainer to ensure that hair is held.  The Toilet: When it comes to the toilet, you just need to know what is flushable and what isn’t. Of course, the only thing to flush is toilet paper. Feminine products and other solid materials should not be flushed. If something solid like a toy or a coin drops into your toilet, you need to remove it immediately.

15. THE WRAP When you know what is clogging your drain, you can easily prevent it. Equally, when you know how to fix the issue, you are able to save money at the end of the day. This guide has the basics that you need to become your own handyman. However, when the problem becomes too complicated, just call Smile Heating and Cooling experts. They are always committed to excellent services. Call them today and experience a rare combination of excellent job, fair prices, and caring services.

16. THE END Find out more at - https://smile-hvac.ca/regina-plumbing/