Taking Care of Your Drains

Chemicals can be extremely harsh on your drains, so it's important to manage your plumbing drains in different ways. How are you supposed to take care of your drains when they become clogged or you just want to do a little preventative maintenance? Today we’ll be focusing on three of the most common problem areas and how to deal with them. The bathroom is home to showers, sinks, and toilets, which are three of the most common plumbing problem sites, and the fourth being the kitchen sink.

Kitchen sinks see a lot of things they shouldn’t necessarily see. Focusing on keeping excess cooking grease is one of the top ways to keep your drain in working order. Ensuring you have a drain plug with a catch while doing dishes is vital to keeping food that doesn’t belong in the drain, out of the drain. Things like eggshells, leafy vegetables, and stringy vegetables (like celery) are some of the most common culprits of food clogs. If you are one of those lucky people with a garbage disposal in your sink make after running it, run it with just water to clear out anything that might be caught up and to be sure all scraps make it down the pipes. Short of calling a plumber, you can try running water that is as hot as you can get along with grease-fighting dish soap down the drain to bust up anything in your drain and get it moving again.

Moving on to the bathroom, we’ll start at the shower. Adding in a drain cover that allows water to flow through but catches any debris is a great way to prevent foreign objects from finding their way in. Long hair or excessive hair (such as pet fur) can get caught and form a pretty good hairball clog quickly. After a long day outside, washing off sand, dirt, and any grass that may be hanging on to you prevents it from taking up home in your plumbing as well. Believe it or not, soap can cause build-up as well once it dries in pipes so running clean water through your shower or tub after using it can help make sure everything is fully washed down. If you are noticing a clog you can try the soap and hot water trick mentioned above, but it’s probably best to call a professional from the get-go.

Sinks take a lot of grime anywhere in the house, but bathroom sinks take a different kind of mix. From globs to toothpaste and dirt from hands, to floss and nail clippings that manage to find their way in, none of them are great on your plumbing. When not draining the sink try to make sure there is a drain cover, or the plunger is down to keep anything that might accidentally get in the bowl from making it’s way down when the water turns on. Being that sinks generally have a smaller pipe, calling a professional in to snake when you notice a clog is your safest bet.

Finally, we’re going to talk about toilets, the number one place of clogs. Toilet paper can make a more visible clog, however there are lots of culprits deeper down that plumbers often see. Wipes are often labeled as flushable, however they do not disintegrate when exposed to water meaning they can ball up and cause quite the problem. Things like paper towels, feminine hygiene products, and qtips are frequent clog causers. Clearing a toilet clog is tricky, so if quick use of a plunger doesn’t clear it, save yourself the time and energy and call a professional to come snake it.

Using chemical chemicals can lead to erosion or your plumbing which means, cracks, leaks, and breaks which are much more extensive and expensive than a quick plumber visit for a clog. Prestige Plumbing offers pipe video inspections to insure not only where the issue is, but that it is fully cleared. For plumbing emergencies or appointments, call Joe Behr for your plumbing needs!