Drain Cleaning 101

February 26, 2018

Hanson's Plumbing & Heating Drain Cleaning 101 While we’d all love to say we’re perfect, today’s busy homeowners may often overlook steps to keep their house in order. By Friday, your house could look like the aftermath of a tornado: a sink full of dishes, grimy bathroom, and twenty things out of place. We’ll have to deal with the inevitable clogged drain at one point or another. Prevent leaks and save on repairs with a little extra plumbing care and these drain cleaning recommendations from Hanson’s Plumbing & Heating.

Drain Maintenance

1. Do not put any solid matter or objects down your kitchen drain. Food waste from your pans, plates, and bowls should go into the garbage. Avoid pouring grease down the drain, which turns into a solid at room temperature.
2. A garbage disposal may be handy but try to avoid problematic food items like eggshells and stringy vegetables. Make sure to use extra water to rinse down the sink as well.
3. What goes in the toilet? #1, #2, and toilet paper. Nothing more! Not even tissues, hair, nail clippings, feminine products, floss, or cotton swabs.
4. Invest in a drain catcher. You would be surprised to know how much hair you can lose while taking one shower.

Drain Cleaning

Let’s start with what not to do.

We don’t recommend the usual cleaners like Liquid-Plumbr. While they may clean your drains, the unintended consequences are more harmful than good. Some create bad chemical reactions that you should not breathe, while others can solidify or burst your pipes. However, our plumbers do sell and use a safer product called Thrift.

So what should you do?

Kitchen Sink

First, soften the clog with warm water and dish soap. Then pour in a pot of boiling hot water.

You could try this again by pouring in equal parts of baking soda, then vinegar. Wait 5-10 minutes and pour in more boiling hot water. Last, try a plunger to help dislodge any stubborn clogs.

Bathroom Sink, Bathtub, and Toilet

Hair ranks as the number one cause of bathroom sink and tub clogs, which comes as no surprise.

For the sink and tub, plug the drain and fill with very hot water. Next, unplug the drain and let the pressure go to work. Use a snake or remove any hair yourself. But for the toilet, only use a plunger or snake.

Did you know there are two different types of plungers? One for sinks and bathtubs and one for toilets. Plungers for toilets have a flange on them that should be pulled out before using it on a toilet. Sinks, tubs, and showers use a cup plunger with no flange on it. A lot of plungers allow for the flange to be tucked in and act as a cup plunger so you can use them for both applications.

If you still have a clog in your sink, bathtub, or toilet, please contact a certified plumber as soon as possible! At Hanson’s Plumbing & Heating, we offer 24/7 emergency service for jobs like these.