If one has dealt with a Blocked drain he/she surely knows the inconvenience it causes. It not only looks disgusting but a person is at the wits end as to what can be done to solve the problem in the least possible time. This problem is compounded if there are guests or there is a party. Therefore, most will agree that prevention is better and less painful. The first thing one need to remember is that if they do not want the drain to clog up is to be very careful as to what goes into the drain. If one tends to allow grease or tea leaves, coffee dust, soap scum or hair into the drain, one is aiming for trouble and it is not far when the drain will be blocked.
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| Blocked Drains |
Prevention of clogging
In order to prevent grease from being poured into the drain, it should be either poured into old milk cartons or thick plastic packets or old cans or then disposed off with the garbage. If one does not want tea leaves, coffee grounds, vegetable peels and left over food or even soap scum or hair, a screen or a drain cover should be used.
- In order to make sure that the drain is always clean, one needs to allow hot water to run down the drain in order to clean whatever grease and oil is sticking to the surface of the pipe.
- Baking soda followed by hot water should be thrown down the drain at regular intervals. This will not only remove the clogs but it will also decrease any odors present.
- If one does not have baking soda, then a cup of vinegar should be poured down the drain and half an hour later boiling water should be poured into the drain.
- Half a cup of salt and half a cup of baking powder should be thrown into the drain and then after about a minute or two, half a cup of vinegar should be poured.
- After this, about 2 quarts of boiling water should be let into the drain.
The stoppers of the bathtub should be examined for hair and whatever biofilm is there every quarter. The stoppers should be replaced if need be. At least once a week the bathtub should be filled at least halfway and then the stopper should be pulled out. Due to the water which gets flushed out, the drain will get cleaned.
A plumber should be called once or twice a year to do a preventive checkup for blocked drains. He can also inspect any build-ups using a plumbing snake and roots that are down the drain.
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| Blocked Drains |
Methods of clearing clogs
However, if one has a clog, in order to clean it the methods of doing so are:
A) The sink should be filled with water to cover the drain and then the plunger be put so that when it is plunged in and out, the clog can be dislodged due to the vacuum and pressure created.
B) This is used for bathroom sinks to tubs to remove the hair and soap. This contains a plastic strip which has plastic barbs which allow the foreign material to stick and entangle itself with the barbs.
C) If its grease that has blocked the pipe, then a heating pad should be used to heat up the pipe and liquefy the grease or else boiling water should be continuously passed down the pipe.
In addition to this, there are various tools which can be used to clean pipes such as hand tools, sink machines, drum machines, sectional machines, water jetting machines which can all be used should the previous methods of clearing the clogs not work.
If one has dealt with a Blocked drain he/she surely knows the inconvenience it causes. It not only looks disgusting but a person is at the...
