How Can You Solve Problems Created by a Blocked Drain at Home?

How Can You Solve Problems Created by a Blocked Drain at Home?

The issue of blocked and clogged drains are very common in households.

As with any other problem, you are most likely to find yourself researching online on how to get rid of a blocked drain.

When your shower or sink suddenly get clogged up and no longer function as needed, besides trying to fix the issue yourself, the next thing that comes to mind is to call an experienced plumber to come and unclog that drain pipe!

Simple household precautions can work out to the best level to allow for the betterment of drain condition.

Here are some easy and simple tips which can help you in unclogging those blocked drains and have those drains work like new again:

Ways of Fixing a Blocked Drain

The drains usually get blocked when some debris or foreign objects get stuck in the pipe of the drain. Other times, residue has built up inside the pipes over the months or even years.

Either way, it can become quite a challenge to unclog a drain with standing water.

Following are some of the commonly adopted ways to fix a blocked drain:

1 - Drain cleaner

Most of the times, the clog can be remedied with the help of a simple residential-type drain cleaner product which is readily available in your local home improvement or hardware store.

If you wish to go for a non-chemical approach, then you should try pouring some vinegar down the drain, followed by baking soda.

2 - Snaking

Snaking is another popular method of getting rid of clogged or blocked drains.

This is pretty much a small piece of plastic which can be inserted into the drain and has small "teeth" on the sides in order to provide the desired resistance against the hairs and other clogging agents.

It is important that you buy a sturdy plastic or PVC snake, as repeated use of metallic snakes can corrode the sides of the drain, and metal parts might break and get stuck inside the drain. Not quite the outcome you'd like to see happen when trying to fix the clogging issue!

3 - Plunging

This is without a doubt a tried and tested method whereby a plunger becomes a very convenient and quick solution to fix the blocked drains.

This is usually a straightforward process and does not require much energy (nor a lot of patience!) before one starts seeing immediate results.

There are mini-plungers which are well-designed for cleaning the blocked bathtub drain, sink or shower and this might certainly work more effectively as compared to a standard model which is toilet-sized.

How to Prevent Clogging or Blocking of a Drain in Your House?

This is a popular saying that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. And this is definitely true in the case of clogged drains!

Even if you have already become a self-made pro in fixing these clogged situations, ideally you'd like to avoid being exposed to any clogs or blockages at all!

Try following the below-mentioned tips:

• Do not dispose of oil or grease in your kitchen sink. Besides actually using alternative methods of disposing of those goods, if you do decide to flush it down your kitchen sink, make sure it is in small proportions, and immediately followed by running water.
• You should always try to maintain tour garbage disposal clean and always run water while using the same. If you have a sink without the desired disposal, then you should ideally use a strainer in order to catch the pieces of debris and food and throw them in the bin.
• Special attention must be given in protecting the drains during periods of excess rain or extremely cold weather. After all, extreme cases of frozenness might lead to the breakage of the drain parts.

Nowadays, you can hire professional drain cleaning agencies who have the right combination of drain cleaning materials, powdered cleaners and non-chemical bleaching agents that keep all the drains of your home in proper conditions throughout the year.