Have a Clogged Drain? Clear it Yourself and Avoid Emergency Plumber Costs

Plumbing repairs need instant action. Unfortunately, most homeowners prefer to wait until their sinks are no longer working before doing something. Clogged drain is among these problems. It can be disastrous and cost you a lot when ignored. If you have a clogged drain in your home, you can do something about it before calling professional plumber services.

Clogging usually occurs in three hotspots – in curved pipes called traps, in toilet passages, and in the main drainpipe. Here are the basic procedures of clearing a clogged drain.

Use Homemade Cleaners
For instant remedy of moderately clogged drain, pour half cup of baking soda down the drain. Follow it with half cup of vinegar and let the mixture set through the drain for three hours and run with water. You should place the drain cover loosely because these ingredients cause foam and fume.

To lessen the grease on your drain, pour half cup of salt and half cup of baking soda. Pour a kettle of boiling water and allow it to settle overnight.

If you are looking for preventive measure, you need these ingredients:
– 1 cup baking soda
– 1 cup table salt
– 1/4 cup cream of tartar

Mix the ingredients thoroughly and put it in a covered jar. Pour 1/4 cup of the mixture through the drain followed by 1 cup boiling water. Flush with cold water after ten seconds. Do this procedure once a week to keep your drain odorless and clog-free.

Manual Removal of Debris
Remove first the cover of the drain opening. Check if there is solid debris within your reach and pull it out manually. You may find it disgusting but this is highly effective for simple clogs.

Use a Plunger
If you have a side-by-side sink, stuff the overflow vent and drain opening of the other sink with wet cloth. This is also applicable when working on a drain of back-to-back bathrooms. This ensures that the air pressure is kept intact within the drain to be unclogged.

Position the plunger head on the drain opening and partially fill the sink with water. Plunge up and down continuously and in vigorous manner. Feel also if the water is whistling back and forth with enough resistance. If not, make sure that the plunger head is sealed against the opening and no air is escaping through air vent and opening of the second sink. You can ask a helper to hold the wet cloth in place.

Once done, pour hot water through the drain to flush the debris.

Use a Drain Auger
The best auger is a coiled cable wrapped in housing and has a handle and crank. Remove the drain cover and slowly feed the auger wire in the opening. As you do this, turn the handle and crank of the auger until you hit something. You can also tighten and loosen the thumbscrew while doing this. Move it back and forth while turning the handle. Repeat the procedure and slowly remove the wire from the drain.

If the procedures did not work, you might need to unplug your sink. Before unplugging, check first if water flows freely through the other drains in your house. If almost all drains in your house are not functioning well, there might be a bigger problem and you need to call for emergency plumbing services.

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Category: Home Management
Keywords: clogged drain,drain opening,moderately clogged drain

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