The drains in your home, especially your kitchen sink, are home to all sorts of nasty things. From rancid food to bacteria, there are many reasons you’ll want to keep your drains clean. When these things build up it can cause a clog, create an unpleasant smell, and can even be a health hazard. A clogged drain can also be a serious problem that leads to flooding, which is not only messy and inconvenient, but also expensive.
Luckily there are some basic things you can do on your own to help prevent clogged drains. By following these 5 tips, you can help keep your drains fresh, clean and free of clogs.
1. Clean Your Sink with Baking Soda and Vinegar
Baking soda is a great natural cleaner, but it’s also great at getting rid of clogs. If you have a slow-draining sink, mix a cup of baking soda with a cup of vinegar and pour it down the drain. Let it sit for 15 minutes, then flush with boiling water. The combination of the two will help dissolve any gunk that’s clogging up your drain. This is one of the easiest ways to keep your kitchen sink clean.
2. Don’t Pour Grease Down Your Drains
Grease is an enemy of the drain. It’s thick, it’s slippery, and it sticks around forever. If you pour grease down your drain, it will coat every surface it comes into contact with—even the sides of your pipes—making it hard for water to flow through. Grease also attracts other substances that can clog your pipes—like food scraps, hair, and soap scum—making for a real nightmare when you’re trying to get rid of a clog.
The best way to keep grease from building up in your pipes and causing trouble is to not put grease down your drain in the first place.
3. Use a Sink Strainer
When you clean dishes or do any sort of food prep in your kitchen sink, make sure to use a sink strainer so that nothing gets stuck in your drains. This is a good way to prevent food from going down your drain in the first place. A sink strainer will catch any food particles before they reach your pipes and cause problems later on. It’s also important to clean out this strainer regularly so that it does its job properly!
4. Invest in a Snake or Plunger for Your Drains
If you have a slow-running toilet or other drain, the easiest way to clear the blockage is with a plunger or a drain snake (also known as an auger). A drain snake is simply a long piece of flexible metal that you feed into the pipe until it reaches the clog. Then you crank it back and forth to push out whatever has caused the stoppage. Drain snakes come in different sizes for different types of pipes and are available at most hardware stores for about $20-$30. Plungers work on simple clogs, too — just plunge away!
Use plungers wisely
Plungers are great for clearing out small blockages in sink and bathtub drains, but they don’t work well on larger pipe obstructions. This is because they can push debris deeper into the pipe instead of pulling it out of the line. If you need help with larger clogs, call an expert like Mullin Plumbing, Inc. in Broken Arrow. They can clear the clog out fast and without causing any further damage to your plumbing system.
5. Get Professional Help for Clogged Drains
Clogged drains are one of the most common plumbing issues, and they’re no fun to deal with. If you have a quick fix for clogged drains like Drano or a plunger, that’s great! But if you’ve tried all your tricks without success, it may be time to call in a professional. A plumber is trained to diagnose the issue quickly and get it sorted out before it can become serious. Plumbers aren’t just skilled at using their tools to fix problems though—they can also give you tips on how to avoid them altogether (and save you the cost of calling them out in the future).
Drain Services Near Me in Broken Arrow
If you put these practices into action, you can keep the drains in your house clean! But when this isn’t enough and you require the help of a professional, call Mullin Plumbing, Inc. in Broken Arrow. We specialize in drain cleaning. Our technicians use high-pressure water lines to clear any clogs in your home’s drains. If we find that there is a major problem, we will let you know so that you can have it fixed immediately. Call us today at (918) 209-3133 for more information about our services.
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