Preventing clogs in your drains
There is nothing worse than seeing your sink fill up with water when it’s not supposed to. Let’s not mention that sick feeling in your stomach when the toilet water is beginning to rise to the top of bowl as your brain races through a multitude of terrible scenarios! We’re here to help with some very simple tips and tricks to try and keep these things from happening and ruining your day.
Kitchen Sink Drain Clogs
The best way to prevent slow or clogged drains is to be careful about what you put into them. Genius, right? Simple things that you may not think about cause drain problems such as coffee grounds, cooking grease, and soap scum are some of the biggest causes of drain issues. Being mindful of these things will help to prevent slow and clogged drains. Here are some tips
- Pour your used cooking grease into a container and then throw it in the trash
- Throw out coffee grounds into the trash or recycle them
- Purchase a cheap drain-grate to cover the drain to prevent as much soap scum from going down the drains as possible. You can find most any drain-grate in the plumbing department of your local hardware store.
Tub and Shower Drain Clogs
Most of us aren’t typically cooking near our tub or shower drains but there are typical shower and bathtub drain clogging culprits. The most common is hair, soap scum and bath bombs. Here are some tips to avoid clogging your bathtub and shower drains:
- Purchase drain-grates for your shower and tub drains. These can be a bit trickier depending on the type of drain you have. Do some research on the type of shower or tub drain you have, and find one to fit. That will help preventing hair from going down the drain, but you should still clear the drain of any remaining hair after each use.
- Bath bombs are amazing, but they can pose potential problems. Be careful to not purchase any bath bomb that releases larger particles into the water. For instance, some bath bombs have larger gel type particles that are intended to slowly dissolve in the water during your bath. Sometimes they don’t completely dissolve and that gel like substance can build up in the drain and cause problems.
DIY Tips for Continuous Clogging Problems
Doing everything right and still fighting a pesky slow drain? Try this homemade clog removal formula out!
Ingredients for each drain:
- ½ Baking soda
- Salt
- Vinegar
- 2 Quarts of boiling water
Instructions:
- Pour the salt and baking soda into the drain
- Add the vinegar and let the concoction foam for approximately one minute
- Pour the 2 quarts of boiling water down the drain
Use this combination before you go to bed to allow the solutions to sit overnight giving it more cleaning power!
Sink With a Garbage Disposal? Try This!
- Fill an ice-cube tray half-full with vinegar and top it off with clear water. (Vinegar won’t freeze well alone. Make sure to mark the tray so that someone doesn’t mistake it for regular ice. It’s not harmful but it will be nasty!)
- Once frozen, turn the disposal on and then dump the cubes down the drain (the ice will also help keep the blades sharp… BONUS!)
- If the vinegar smell bothers you, throw a sliced lemon in after the ice-cubes. Your sink will smell great!
If you are still having issues with clogged drains, give the experts at Suntech Plumbing Services a call today at (405) 785-0950 or schedule an appointment here.