A clogged drain can derail your whole day. Maybe you were trying to clean up after a big dinner, and your sink just filled with dirty dish water and wouldn’t allow it to drain away. Maybe you were trying to take a shower, and you found yourself ankle-deep in water. Can you do something about the clogged drain yourself? And how can you tell when it’s time to call a plumber for professional help?
Home Remedies
If you have a single clogged drain, there is probably a cause specific to that fixture. If it’s your kitchen sink, there may be a piece of food lodged in it, or there may be a buildup of solidified food grease from not wiping your dishes before you wash them. If it’s your shower or tub, it’s more likely to be a blockage made of hair and soap scum.
There are two things you can safely try yourself to get your water draining again. First, there’s a plunger. Don’t use your toilet plunger in other fixtures! If you don’t have a small sink plunger, they are inexpensive and available at most hardware stores. Remember that the goal of a plunger is to force water down through the drain, not pull it up. Hold it vertically and make sure the bottom is tight against the area around the drain. Push and pull forcefully several times without breaking the seal. If this doesn’t work, a hand-cranked drain snake can reach into the plumbing and rotate around, breaking up or snagging any blockage.
Don’t Try This at Home
If these methods fail, you might be tempted to use a bottle of liquid drain cleaner. Don’t do it! These concoctions are not safe for you or your plumbing. They can cause burns to skin if they splash on you, and the fumes can severely irritate your eyes and your respiratory system. They are corrosive enough to cause damage to the interior of your piping as well, and yet they aren’t particularly effective at clearing up clogs. It’s simply not worth it.
Call the Professionals
This scenario is the most common reason to call for professional drain cleaning in Manassas, VA. But there are other times when you and your drains deserve the help of a trained, experienced plumber.
- Frequent Clogs: If a plunger or drain snake does get your drain moving again, but it clogs again frequently, you might have a problem deeper than your drain snake can reach.
- Multiple Clogged Drains: If not one but several fixtures in your home have drainage problems, the true root of the issue may be with your sewer pipe, which connects drained water from your whole house to the sewage system or tank.
- Foul Odors: A stinky sink might be resolved by pouring baking soda and vinegar into it and allowing it to foam for ten minutes. But if that doesn’t work, or you have odors coming from other drains as well, you need a plumber immediately. It’s possible that the sewer vent is blocked, allowing toxic sewer gas to vent through your drains.
AllTech Services, Inc. is your trusted resource for drain cleaning and all other plumbing needs. Contact us today!