When your kitchen or bathroom sink or your shower drain is clogged, it can be tempting to reach for a bottle of liquid drain cleaner. But do you know what that stuff actually is? We’ll give you some information on chemical drain cleaners, as well as some tips about safer and more effective options. The next time you have a clog, you’ll be prepared to make the right choice.
What Liquid Drain Cleaner Is
The bottles you can buy in the hardware store that promise to dissolve your clogs are full of extremely caustic chemicals. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, a substance that is caustic “burns or destroys organic tissue by chemical action.” And there’s something pretty precious to you that’s made of organic tissue: your body. In fact, drain cleaner is more caustic than bleach or oven cleaner, and will cause burns to any part of your skin that it touches. Even the fumes pose a hazard to your eyes and your respiratory system.
What Liquid Drain Cleaner Does
As the dictionary definition says, these chemicals burn or destroy any parts of the clog in your drain that are made of organic tissue. Unfortunately, it’s impossible to know how much of your clog is organic. Buildup of grease in a kitchen sink or soap scum in the bathroom often develops around a foreign object that was accidentally washed down the drain, such as a drinking straw or a small piece of a child’s toy. And since those are plastic—the same substance as the bottle holding those chemicals—they won’t be dissolved, and the clog will immediately start to re-form. Additionally, caustic chemicals cause corrosion on the inside of your pipes, roughening the surface and making it even easier for that grease or soap scum to cling to your plumbing.
DIY Clog-Removal Options
To avoid the use of harsh chemicals, you can use a small sink plunger or drain snake (either the plastic type or a hand-cranked metal one) to break up or dislodge the clog. If that fails, or if you have a recurring clog in one drain or multiple clogged drains in your house at the same time, you need hydro jet drain cleaning in Sterling, VA.
How Hydro Jetting Works
A plumbing professional can insert a line all the way through your drain system to the sewer pipe that connects to your sewer system. At the end of the line is a nozzle that can be adjusted in different directions. With a hydro jetting machine, high-pressure water is conducted through the line to spray out the nozzle, and as the line is slowly withdrawn, your entire drain system is cleaned of clogs and buildup from the bottom to the top. Not only is this a fantastic solution to clogged drains that doesn’t involve any chemicals whatsoever, it can also be done preventatively. Having your drains hydro-jetted each year will prevent that grease and soap scum from building up, so you can avoid clogs altogether.
AllTech Services, Inc. is your trusted resource for all your drain cleaning needs. Contact us today!