Cleaning a Drain by Yourself

Cleaning a Drain by Yourself

Cleaning a drain by yourself? I know, are you reading this correctly?

Cleaning a drain routinely can be a great way to prevent plumbing mishaps and properly maintain your plumbing system. Some residents have their drain cleaned by a drain cleaning Melbourne specialist every six months, while others prefer to do it annually. If you prefer annual drain cleaning, remember that a whole year is enough for fats, oil and grease to build up in your pipelines, which will ultimately cause rusting, clogging, leaking and bursting. Nevertheless, there are some home solutions that can help you prevent these plumbing issues.
Before getting through the home solutions, remember to create some drain usage rules for your family. Examples of proper drain usage include minimising the amount of toilet paper thrown in your toilet drain, removing food scraps before putting in the dishwasher, removing hair in the drain after taking a bath, etc. With these rules, you are more likely to reduce the chance of encountering clogged drains.

Cleaning a Drain using Hot Water

This prevention method does not involve chemicals and other ingredients. You just need hot water. Run a little bit of hot water through each drain at least 3 times a week. This will keep fats, oil, grease and soap scum from getting stuck on the inner walls of your pipelines. It will also prevent your pipes from freezing during the winter. Nevertheless, make sure you don’t keep hot water running for more than 5 minutes, especially if you have PVC pipes.

Cleaning a Drain using Basic Home Ingredients

Basic home ingredients such as vinegar, lemon juice, salt and baking soda can be a great way to prevent FOG build up in pipes. Put a little bit of baking soda in your sink and pour half a cup of vinegar or lemon juice into baking soda. The mixture will create a chemical reaction that gets rid of fats, oil and grease, without harming your pipelines. Leave the solution for about half an hour, then rinse it out.
You may also use a combination of salt and baking soda. It is best to leave this solution overnight for it to take full effect. Remind everyone in your home not to use the drain where you left the solution. Then, rinse it thoroughly in the morning.

Using Eco-friendly Solution for Cleaning a Drain

If you don’t want to use basic home ingredients, you can always use “eco-friendly” drain cleaning products that you can find in your local stores. Look for drain cleaning products that contains natural, powerful bacteria and enzymes that break down and liquefy organic materials including paper, fats, oil, grease, toothpaste, makeup, hair and food particles. One of the best features of these eco-friendly drain cleaners is that they are non-toxic, thus, they cannot harm you or your family members. There should be one hardware store in Melbourne that sell them.

For more information about plumbing system care, issues prevention and solutions, please browse through our website. If you have a plumbing emergency, give us a call at 0412 738 874 and we’ll fix it up quickly and effectively.

We are the experts to call for blocked drains in Melbourne, the leading sewer plumber in Melbourne as well as emergency plumbing professionals. Contact us on 0412 738 874 or leave a message.