How to Keep Your Drains Clog-Free

A splinter. A rust spot on your car. A crack in your foundation. Sometimes, the smallest problems can bring about the biggest headaches. Nothing exemplifies this more than a simple clog in your plumbing. When your shower won't drain or the water won't go down in your sink basin, you could find yourself trying everything and anything to resolve the issue. And often, nothing seems to work.

Most people end up calling a plumber to snake their drain, which produces all sorts of unholy mess. Huge clumps of hair. Wadded-up toiletries. Something your kid flushed down the toilet. All these things will stay staunchly in-place once they go down the drain, and no amount of at-home remedies will be enough to dislodge them. The only real way to deal with these clogs is to prevent them.

Tips for maintaining your drains

There's a lot you can do to keep drains clog-free. Most things are easy and take almost no effort. Here are a few simple tips every person can and should follow to maintain the integrity of their drains and to prevent clogs and the headaches that come with them.

• Use a hair trap or "tub mushroom" in showers to prevent long strands of hair from going down the drain. Hair becomes tangled and bunched in plumbing and will quickly lead to blockages. Hair traps collect hair before it goes down the drain, to prevent clogs from forming.
   
• Don't pour fats, oils or grease (FOG) down your kitchen sink. FOG products congeal and stick to the sides of plumbing , eventually building up to narrow drains and cause blockages. Other materials become trapped in the FOG buildups, causing even stronger clogs.
   
• Don't pour chemicals down your drains in an attempt to clean them! Often, baking soda and vinegar are enough to dislodge any simple buildups. Dish soap and boiling water is another good drain-cleaning recipe. Avoid caustic chemicals, bleach and detergents at all costs.
   
• Avoid flushing anything that's not toilet paper or human waste. Even products labeled "flushable" aren't truly flushable, and can clog your drains if they become stuck anywhere in your plumbing. The same goes for feminine hygiene products, baby care products and more.

Above all, practice good drain care and cleaning. A mixture of baking soda and hot water is your best friend for drain cleaning - not only because it loosens clogs before they form, but because baking soda is an odor neutralizer.

Call in the professionals for clogs

If you're faced with a clog that won't seem to go away, avoid off-the-shelf products and pick up the phone. A plumber will be able to snake the drain free in no time at all - or, at the very least, scope it to see what, exactly, is giving you grief. When all's said and done, calling a plumber isn't much more expensive than buying store products - and you'll get better results!

Have a drain in your home that's constantly backing up, draining slowly or perpetually clogged? Give us a call at (289) 404-9063 or eMail info@pipemasters.ca and we'll get the water draining smoothly again in no time.

PipeMasters is part of Oakridge Plumbing Ontario Ltd. All Rights Reserved.