Drain problems are never convenient. They interfere with your day to day activities and a “slow drain” can quickly turn into a “blocked drain.” This is what has happened when you find backed up water in your sinks, bathtubs and toilets. In most cases with drainage, the more serious the problem, the more difficult the maintenance or repair may be, and the more costly it can be for the homeowner. The best way to avoid this is preventive care.
Why Can’t You Do It Yourself?
Although it may be possible to clear a simple hair or grease clog in your smaller kitchen or bathroom drains yourself, but when there is a stubborn blockage the DIY techniques just won’t do the trick. Your everyday liquid acid-based clog removers like Draino or Liquid Plumber can be harmful to yourself, your pipes and the environment, and rarely solve the issue for very long. If you have PVC drain pipes, acid products can actually eat away at the glued connections causing bigger problems in the future. PVC failures are an extremely common finding and is found in homes where chemicals are poured into the drain systems as a solution to slower drain flow.
Snaking the drain yourself may work, but if the blockage is further down the drain line, a typical DIY drain snake will not be able to reach your problem.
In every case, depending on the severity of the clog, repairs may become expensive and time consuming, so the best way to save yourself time, money, and the inconvenience is through good drain preventative maintenance. A good and common practice for many of our customers is a drain cleaning at least once a year on your most used drains which includes kitchen sinks and shower drains. This procedure includes sending a steal cable with a cleaning head down the drain until it reaches the main drain branch. This will clear and pick up all small blockages that may accumulate over time.