Wouldn’t it be nice if your plumbing drains always flowed freely without clogs and blockages? It wouldn’t just be nice, it would be awesome! Sadly, those kinds of things only happen in fairy tales. The reality of life is that drain clogs and blockages sometimes happen.
But what if I told you that you could get something close to that? Yes, you can’t completely rule out the possibility of clogs and blockages in your plumbing drains. But you can get something that is a close second. Real Property Management Ignite notes that you can reduce the frequency of these problems or even prevent them.
Why is it not possible to completely stop debris from collecting inside your drain pipes? Simply because debris finds its way into your drains when you wash dishes, shower, and use the toilet. For these reasons, it is unavoidable that debris will find its way into your drainpipes.
However, it is within your power to stop that debris from causing clogs inside your drains. How? By applying a simple two-pronged strategy. Firstly, reduce the amount of debris entering your drains. Secondly, clean the pipes periodically to get rid of any debris inside the pipes.
How does this work? Read on to find out.
Avoid clogged drains in your home
You don’t need to know a lot about plumbing systems to stop drain clogs from happening in your home. All it takes is some vigilance. Follow the steps below and watch your drain maintenance costs fall drastically as your drainage system becomes more efficient.
Keep debris out of the drains
Most times, when drain clogs and blockages occur in your home, they are the result of you or someone in your apartment dumping something into the drains that they should not have. If you want to minimize the possibility of clogs and blockages in your home, follow these rules:
- Dispose of FOG properly: FOG means fat, oil, and grease. FOG is often the culprit when a sewer line clogs. That is because when they get inside your drains, fats, oils, and grease congeal into a sticky, hard, oily mass that clings to pipe walls, slows the flow of water, and traps the debris in wastewater.
- Keep food scraps out of the drain: If you don’t want your drains to clog, keep these things out of the drainpipes: starchy foods (mashed potatoes, rice, pasta, potato peels), fibrous veggies (celery, corn silk, broccoli, etc.), coffee grounds, eggshells, bones, etc.
- Do not flush items in the toilet: Do your best to only flush water, toilet paper, and human waste in your toilet. Keep so-called flushable items out of the toilet. This includes paper towels, diapers, feminine hygiene products, tissues, condoms, wipes, dental floss, cat litters, etc.
- Install drain screens and strainers: To help you catch any debris you miss, install drain screens and strainers on sinks and shower drains. This step is especially important for shower drains because a lot of hair and soap scum find their way into the drainage system through the shower drain.
Periodic drain cleaning
You cannot completely keep debris out of your drainpipes. The wastewater that flows into the drains will always contain some amount of debris. So what can you do to ensure that debris does not cause drain clogs? You can have your drains cleaned on a schedule.
- Hydro jetting: Hydro jetting is a professional drain cleaning method that uses high-pressure streams of water, delivered inside the drainpipes, to blast away the accumulated debris within the pipes. Hydro jetting will dislodge debris, scour pipe walls, and also wash the loose debris out of your pipes.
- Sewer rodding: This is another popular professional drain cleaning method. It uses a series of flexible rods that are joined end-to-end to let them reach deep into the drainage system. The rod is then used to push away or hook any debris inside your drainpipes, restoring the flow of water.
- Preventive maintenance: This is the practice of addressing drainage problems before they happen. Instead of waiting for your drains to clog, you take steps to prevent clogs by periodically cleaning your drains. That means having the drains cleaned professionally, even when there are no signs of trouble. Preventive maintenance also means inspecting your drains yearly to assess the condition of the pipes.
- Sewer camera inspection: This is the most efficient way to evaluate the condition of your drainage system without digging up the pipes. It uses a waterproof camera inserted into the pipes to acquire a close-up video recording of the pipe channel, allowing a professional plumber in Countryside, IL to analyze the drainage system thoroughly. Doing this step once a year helps you catch problems in your drainage system early.
These near-failure-proof strategies are guaranteed to help you maintain optimal flow in your home’s drainage system throughout the year. They will eliminate problems like slow drains and bad odors while helping you achieve massive cuts in your home’s drain maintenance costs.
There is only one condition when applying these strategies: you need a trusted, licensed local plumber in Countryside, IL working with you to help you maximize the benefits of these tactics.
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Need assistance with your drains or any other plumbing in your Countryside, IL home or business? Call us today at 708-801-6530!
