Clogged Up Drains – A Major Headache!.
Clogged Up Drains – A Major Headache!.
You are standing under the shower for a relaxing time, and all of sudden you realize that water is rising around your feet. Is there anything as inconvenient and messy as a blocked drain!. You are hurriedly brushing your teeth, and before you can even blink your eyes, the sink is brimming over with water. The prospect of sorting blocked drains out is not a happy one; it can be messy and time consuming. However, clogged drainage is something that cannot be avoided; every household has to cope with it sooner or later. So you should know how to unclog them, well in advance.
What causes a clogged up drain?.
Most often, when the dirt,sand and debris that we wash off from our bodies combines with the hair that we shed in a bath, all those entangled clumps accumulate within and eventually block the drainpipe. Everyday products like soaps, shampoos, detergents and so on add to the problem by building up around the solid material. When the offending mass becomes too dense to allow any water to flow through freely, the problem is identified as blocked drains. If the water has started building up quickly in your tub or sink, then without delay you should unclog the drain.
How do you unblock your drainage?.
Time to roll up your sleeves and tackle the blockage – here are a few tips on what you can do to unblock your bathtub or sink drainpipe. Whether you are working with a sink or a bathtub drain pipe, the first step to take is to remove the stopper. Look beneath the sink, you may have to remove a nut that secures the plug or in some cases you can just directly pull out the stopper by the u-bend. With your bath tub, you can either unscrew the plug right at the drain pipe or removing the overflow plate to remove the assembly.
It is important to remove the stopper because only then you can view the things that are clogging the drain pipe inside the drainage pipe. You are most likely to see bunch of hair and other debris entangled in a clog. Reach down into the pipe and pull out as much as possible. If the mass is located in a region, where it is difficult for you to grasp it and pull it out, then use a wire clothes hanger to dig into the clump and pull it back through the drainpipe pipe. This step of removing the residual clumps will remove the local blockage and clear your blocked drains at your drain point.
If, after exposing the drainpipe, you observe that the blockage is not close enough for removal with the wire you have, then you will need to find another way. A very useful tool is a drain plunger which can eradicate those blockages that are too deep to reach. In the first step, use a wet cloth to cover the overflowing drain pipe, and then use the plunger; this will make the suction stronger. Now put the plunger over the drain pipe and move it up and down continuously at an even pace. When you let go of the plunger, any excess water should flow out right away if you have dislodged the blockage.
Even the plunger may not clear the most dense and hardened matter inside your plumbing – that’s when you will have to deploy a chemical drain pipe clearing product. Chemical Substances should be applied only after all else fails because they are hazardous and can damage your bathroom hardware.
Bring in the Pros for a professional drainage solution.
After taking all the steps that you can carry out yourself, if the blocked drains remain, it will be wise to call your neighborhood plumber or drainage services company for some assistance. Professional plumbers will have specialist equipment and know-how to unblock your blocked drains in next to no time. Taking professional help will cost you a bit but it is definitely worth it.