DIY Drain Cleaning Methods that Actually Work
Everyone loves a DIY project, so when you notice a slow drain in your Orange County home, you decide to fix it yourself…except it doesn’t go quite how you were expecting.
It’s something we’ve seen time and time again. Recently, we got a call where the husband attempted a DIY fix. Soon after, we arrived to an embarrassed husband and an unimpressed wife.
Before you attempt another drain cleaning DIY that leaves you feeling more DI-Why, here are safe drain cleaning methods, and how to spot the signs that tell you it’s better to call the pros.
Safe DIY Drain Cleaning Methods
The best DIY is preventative maintenance. When it comes to your drains, that means avoiding grease, fat, oil, and other waste that makes a home in your pipes instead of breaking down.
Now, if we’re being honest, keeping 100% of grease out of the kitchen sink or hair out of the shower is nearly impossible. Especially when you’ve got little ones running circles around you and dinner dishes stacking up. That’s where regular drain cleaning comes in.
Your best friend for clearing away those stray, gunky materials in your drains is an enzymatic drain cleaner. These cleaners don’t have harsh chemicals that damage your pipes and septic tank, yet they still break down organic matter so your drains flow freely. As your certified green plumber, we love BioOne for its green formula, affordability, and easy use!
If your kid not-so-accidentally fed their dinner leftovers to the kitchen sink and now you’ve got a small clog, a plunger or drain snake should do the trick. But it’s important to remember that these tools only work for shallow, singular clogs. If the clog is too far down in your drain system, or you’ve got slow drains all around the house, a DIY isn’t going to fix it.
When Should You Call Your Plumber for Drain Cleaning?
Since plumbing wasn’t built for easy DIYs, it’s important to know when to call the professionals. Look out for:
- Slow Drains
- Unpleasant Odors
- Recurring Clogs
- Gurgling Sounds
When we come to your home to fix a slow drain, we’re bringing our decades of experience. We know exactly how to safely look at your plumbing, take things apart, and put them all back together again, good as new.
We’ve also got tools to make finding the problem as non-invasive as possible, like our fiber-optic cable with cameras. By feeding the line into your pipes, we can find the exact location of your blockage.
From there, it’s easy for us to break out our favorite tool for high-performance drain cleaning. Our hydro jet hoses! Think of it like a power washer for your pipes that blasts through clogs and blockages with nothing but water.
You Know Your Home. Barker and Sons Knows Plumbing.
When it comes to avoiding plumbing disasters and headaches from a misguided DIY, Barker and Sons is here for you. A mother knows there’s nothing better than a happy home you can rely on.
Before you spend hours searching for a video that describes your exact problem and searching for the right wrench, give us a call. From a good hydro jet cleaning to fixing a midnight emergency, we’re standing by to keep your plumbing working just as it should.
