From time to time, you may encounter a blocked drain in your property. It is a common occurrence and is definitely something that you should be prepared to deal with.
Drains can become blocked for many reasons; from too much hair clogging-up the drainage of your shower to a build-up of starchy foods, the list goes on and on. The point we are getting at is, when you inevitably face a blockage, it is useful to know how to unclog them. In this article, our Ipswich Plumbers will run through some of the tried and tested methods which you can use to unblock your drains.
Baking soda and vinegar
The combination of baking soda and vinegar has proven to be a go-to option for unclogging blocked drains.
The combination of baking soda and vinegar is the go-to option for unclogging a blocked drain. In any local supermarket, you will come across a range of branded products for unclogging blocked drains, but you do not need these. Instead of overspending on these fancy branded products, why not replicate their formula? It is usually a straightforward combination of baking soda and vinegar! To create your own solution, measure-out an equal amount of baking soda and vinegar and mix the two together, the compounds will begin to react. Pour the fizzing mixture into the drain you wish to unblock. The reaction between the vinegar and the baking soda will have the desired effect. Leave the mixture to sit for a couple of hours or even overnight and then proceed to pour a jug of boiling water into the drain. This simple solution should do the trick.
Create a pulling device
This next method is particularly useful when trying to unclog a shower drain. More often than not, a shower drain becomes blocked due to an excessive amount of hair going down the drain. Honestly, you would be astonished by the amount of hair our Plumbers in Ipswich have seen come out of a drain! The best solution is to remove the hair from the drain. In order to pull the blockage from the drain, you will need to create a pulling device. Don’t worry, it isn’t as complicated as it sounds. One of the easiest ways to create a pulling device is to bend a wire coat hanger into a hook. To do this, straighten out the hanger and try to replicate the appearance of a fishing hook. When you remove the hair from the drain, it is likely to smell and be rather unpleasant, so make sure to prepare yourself for that. Once you have removed the hair from the drain, we recommend pouring a jug of boiling water down the drain.
Cleaning the pipe
For a lot of people, the idea of removing a pipe to thoroughly clean it will seem too complicated. In reality, it is a pretty simple job that you can undertake yourself, beats paying for an Ipswich Plumber, right? The most commonly clogged drain in the house is the kitchen sink, just think about all the food that gets washed down there and you will understand why that is the case. The best thing you can do to prevent your kitchen sink from getting blocked in the first place is to prevent food from going down the drain with a filter. Most of the time when a kitchen sink is clogged it is because bits of food are trapped in the u-bend which is located right under your sink. Cleaning the u-bend is super simple, as it is a drainage pipe, you don’t even have to isolate your water supply!
Begin by placing a bucket, or suitable container underneath the u-bend, this will prevent any nasty water falling into your cupboard. Then, use a plumbing wrench to loosen the connection at both ends of the plastic u-bend, after a few twists, you should be able to loosen it the rest of the way by hand. Once the u-bend is separated from the rest of the pipework, grab an old toothbrush and scrub away! When you have removed the debris from the u-bend, give it a final rinse and refit the pipe and tighten it up. It is as easy as that and can be completed in as little as 5 minutes.
These are just a few of the many methods which can be used to unclog a blocked drain, the three techniques above are the ways that our Ipswich Plumbers recommend. Sometimes, it may take a couple of attempts, or even using more than one of the techniques, so make sure to persevere with it! However, if you are still having trouble with the blockage, then you can get in touch with one of our Plumbers in Ipswich who will be able to investigate the issue and remove the blockage for you. Rarely, the blockage could be hidden away deeper in your property’s plumbing system which would require the intervention of an experienced plumber.