Blocked drains can damage your home and your possessions. A major mess can be created by a clogged overflowing toilet which can cause a great inconvenience. What can be the signs of a problem? Gurgling sinks, slow draining showers, and smelly outdoor drains. Fat, grease, tree roots, pet litter, paper, or food scraps can be some of the reasons for the blocked drains.
There are different types of drain blocking that people can suffer in their houses or backyard. Like:
- Outdoor drain
- Bathroom sink drain
- Drain with standing water
- Shower drain
- Kitchen sink with disposal garbage
- Bathtub drain
- Ac drain
Let us look at these blocked drains one by one and learn how to unclog them.
Outdoor Drain
These blocked drains usually get clogged by leaves or mud specifically during the rainy season. Cleaning is essential and can be removed, you need to hire services for instant cleaning. . If one learns how to unclog, these drains then there is no need to call a plumber and waste money.
There are certain steps to unclog the drain by yourself.
- Break the clog apart: Before starting the procedure, putting on elbow-length gloves can be a good option. As it is hygienic and you don’t want to gag over the disgust you experience with your naked hands. The gloves should be waterproof, as they will protect your hands when you break the clog apart.
- Always keep caustic soda at home, it can easily remove the clogs if used at early signs of cloggings in the drain.
- Use your hands to reach the drain down: when you fit your hand inside the drain, try to break the clog with your hands and remove as much as debris and throw it away. Keep doing this process of removing debris, until you stop finding any. This is the time when your long gloves will help. While cleaning the debris, if there are any objects hidden, that can hurt you or cause any irritation, then you are safe.
- Use of rods instead of hands: if you are not able to reach the deepest point of the drain then drain rods are your friends. These are long and flexible tools for plumbing. These rods can be bought from any hardware shop easily.
- Use bleach and water: After you are done removing debris with your hands, spray the drain opening with 1 gallon (3.8 L) of water using a hose. This will make sure that the drainage is unclogged and it will remove any loose material if present. Then, use about 240-470 ml of bleach for any smell.
Using Soda And Vinegar
- Soda into the drain: Pour 208g of baking soda directly into the drain. But if the drain is completely, then use a drain rod first to remove the break the clog apart then use soda.
- Vinegar into the drain: add 240 ml of vinegar into the drain directly just after the baking soda. This will create a reaction and bubbles will form.
- Wait: the mixture will take some time. So just wait for about 30 minutes and let the reaction do its work. This will break down the organic material, that is stuck in the pipes. This will make the drain work efficiently.
These are two basic ways that can be applied to any type of blocked drains. But if the problem is severe then try calling a professional. But a different type of clogging needs different ways to unclog. One can look up various sources for cleaning the drains.
