It is important that you clean your drains regularly to keep them clog-free. Otherwise, you should expect a lot of issues that may range from blockages, leaking pipes, backups, and even the presence of foul odor. To help maintain your drains, here’s a list of tools you should keep handy at home!
1. Vinegar And Salt
Vinegar and salt are kitchen staples. We bet you’ll always have these ingredients in your cupboard. And do you know that these two are also great drain cleaners? Yes, they are great for removing sticky substances from your pipes. Just mix a cup of salt and a cup of vinegar. Stir the solution well and pour it into the drain. Let sit for about 30 minutes and flush down with hot water.
2. Baking Soda
Aside from vinegar and salt, you should also use baking soda to keep your drains clean. Pour a cup of this baking ingredient into the drain. Make sure that you’ll scatter it inside the tube. After the baking soda, pour a cup of white vinegar into the drain, too. You can use any brand that you prefer. Plug the drain hole with an old cloth or a rag and let the two ingredients fizz out the sticky waste materials inside the pipe. When you no longer hear any fizzing sound, you should flush the ingredients with hot water as well.
3. Plunger
The plunger is great for eradicating clogs. Put the tool’s rubber part at the center of the drain hole. Plunge up and down for about 20 repetitions while maintaining a consistent pace. Afterward, pour water into the drain and check if the block has been removed. If you’re successful, the flow of water into the drain should be smooth.
4. Plumbing Snake
When the above-mentioned tools fail to clear the drain, use a plumbing snake. It’s a wire that has an auger or hook at its end, which is used to break through solid substances. Insert the plumbing snake into the drain hole and turn its clockwise to push it further down the line. When you feel some kind of resistance, keep on turning its crank to break the obstruction into smaller pieces. When there’s no more resistance, carefully pull the snake out and dispose any waste material that gets stuck to the auger properly.
5. Drain Rods
If you haven’t used drain rods yet, you should also try them one time. These are flexible rods that you can insert in the drain pipe and utilize to remove the blockage. These come in sets as well as vary in terms of size and length.
6. Wrench
Just in case you’re dealing with a stubborn kitchen sink drain clog, you might need to detach the trap and hook the clog out from there. You’ll need a wrench to accomplish this task. If the trap won’t budge, you should first warm it up with a hairdryer.
Learn how a clean out sewer drain is cleaned. Watch this video now.