Helpful Tips

How to keep your kitchen sink from backing up!

• Never pour fats or cooking oils down drains. They solidify in pipes. Instead, wipe grease from pots with paper towels and throw them into the trash.

Are You Doing More Harm than Good with Liquid Drain Cleaners?

Caustic drain openers like Liquid Plumber and Drano are intensely strong and dangerous household chemicals made to clear drain and pipe clogs. We’ve all probably used them at one time or another, and we have probably asked ourselves at some point about their safety and about whether they might damage drains and sewer pipes.

There are a few things to keep in mind when using liquid drain cleaners:

1. Caustic drain openers are okay for minor clogs, but they should not be used for major clogs. They can get trapped in your pipes and cause them serious damage. Remember, these are dangerous chemicals.
2. There is also the danger of trapped drain openers mixing with other chemicals. There have been reported cases where a chemical eruption occurred due to mixing. This can cause severe chemical burns and blindness. If you do not know for sure what other chemicals might be present in the pipe, you should probably not try fixing the problem chemically. If you can’t snake the drain yourself, call the professionals at THE DRAIN CO.
3. Repeated use of drain openers simply means you have a more serious, systemic problem with your drain lines. It is definitely not advisable to keep pouring them (or your money) down the drain. It’s not cost-effective and it’s a potential health threat.
4. Drano and drain-off. It’s long been affirmed that these chemicals run off into groundwater and can potentially find themselves back in the potable (drinkable) water supply. So again, if it’s a minor clog, it’s probably OK to use it in a pinch. However, if you are concerned with our environment, you might want to stick to methods like hot water, Baking soda and vinegar and hand-snaking first. Again, if those fail to work, give us a call and we’ll come out and evaluate your situation.

5. Keep in mind potential problems you may not see. There has been at least a few reported cases like the following: A gentleman pours one of the popular drain cleaners into the drain, two bottles in fact! Well, the drain clog cleared out. As time went on he noticed that his floor began buckling. As you might have guessed, the massive amounts of drain opener he used ate through the pipes and began doing physical damage to the structure of his home, costing him thousands of dollars in repair. There was extensive water damage under the sink and floors. Suffice it to say, this gentleman had to replace the sewer pipes and also had to repair the floor. If you are looking for a professional drain expert give THE DRAIN CO. a call. 818-344-1114.

How to unclog your kitchen sink.

• Unclog your drain using 3 household items – water, white vinegar, and baking soda.