Drains are among the most neglected parts of the home’s plumbing systems. The drains in your home are often out of sight – buried deep inside the ground. As a result, they don’t typically feature in most homeowners’ maintenance plans. Moreover, drains are not the most pleasant home features. They harbor smelly bacteria-laden water, so it is typical to avoid them.
But those smelly drains in your home serve a vital purpose. Issues with the drains can disrupt your lifestyle or even damage your property, warns SCUDOre.com. Everyday household activities, such as taking a refreshing shower in the morning or washing the dishes, can come to a screeching halt when the drains in the home malfunction. Furthermore, issues with the drains can result in damage to your home’s interior and landscaping.
Every single day, the following materials go down the drains in your home:
- Different kinds of food particles and grease when you wash the dishes.
- Soap, hair, and all kinds of dirt; when you take a shower or wash your hands at the sink.
- Human waste from every time you use the toilet.
These go into the drains and cause build-ups. It eventually gets to the point when the collection prevents the proper functioning of the drain, such as when you have a blockage. But build-ups are not the only problems your drains can have. Several other artificial and natural issues can interfere with the drain’s performance.
But all these issues can be solved or prevented by cleaning your drains on a schedule. How often should you clean your drains, and what are the benefits of doing so?
Five good reasons to clean your drains
Reduce the risk of blockages
Blockages in the drains can be very costly in terms of how much damage they do to your home and the inconvenience they cause. Some of the possible outcomes of blocked drains are flooding from the bathroom drain or overflowing toilet, disgusting sewer backups, the possibility of damage to your lawn, and costly pipe replacements. The only way to take control and prevent these issues is to clean your drains regularly.
Reduce the risk of terrible odors in your home
The horrible smell emanating from the drains is typical because the drain carries wastewater. But these odors do not have to get into your home. Horrible odors from the drain find their way into your home when components of the drain stop working or are damaged. Regular cleaning of your drains not only gives you the chance to address the build-up that causes terrible odors but also lets you discover problems early and deal with them before they become plumbing emergencies.
Reduced risk of costly repairs
The tiniest issues can become big problems if you allow them to go on long enough. One thing you do not want in your home is an emergency due to problems with the drain. There is no telling how much such problems will eventually cost. It is easier to remove sludge from your pipes than to pay the financial consequences of a blockage, especially when it results in property damage. It is cheaper to remove harmful tree roots than replace the sewer line after roots destroy them.
Improve indoor air quality and health
By cleaning your drains regularly, you eliminate the risk of your family exposure to toxic bacteria-laden gases from the drains. These gases have a negative impact on your indoor air quality. Drain cleaning also eliminates the possibility of releasing disease-causing wastewater into your home. Cleaning the drains will keep your home sanitary and safe for everyone who lives in it. The cost of keeping the drains open does not compare to the financial and emotional toll ill health can take on you.
Prolong the lifespan of your drain
You can prevent most of the issues that shorten your drain’s lifespan by cleaning it on a schedule. Leaks and other problems become common when build-up inside the pipes is unchecked. The result is that the pipes will fail before the end of their estimated lifespan. Conversely, you can stretch the usefulness of your drain pipes beyond their lifespan by keeping them free of build-up.
How often should you clean your drains?
As a rule, clean the drains once every year. Do this whether there are issues with the drain or not. Cleaning your drain every year is a preventive step to help you avoid problems. You may need to clean the drains more than once a year or less than once a year. It all depends on the size of your household. Bigger households often need to have their drains cleaned more than once a year. Small families can afford to clean their drains less regularly.
The Absolute Best Drain Cleaning Method is Known as Hydro-Jetting