Tag Archives: drain cleaning plumber

Sep '22

5 Reasons to Call a Professional Plumber for Drain Cleaning

So, you think something inside your drain obstructs the channel and would like to clear it out. But how are you going to do that? What is the best way to clean your drains? Should you do it yourself or hire a professional plumber?

Doing it yourself typically means using a chemical drain cleaner. But while this is a quick method to get water flowing through the drains again, there are good reasons why it is not a good option, warns Rent Appeal, especially if you consider the long-term impact of this solution.

Most homeowners use chemical drain cleaners because they think they save time and money. But the sad truth is that chemical drain cleaners do not save you money. Using them in your drains will cost you more money in the future.

How is that?

Why you should never use chemical drain cleaners

Chemical drain cleaners contain corrosives, principally sulfuric acid and caustic soda. These chemicals are so corrosive that after about five seconds of being inside your drains, they will not only start to eat away at the debris inside the pipes but also corrode them.

But the damage to your plumbing is not immediately evident when you use a chemical drain cleaner. That’s because drain cleaners thin out the pipes, making your plumbing fragile, more susceptible to leaks, and exposing your home to a greater risk of water damage.

The other reason not to use chemical drain cleaners is for personal safety. When using drain cleaners, you must wear rubber gloves and protective goggles. Additionally, you must pour the chemical very slowly because if it splashes on your skin, it will cause burns.

However, even if you succeed in pouring a drain cleaner into your drain without getting it on your skin or your eyes, drain cleaners sit inside your drain pipes for a long time. If the drain cleaner inside the pipe mixes with other cleaners, it can release deadly gases into your home.

So, if drain cleaners are harmful, what is the alternative?

You can buy a hand auger or plunger for nearly the same amount you pay for a chemical drain cleaner. These effectively remove clogs near the drain opening and can be used repeatedly. There are also lots of natural drain cleaning methods you can use.

But these methods do not address the root cause of the clogs in your drains. They only work as short-term fixes. The best long-term solution for keeping your drains in good condition is to hire a professional plumber. Why should you take this option?

Benefits of hiring a professional plumber

Solve problems effectively

Unlike when homeowners try to solve issues in their plumbing, a professional plumber does not just focus on the symptoms of the problem. A professional plumber will find the root cause of the problem by way of a sewer camera inspection.

Also, unlike chemical drain cleaners, which do not distinguish between the debris inside the pipes and the PVC, metal, or enamel of your plumbing, the professional plumber can pinpoint the cause of the problem and solve it effectively.

They can educate you

Most blockages inside your drains are caused by the improper use of the drains, such as when you flush fats, oils, and grease (FOGs) into the drain or misuse of the garbage disposal.

A professional plumber can prevent future problems by identifying behaviors contributing to your plumbing issues. They can give you advice that will help you avoid future problems and save costs.

Detect problems early

Most plumbing problems start as minor issues with early warning signs of the impending catastrophe. Blockages happen when those initial signs are overlooked. A professional plumber can save you money by catching problems at the beginning stages and solving them before they become significant costs; instead of compounding your plumbing issues, as chemical drain cleaners would, professional plumbers help you avoid problems.

Routine maintenance

A local plumber can help you do routine maintenance of your plumbing. Rather than wait for problems to happen before you pay attention to your drains, regular maintenance of the system will prevent issues.

For instance, a camera inspection of your drains does not cost much, but this simple step will save you the thousands of dollars you would have spent to fix damage caused by a sewer backup.

Professional advice

A professional plumber will help you keep your plumbing up to date. From information about new regulations to innovative plumbing products that have just entered the market, your plumber is more in touch with the industry.

They can ensure that instead of merely spending money to keep the system running, you can invest your money to improve your plumbing system. A professional plumber can help you build a resilient system with fewer problems and lower costs.

To sum up, why should you call a plumber for drain cleaning services? The straightforward answer is that only a professional plumber can clear the debris inside your drains. Chemical drain cleaners and other methods will not do it.

Sep '22

5 Benefits of Professional Drain Cleaning Service

5 Benefits of Professional Drain Cleaning Service – Plumbing systems are designed to withstand constant use throughout the year. But the resilience of your home’s plumbing system can also become a problem; as Paradise Management explains, it could be why you don’t view the plumbing as a top priority when cleaning the house or doing routine maintenance.

But just because your home’s plumbing doesn’t break down often doesn’t mean the system does not need regular care. Many of the plumbing issues you have had in the past or the ones you will have in the future are the results of minor problems you overlooked.

Plumbing systems will have problems and break down from time to time; that is normal. But if those issues become frequent or worsen with each occurrence, it indicates a long-term issue that has not been solved. Examples of such long-standing plumbing problems include:

Several drains inside your home are clogged simultaneously; the toilet, sink, and shower may have issues simultaneously. Or you may have clogs that persist for more than one week. These are signs of longstanding issues with the plumbing coming to the surface.
There are bad smells around the home, and they refuse to go away even after you clean your home. The usual cause of this problem is accumulated waste inside your drainpipes. The decaying materials release obnoxious gases that find their way into the house.
Gurgling sounds inside the drains. Air may become trapped inside your pipes as a clog forms within them. When water enters those pipes, that air is compressed and tries to find a way out through your drain opening. The escaping air causes the gurgling sound you hear.
Invasion by fruit flies. If you see a lot of drain flies inside your home, there must be some decaying matter inside the house. If you have checked and your trash does not cause the problem, the most likely cause is a blockage inside your drains.

What should you do when you have drain issues?

Most homeowners will use DIY solutions until the problem becomes so bad that the DIY solution doesn’t help anymore. Standard DIY solutions homeowners use include removing the clog with baking soda and vinegar or pouring a chemical drain cleaner into the drain to remove the clog.

But these DIY solutions do not really solve the problem; they only relieve the immediate symptoms. Even worse, some DIY solutions, such as chemical drain cleaners, worsen the situation. On the other hand, a professional drain cleaning service such as a sewer line rodding or hydro-jetting is always the best option for solving plumbing issues in your home.

a professional hydro jet drain cleaning service being performed.

A professional drain cleaning service such as a sewer line rodding or hydro-jetting is always the best option for solving plumbing issues in your home.

Here is why.

Five benefits of hiring a professional drain cleaning service

Avoid hassles and complications

Your home’s plumbing issues will never stop when you use short-term ineffective solutions. Living with drains that need constant cleaning or toilets that must be plunged every week is a major pain. The emotional toll of the problem is just one part. In addition to the stress, these DIY solutions will cause complications in your plumbing system, costing you tens of thousands of dollars to fix.

Avoid unnecessary health issues

Increased respiratory problems and allergic reactions among family members or pets are some health problems resulting from not handling drain issues well. This is because mold and mildew take hold inside the home’s drains or chemical drain cleaners find their way into the water supply. Conversely, the methods used by professional drain cleaning services will not endanger humans or the environment.

Save money in the long run

The number one reason homeowners prefer DIY methods for their drain problems versus hiring a professional drain cleaning service is that they want to save money. But do DIY solutions save money when they don’t actually solve the problem from the root? The problem only worsens, and the cost of fixing it becomes much higher. This would not happen if a professional drain cleaning service were hired from the get-go.

Detect problems before they happen

DIY methods are only useful after a plumbing problem becomes evident in your home. They are reactive in nature. Hiring a professional drain cleaning service for your home’s plumbing works differently. The local plumber will not only correct the current issues with the plumbing, but they will also prevent future drain problems by detecting potential issues via sewer camera inspections and taking preemptive steps to solve them.

Get professional advice

A professional plumber also plays the role of a consultant. They offer insights that can help you protect your home’s plumbing. This is important because many of the issues with your plumbing are caused by misuse of the system. A professional plumber will also help you take advantage of innovative plumbing products just entering the market. They will help you stay updated with changes to the building codes that may affect your building.

Oct '21

Why You Should Always Use Professional Drain Cleaning Services

When a drain in your home gets clogged and needs cleaning, what should you do about it?

Clogged drains are an all too common problem in the home. Drains may get clogged or even blocked as a result of neglect and misuse; when your property is a rental this is almost always a tenant-caused malfunction. The problem could also be the outcome of aging pipes or the normal consequence of the proper use of the home’s plumbing.

Man-made causes of drain clogs include:

Human or pet hair getting into the drain because there is no hair trap in the shower.
Indiscriminately feeding food waste down the kitchen sink drain and into the garbage disposal.
Flushing non-flushable items such as diapers, tampons, etc. – down the toilet.
Toilet paper buildup inside the drain, objects falling into the drain, and washing dirt down the drain, among others.

Drains may also get clogged from natural causes and in the course of the normal process of using the home’s plumbing. Some ways this can happen are:

Mineral buildup inside the pipes due to hard water from the municipal supply.
Tree roots that penetrate through the pipes and block them.
Subtle soil movements that dislocate the pipes and prevent the smooth flow of wastewater.
The age of the components of the plumbing system.

How to Handle a Clogged Drain

When your drains get clogged, what is the best way to deal with the issue? You have two options for solving the problem. You can head over to the internet and attempt to clean the drain yourself after watching some YouTube videos. Or you can get a professional plumber to look at the problem. The option you choose matters.

While there are lots of home maintenance tasks you can undertake yourself, plumbing is, unfortunately, not one of them. This is because of the vital role and enormous size of a home’s plumbing network. It is also because of how complex and interconnected this system is. The best way to clean out your drains when you have a clog or for routine maintenance is to hire a professional plumber.

Here are the reasons for this recommendation.

Benefits of Hiring a Professional Plumber for Drain Cleaning

Drain cleaning should be part of your maintenance routine

Drains will clog and need cleaning, no matter how carefully you use them. This is simply because drains carry wastewater and wastewater contain sediments. Every time you wash your hands with soap, you wash soap into the drain that can potentially turn into soap scum and block the pipes.

The same applies to food scraps and grease; they will always find a way to get into the drain. Regular cleaning of your drains should be a permanent feature of your program for keeping the plumbing in good condition and avoiding costly repairs. Only a professional plumber can help you do this efficiently.

DIYs deal with the superficial causes

Understanding the cause of a drain clog, the process of its formation, and the different things that play a part in creating the clog is essential for solving the problem. Before they try to clean out a clogged drain, professional plumbers search for the immediate and remote causes of the problem. They do not apply temporary fixes as DIYers often do.

Professional plumbers use tools and services such as a sewer video camera inspection to pinpoint the cause of a problem and apply solutions that are comprehensive and lasting. A non-professional, on the other hand, is only concerned about getting water to start flowing through the drain again.

Prevent bigger problems

Homeowners who take a DIY approach to solve plumbing issues often do it to save money. In their bid to save a dollar, they cause bigger problems that cost them more money down the road. For instance, homeowners may apply store-bought drain cleaners to get rid of clogs. These products actually remove drain clogs, but only because they are so harsh. The long-term effect of pouring these chemicals into the drain is it strips the pipes and makes them more vulnerable to damage.

A disjointed maintenance strategy that does not take the entire drainage system into account will cause problems for you. Professional plumbers don’t just clean drains; they maintain a history of the issues with your plumbing in order to detect a pattern to the problems with the home’s drainage system.

Professional plumbers save you money and time

Solving drainage problems takes a lot of expertise. For owners who want to do it by themselves, the only way to try and get that expertise is to spend hours on the internet. But watching a YouTube video does not transform an amateur plumber into a professional. Eventually, the homeowner will have to hire a professional plumber to look at the issues with the home’s drainage.

More often than not, the plumber has to solve both the original problem and the additional ones caused by the homeowner. If the owner had called a professional from the get-go, they would have saved themselves a lot of time and money.