Drain Cleaning Tips from Your Huntington Beach, CA Plumber

Drainage problems are serious business and should be treated accordingly. While initially, a clogged drain may not seem like a big problem, it can gradually lead to a series of more significant issues. If you have a slow-moving drain, it can be an indication of various other issues, including initial stages of clogging, narrowing of pipes as a result of grease and mineral buildup, and also an improperly graded drainage system. Therefore, the moment you realize you have a slow drain, you should call a reliable drain cleaning service in the Huntington Beach, CA area.
Hiring a plumber will allow you to find out the source of the drainage issue. Moreover, they will fix it for you before it escalates into something serious such as broken and damaged pipes. While a reliable drain cleaning service is bound to take care of all your drainage problems, there are a few essential things you should know beforehand. The following suggestions will help you know if your drain cleaning service is treating your pipes right or not.
Usage of Chemicals for Cleaning Drains
If your drain cleaning service is using a lot of chemicals for treating the drains, then you need to reconsider your decision. It is not recommended to use chemical cleaners on the pipes. Plunging is a better option when it comes to unclogging drains. This is because chemical drain cleaners can do a lot of damage to the pipes.
Using chemicals on the pipes can cause more of a problem rather than a solution. That’s because most of these chemicals are prone to reaction with aluminum resulting in the emission of poisonous gas. Moreover, these gases can solidify inside the pipes and mix with other drain cleaners that are being used for household cleaning. This mixture can burst out of the pipes. These chemicals used for cleaning drains can damage the septic system and garbage disposal, in addition to damaging the pipes. Foam, liquids, and gel cleaners are also hazardous for the pipes. Moreover, these are not very effective either and take around 30 minutes for eating through a clog.
Therefore, using chemicals is not a good option. Instead, you can use other bio-clean products, which are also environmental friendly. However, they are not very effective, and it is better to use those for keeping the drains clean after unclogging them.
Different drains in a house are clogged for various reasons. Some of the major drain issues arise in the bathrooms, toilets, and kitchen. Since the reasons behind the clogging are different, we have discussed these areas under separate sections.
Bathroom Drains
Two major items that are mostly responsible for clogged drains in the bathrooms are long hair and toothpaste. One way to deal with bathroom tub and sink clogs is to fill them with hot water and then allow it to run through the drains so that the water pressure unclogs them. In case, the technique does not work, you should try plunging it, or if it’s in your reach, you can also remove it physically. However, all of these techniques may not work or work only for a short period. The best way to deal with the problem would be to call for a reliable drain cleaning service.
How to Prevent Bathroom Drains from Clogging
Running hot water through the drains after taking a bath or brushing your teeth will ensure that the extra shampoo and toothpaste will not get stuck in the pipe and clog them. If you have long hair, you should install a drain saver in the bathtub so it can catch the hair strands for you to remove them manually.
Toilet Drains
Make sure that only smaller objects such as toilet paper are allowed to pass through the toilet drains. If larger substances are made to pass through the drains, they will probably be stuck and result in clogs. Moreover, they will not biodegrade either. A clogged toilet is never an acceptable situation. If snaking and plunging does not work, you should call for a drain cleaning service.
How to Prevent Toilet Drains from Clogging
You must be very careful concerning what you are flushing down the toilets. You should not put the following things in the toilet, sink, or tub:

• Nail Clippings
• Hair
• Dental Floss
• Female Hygiene Products
• Cotton Tipped Swabs

Kitchen Drains
You are recommended to use hot water and dish soap for loosening and eating up the clog. When extremely hot water runs down the drain, it softens the clog, and the dish soap fights off the greasy substances stuck in the pipes. If the clog does not loosen with this technique, repeat it after using a plunger to loosen the clog. Another trick used for getting rid of the clogs without damaging the pipes is to put a foaming mixture prepared by mixing vinegar and baking soda in equal parts. This is a rather simple method and is also an environmentally friendly option.
How to Prevent Kitchen Drains Form clogging
The only way to keep your kitchen drains clean is to keep the grease away from them. Grease goes down the drain in liquid form, but soon it solidifies and causes clogs. Use a wire mesh filter to keep bigger food items out of the pipes. Garbage disposals should be run through with excessive water to ensure that food scraps have been completely pushed down the line. Also, make sure that items like eggshells and stringy vegetables such as carrots and celery are kept out of the garbage disposals.
However, if the kitchen drains get clogged even after following the above suggestions, then you should call for the services of a reliable plumber to take care of the problem. Chances are your pipes need a thorough cleaning. Once the drain cleaning service is done with the pipes, make sure that you take all the precautionary measures to avoid clogging of the drains in the future.
If you are looking for a reliable drain cleaning service in the Huntington Beach, CA area, then bluefrog Plumbing + Drain of Orange County is just the right choice for you.
Photo By Ermolaev Alexander