Leaking Emergency Shut Off Valves/leaking Angle Stops And Supply Lines
There are usually emergency shut off valves, also known as angle stops under each fixture in your home or business. They are very important to your plumbing system. These devices should be checked regularly to ensure they could be closed properly in case of emergency. Over time these shut off valves become frozen and corroded which make it very difficult to turn and close. It is very important to check these shut off valves regularly since they are a primary culprit to a lot of water leaks in homes and businesses. Supply lines to fixtures like faucets and toilets should be steel braided to lower the chance of these supply lines bursting and causing water damage to kitchen cabinets, vanity cabinets and the rest of the building structure. If any of these devices are leaking call us immediately.
For Stubborn Clogs: Baking Soda Salt And Vinegar
When you need extra power, pull out the salt and white vinegar.
“The coarse grit of the salt will gently scrape the inside of your pipes and loosen up trapped debris,” Jackson says, while the vinegar will chemically react with the baking soda, lifting grime from the pipes.
To clean your drain with baking soda, salt and vinegar, mix half a cup of baking soda with half a cup of salt and pour the mixture down the drain. Boil 1 cup of vinegar and pour it down the drain the combination will cause a fizzy and bubbly chemical reaction. Be ready to seal the drain with a plug or rag to prevent the mixture from escaping the pipe. After 10 minutes, flush the pipes with hot water for at least 1 minute. Repeat as necessary.
Reasons For Choosing Eco
Drain cleaners with chemicals get washed into the sewer system and eventually, the local waterways.
These chemicals can damage plant and animal habitats and cause genetic mutations in their offspring. The chemicals can outright kill sensitive species.
In addition, many chemical drain cleaners contain lye and sulfuric acid that create hazardous fumes, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Just take a look at what a typical chemical drain cleaner does to this sponge in the video below, and youll never want to release those chemicals into the environment again!
Commercial drain cleaners also cost much more than natural solutions.
And if you use a chemical cleaner and it damages the pipe , the cost of using chemicals to clear out a clog could be much more.
Instead of using chemical cleaners, you should opt for a greener solutions for drain cleaning.
There are several inexpensive and non-toxic methods you can use to unclog the drains in your home, with ingredients you probably already have in your cabinets.
Check out these 4 effective ways you can unclog your drains while using no harsh chemicals.
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Pour Boiling Water And Dish Soap Into Drain
Grease is a terrible thing, and if youre experiencing plumbing problems then theres no need to deal with them yourself! Pour some boiling water down the drain in order remove greasy clogs from your pipes. The dish soap will help dissolve any deposits that might have formed over time so they can easier flow free of obstruction.
How To Fix A Clogged Shower Drain
First, take a good look at what’s going on in your shower drain. Use a screwdriver to remove the drain’s strainer cover soak the drain cover in white vinegar to remove soapy buildup. Shine a flashlight into the pipe to see if you can see the shower drain clog. If the clog is visible, wear gloves and grab a drain claw, a thick wire, or a straightened-out wire hanger and follow these steps:
If water still backs up, there are several other ways to unclog a shower drain, such as using a plunger, plumbers snake, or natural cleaners.
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Natural Homemade Drain Cleaners That Actually Work
It happens to everyone, but it can be embarrassing when you have house guests, and dirty water backs up in your sink or tub.
You may feel conflicted because you dont want harsh chemicals in your home but you want clear drains, so use non-toxic products.
We have solutions and tips to help keep your home drains toxic free and clean!
Going Green is the thing these days!
Green enthusiasts are taking thoughtful strides toward an eco-friendly environment.
So how does this work with household issues like clogged drains? Home remedies of course!
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The sewer, water & gas lines inside your home are the lifeline of the home. Everybody needs clean water to drink, wash dishes and to cook with. So when you have an plumbing emergency, you need a reliable licensed professional & FAST!
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The Elite Rooter team of repair and drain cleaning specialists provides a full range of services to solve the most demanding residential and commercial plumbing service needs.
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Elite Rooter has all the proper plumbing service tools to handle bathroom leaks and repairs including tubs, showers, sink faucets, and toilets.
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VIDEO CAMERA INSPECTIONS
HYDRO JETTING
Also Check: How To Clear Clogged Bathtub Drain
Call For Professional Drain Cleaning
While dealing with a hair clog can be tough, if all else fails, you can call our professional plumbers at Smiths Plumbing Services for drain cleaning. With our drain cleaning tools and technology, we can get rid of clogs made from hair, soap scum, grease, food, toilet paper, and a range of other hard-to-remove items. Keep in mind, whatever you do, avoid using liquid drain cleaners. These products not only tend to be ineffective, oftentimes sitting on top of a clog rather than eating through it, but also contain toxic chemicals that will eat away at your pipes. Instead, try one of our DIY drain cleaning methods, or call Smiths anytime for servicewe are even available 24/7 for emergencies!
Snake Wire Hanger Or Plunger
These are the simplest, most obvious methods most people use to unclog a drain.
Almost every home in America has a plunger and this is really the first thing you try to clear your drain.
If youre not comfortable using the same plunger in your sink that you use in your toilet, we recommend getting a plunger designed for clearing sinks, like this one.
Sink plungers are easy to manoeuvre in tight spaces, and small enough to store under the sink so its on hand when you need it.
The proper way to use a plunger is to make sure that it seals the opening completely and to pump it slowly. The vacuum that it creates can sometimes move a clog, but a blowback of chemicals can occur if the opening is not completely covered.
First, bail as much water out of the drain as possible to avoid creating a big mess.
Then place the plunger over the opening of the drain. Push up and down on the plunger slowly a few times and then pull it up quickly.
This will help to break clogs and get your drain flowing.
If that doesnt work, you can try clearing the drain with a straightened out wire hanger.
Take a wire coat hanger apart and push it down the drain forcefully to help break up the clog.
Keep pushing the hanger in and out until the clog breaks up.
If your drain is still stopped up, you can try a snake if you have one available.
The blades come in different sizes, so be sure to select the appropriate size of snake for the drain that has the clog.
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Preventing Clogging From Happening
We have introduced you to the problem and how to fix it. You and everyone you know are most likely to have had this issue before, now or in the future.
The reason behind is that you dont pay attention to everyday routine you go through and the things that end up in the bathroom or kitchen sink, which is normal because you cant focus on all of it.
I mean if my brain had an ability to watch over all those stuff, I wouldnt burden myself with clogging, right?
Now, we are going to give you a bit of knowledge and tip how to prevent it from happening, because it is much easier to fight with an inconvenience before it actually happens. Prevention is the key!
Let us conquer the issue with dividing the types of sinks and the bad boys that definitely shouldnt go down the pipe.
Use homemade drain cleaner to unclog bathroom shower and sink
Biggest enemies for the bathroom sink is the combination of skin flakes, tooth paste, hair and dirt mixing with awful soup scum and creating terrific problem for your sink that cant defend itself, same story goes for the shower too.
To troubleshoot this issue you can:
- Frequent cleaning of the drain stopper.
- Using the old school method à almighty drain plunger
- Removing drain elbow joint and cleaning it
- Using of the hair strainer drain cover so the hair doesnt have a chance in escaping to the pipes
Clogged toilets using homemade drain cleaner
Unclog kitchen sink drain clogs using homemade drain cleaner
What Are The Causes Behind Shower Drain Clogging
Unlike regular clogging we encounter in our sink or toiler, shower drain clogging happens for totally different reasons.
When you take showers or shave in your restroom, the only way those hairs pass through is the shower drain, and they are the primary cause of shower drain clogging in most cases.
Over time, this hair pile up and prevents the water from passing.
Additionally, lint and residues for products used in the restroom also play a role behind the clog. The trick part of this clogging is that they contain water inside.
When you apply Drano, the water reduces the effectiveness of Drano, therefore failing to do the job.
Read Also: What Size Drain For Shower
How Baking Soda Unblocks Drains
Sodium bicarbonate is a base for baking soda. Vinegar consists of acetic acid and water, an acid you guessed. When these are combined, the molecules are exchanged and carbon dioxide and water bubble through the blockage and break down into a loose material.
Your typical water system is not pressurised as drainage pipes. The pressure is added when using boiling water to flush out the drain. This pressure also helps to remove unwanted goops and unclog drains from the pipes.
What if the drains are still not fixed?
Do Homemade Drain Cleaners Always Work
It depends exactly what is blocking the pipe. A severe blockage is not going to be removed with baking soda or vinegar, nor is a large foreign object thats stuck there. You may need a plastic drain cleaner to remove it.
Sometimes, the safest drain cleaner for pipes is an emergency plumber. When a homemade unclogger doesnt work, consider a safe drain cleaner for old pipes, for example, or a professional plumbing inspection, to avoid serious damage. For prompt and effective plumbing repair, contact MET Plumbing & Air Conditioning at 281-603-9949 today!
Read Also: Do Drain Cleaners Damage Pipes
For Freshening Drains: Baking Soda And Lemon Juice
It’s normal for drains to occasionally get stinky. You can combat that using baking soda, which naturally absorbs and neutralizes odors, says Jackson.
For a fresh scent when cleaning your drain, pour a half cup of baking soda down the drain, followed by a half cup of lemon juice. The mixture will foam and bubble. Seal the drain with a plug or rag, and let it sit for about half an hour Finish by pouring down a pot of boiling water. Repeat as necessary.
Pull The Hair Out Of The Drain With Tweezers Or Needle
Unlike thicker clogs, the stringy nature of hair can sometimes may it difficult to plunge out. If you have tried to remove a hairy obstruction by plunging it out of your drain but just cant quite get rid of it, you may need to try pulling it out with a pair of tweezers instead. First, youll need to take off your drain stopper if you have one. In some cases, you may need to do this manually, though you may also need a screwdriver, depending on the nature of your drain After that, take a flashlight and shine it into your drain so you can get a better look at the blockage in question. From there, you should be able to use your needle-nose pliers to pull out that unpleasant accumulation of hair. You may want to wear gloves as you go about this process, as pulling hair out can get pretty nasty, and you should also run some hot water down your drain after you finish, just to flush any nascent hairs out.
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Baking Soda With Vinegar Ensures Outstanding Cleaning Results
It is a pretty known thing that these two substances are capable of producing some really awesome cleaning results.
The power of baking soda and vinegar combined into a mixture is a solid way of getting rid of any clogs you have in your home, especially when it comes to bathtub drains.
Baking soda is capable of dissolving a lot of particles and build-ups when it comes to clogs. On the other hand, vinegar helps a lot with those nasty and stubborn build-ups.
All in all, these two are a great combination for unclogging a bathtub drain.
Therefore, lets see how to unclog a bathtub drain with baking soda mixture in a combination with vinegar. Lets get down to business.
Lemon Juice + Baking Soda
Lemon juice is a weaker acid that works just as well. However, lemons have less acidity than vinegar, meaning you will have to add more lemon juice than an average drain cleaner recipe.
You can add 1/2 cup of baking soda with the lemon juice to prepare a decent chemical reaction homemade drain cleaner for drain cleaning.
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Read Also: How To Drain Nasal Passages
Is Using Baking Soda To Unclog A Drain Environmentally
Baking soda and vinegar may be the answer to all your drain problems! Not only are they eco-friendly, but these chemicals wont do any damage as they move through water treatment.
Some homeowners have had success cleaning their clogged drains by following these steps, but it is important to note that some larger or stubborn jams may require the help of an expert. If you try using baking soda and vinegar without any luck than call someone who knows what they are doing!
Purchase A Drain Snake
If melting your hair clog with baking soda and vinegar, plunging it out, and using tweezers to remove it still hasnt done the trick, you may be able to break that clog apart with a snaking device. What kind of snake you ask? Any number of options may due depending on the severity of your clog. For less severe cases, straightening out a wire hanger and sticking that down your drain to break up a clog can actually do the trick. Other times, you may want to buy a zip-it tool. These plastic drain cleaners are cheap, disposable, easy-to-use, and widely available online. There are also a number of other drain snake devices you can purchase at your local hardware store or online, all designed to deal with varying sizes of clogs. Snaking your drain should effectively break up any clogs and help scrape the walls of your line clean, but you may also want to follow up with the baking soda and vinegar technique outlined above or at least flush your drain out with hot water, just to be sure the clog is completely gone.
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Final Word: Homemade Drain Cleaner
Dealing with clogs is highly annoying thing that will waste a lot of time. At least, you can save the time that you would invest in going to the store and buying some drain cleaners .
Hopefully, this article helped you realize how easy is to make your own homemade drain cleaner. It actually works, its not the myth. Of course, it depends from the type of clog, but in 90% it should work.
Well, if your case belongs to those 10%, then just .
How To Use A Drain Snake
If you try the drain cleaners above to no avail, you may need to go in and manually get out the source of the clog. A drain snake, also known as a drain weasel, is an easy way to do thatâjust don’t try to DIY one with a wire hanger. “I do not ever recommend using the wire hanger method as we often see broken p-traps from the rigid sharp metal poking through the bottom. Once this occurs there is no longer a seal on the plumbing system to keep unpleasant sewer gasses from entering the home,” says Mulder. “The better suggestion is to use a small drain weasel.”
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