04 October 2023 , 14:10
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Blocked drains are a smelly nuisance that can affect every home. Cleaning them is a dirty job and a real headache, only made worse by the potent and potentially dangerous chemicals in the products available to unblock your pipes. Not to mention the adverse effect on the environment many of these can cause.
Kitchen drains have to cope with food particles, grease and oil being chucked down them numerous times on a daily basis, which results in hard clogs forming in pipes leading from the sink. While bathroom plugs have a delightful combination of soap scum, hair and goodness knows what else trying to escape down the narrow passages.
Leaving blockages untreated can result in nasty aromas, being unable to even use sinks as the water backs up in front of the grime and eventually costly remedies using professional companies. Traditionally plungers have been used but they can be messy and physically hard work and shouldn't never be used in conjunction with cleaning products in case the chemicals are splashed around
The strongest products on the market can do a good job of dissolving sludge and hair but they can be expensive and are usually highly toxic. Those favouring less harsh and more eco-friendly options may opt for the trusty baking soda trick, which when mixed with vinegar and water and poured down drains in between two doses of boiling water can do the job - but it may struggle on tougher blockages and hot water can sometimes exacerbate the issue.
According to the Express, plumbing experts at Flowtec warned against the danger of this: "Be aware that when pouring hot water, this can push the clog deeper into your pipes, making the clog more difficult to reach."
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Instead, they shared a top-tip for giving your pipes the help they need when a plunger may have failed and it comes in the form of a plumbers' snake, which is a thin, flexible auger that acts a bit "like a colonoscopy" for drains. It is a metal cable made up of coils of wire with spaces in between.
The tool can break up lumps of hair and other material and snag blockages while it cleans the inside surface of the pipes too. Running water down the plugs after helps to check if the problem is solved or if more agitation is needed. However, the expert warned householders should only use this method "if you are confident in using machinery-otherwise, it's worth calling in a professional."
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