Clogged drains happen in every home, but you don’t always need a professional plumber to perform your drain cleaning. Portland residents can try several things themselves to unclog their drains before calling a plumbing company like 3 Mountains Plumbing.
A sink that won’t drain, a toilet that overflows, or standing water in the basement. These are all signs of clogged drains that, if left addressed, can not only make your life miserable but also cause further damage to your home. Drains become clogged because we flush a variety of things down them every day including soap scum, grease, hair, food, and sanitary items, and sometimes, these things bunch together to form clogs that can’t be resolved by simply flushing more water down the drain. What follows are three easy DIY tips to unclog blocked drains in your home.
- Baking soda. If a sink’s not draining, Tipnut advises that baking soda can sometimes effectively resolve the situation. First, remove as much water from the sink as possible. Then pour a cup of baking soda into the drain, followed by a kettle full of hot water. Once the drain empties pour in another kettle of hot water, and finally, let the cold faucet run for a couple of minutes to flush the drain out.
- For sinks, bathtubs, and toilets, the plunger can offer an effective way of removing clogs. Make sure there are about two inches of water in the sink, bathtub, or toilet, and stuff a rag into any overflow holes. Then place the plunger over the drain and pump vigorously up and down before removing it. In most cases, the suction will break up the clog and suck it upwards. Once this happens, pour hot water down the drain to clear any debris that’s left. Then carefully clean the sink, tub, or toilet before using.
- Cable auger. If the plunger doesn’t do the trick, remove the sink trap under the sink and empty the water into a bucket. Check to see if the trap’s clogged and clean it if necessary. If the clog is further in the system, remove the trap arm and use a cable auger to break up the clog. Put the parts back and run hot water through the drain to remove any debris.
Remember: for drains, you can’t unclog yourself, call the experts at 3 Mountains Plumbing!
