Taking on drain cleaning tasks on
your own can be entirely hit-or-miss, depending on whether or not you
have the right tools and know-how beforehand. While it’s possible, or
even likely in some cases, that your plumbing issues are an easy-fix,
you should never go about DIY pipe cleaning and repairs blind.
If you’re not fully sure what you’re
doing, or how the tools you’re using will affect your plumbing and drain
pipes, don’t continue. Poor DIY plumbing can actually cause much more
harm than good. When you’re truly in over your head with home plumbing problems, do not hesitate to call a Toronto professional.
However, if you’re feeling up to it and have the situation under control, here are DIY drain cleaning tips to help better prepare you for dealing with plumbing problems in your Toronto home.
- The Right Tools for the Job
When it comes to any DIY repair, having the right tools on hand is a must; this is still true with DIY plumbing repair and drain cleaning.
Beyond the obvious plumbing tools (a plunger, wrenches, etc.), there
are a few specialized tools you can pick up at your local home
improvement store that are absolutely essential to any kind of home plumbing repair.
These tools include:
- Pipe wrenches
- Basin wrenches
- Tongue-and-groove pliers
- Hacksaws
- Metal files
- Tubing cutters
- Properly Diagnosing Your Plumbing Problem
With the right DIY plumbing repair tools at your disposal, you’ll be able to much more accurately diagnose your plumbing problems,
such as the causes of clogged drains. With these tools (and the
know-how to use them correctly), you’ll be able to reliably tell where a
clog in your drains is located, or provide rough estimates for how
extensive your plumbing issues are.
The best way to ensure your drains run
efficiently continuously, and do not clog to begin with, is with these
same tools; routine self-inspections are a key part of ideal home
plumbing.
- Home Remedies Can Be the Effective Solutions
As it turns out, traditional home
remedies to pipe clogging and drain repair do carry some real merit when
it comes to resolving these minor problems. For starters, the plunger
you have in your home right now could be the most effective tool at your
disposal for eliminating clogging; it all depends on how well you use
it.
For the best results, fill your clogged
sink, tub or other fixture halfway with water, and form a tight seal
around the drain entrance with your plunger (petroleum jelly can come in
handy here, helping form a tighter seal around the drain in question).
Once sealed, simply compress and decompress the plunger fluidly for
around half a minute. The buildup of pressure will, in many cases, be
enough to dislodge any clogged material in your drain pipe.
Another home drain cleaning
technique involves the use of a baking soda and vinegar mixture. When
combined, these elements react to one another and create a powerful
dissolving agent, capable of clearing out more stubborn drain clogs.
This solution is much safer than commercial chemical cleaner products,
and delivers comparable, if not improved results.
- At-Home Drain Snaking
Even the professional drain snaking
tools (or augers) that professional plumbing specialists use in the
field are available for DIY cleaning tasks, and are very often found at
home improvement stores across the country.
These tools, once only owned and used by
the professionals, are actually very easy to operate, and can remove
most clogging debris instantly. Professional-grade drain augers rid
drains of clogs in one of two ways: by either latching onto the clogged
materials, allowing the user to pull them out of the pipe directly, or
by breaking away at the debris, sending it through your sewer system and
out of your home plumbing.
- Clog Prevention is Simple
One of the best DIY drain cleaning
tips we can provide is to avoid drain problems altogether with routine
inspection and proper drain treatment. For the best results, we highly
recommend self-inspecting your home drain pipes at least once per month,
and having a professional inspection annually. With a consistent
plumbing inspection schedule in place, you stand a much better chance of
detecting, and resolving, drain performance issues early on.
Further, a wide range of drain pipe
performance issues are the bare result of poor care and negligent
plumbing behaviors; there are some things that just shouldn’t go down
your sink or garbage disposal! By treating your home plumbing right, you
can avoid many of the frustrating clogs and buildups that often result
from poor care.
Namely, do not run the following through your drains or disposal system, as they are leading causes of common drain clogs:
- Overly fibrous or starchy food products, such as celery, corn husks, potato and banana peels
- Pasta or rice, which expand with water
- Animal cartilage or bone
- Paper or plastic products
- Chemicals, grease or animal fat
source: expresssewer
If you are still looking for trusted
plumber, Mister Plumber in Toronto, Etobicoke, Scarborough, North York
specializing sewer repair, upgrade waterline, water service upgrade, drain cleaning,
backwater valve installation, lead pipe replacement, re-piping and
emergency plumbing, Mister Plumber uses the latest technology to
effectively troubleshoot and quickly repair any plumbing problem and
offers a fast response and free estimates.
More Info: www.misterplumber.ca
Reliable and Trustworthy Plumbing services.
Call a fully-licensed, bonded and insured Toronto plumber at 416 939 1530
