The Difference Between Slow Drains and Full Clogs
Did you know that untreated slow drains may progress to full clogs? Did you also know that the two require different tactics for solving them? Do you really know what makes slow drains and full clogs different? If not, it’s something that every homeowner needs to know.
What Causes Slow Drains?
Slow drains often happen from hair clogs or a buildup of soap scum, especially if the drain is in your bathroom. You may be able to clear this type of slow-flowing drain with a number of home remedies, including plunging or pulling out hair from the drain. However, if water still moves slowly down the drain after using home fix-it methods, you could need a plumber to locate the problem and clear it.
What Leads to Full Clogs?
Without addressing slow drains, over time, the buildup worsens until it completely clogs the pipe. Full clogs cause water to stand in the drain without moving, even after several hours. These types of clogs may respond to plunging, but more likely, you will need to contact a plumber.
Home pipe snakes and plungers can only reach so far down the drain line. If you have a clog or buildup deeper into your plumbing system than these devices can reach, you won’t be able to clear the drain yourself. Therefore, don’t forget to have a plumber’s number on hand for drain cleaning.
How Do You Treat Slow Drains Versus Full Clogs?
Slow drains may have buildup that a plunger might not dislodge. You could try to melt soap scum by using baking soda and vinegar in the drain and finishing the treatment with a pot of boiling water. However, never use anything stronger than this mixture in your drains because you could damage your plumbing system. Yes, that means even chemical drain cleaners are not ideal. They can cause burns on your skin or eyes or harm a plumber who comes to repair your system.
Plungers may work better for clearing out full clogs. Try using a plunger first. If you have a home plumbing snake and know how to use it, you could try that method. However, these devices can scratch porcelain sinks or tubs when used in the wrong hands. If you cannot plunge out a clog, phone a plumber for help.
Reach Out to Best Service Plumber for Help with Full Clogs, Slow Drains, and Much More
Whether you have slow drains, clogs, or any other problem, you need to know who to reach out to. If you live in Southern California, contact us Best Service Plumber for your plumbing needs. We offer numerous plumbing services for homeowners, including high-pressure jetting to clear clogs and slow drains in addition to other drain clearing methods. When your plumbing has an issue, phone us 24/7 for help at 951-338-8344.
Prevent Drain Clogs
While drain clogs can produce headache-inducing troubles, you don’t have to find yourself in that position. There are several ways to prevent minor clogs and avoid needing to call a plumber. However, if you do get a clog in one of your drains or your home’s mainline waste system, contact a professional plumber to clear the line safely and effectively.
Capture Laundry Lint and Hair
First, use filters on your laundry, tub, and shower drains. These filters or screens trap things that could cause clogs, such as laundry lint and hair. Don’t forget to regularly remove and clean these out, or might find the fixture drains slowly.
Laundry lint filters fit into the drain hose and capture pieces of fabric washed off clothes. Think about how much lint builds up in the dryer screen. Some of that flowed out of the washing machine into the plumbing system. Capturing it before this happens can prevent a clog.
The same is true for hair. Even those with short hair can have hair clogs in tub and shower drains. A simple screen or hair strainer over the drain could save you the need to call a plumber for clearing a hair clog from your drain.
Never Flush Wipes
Baby wipes, facial cleansing wipes, tissues, and even toilet wet wipes should never go in the toilet. Even products labeled as flushable, such as some toilet wet wipes, can cause severe clogs over time. Toilet tissue is the only product that you should ever flush down a toilet.
Leave Grease Out of the Drain
When washing dishes and cleaning up after meals, leave food waste, grease, coffee grounds, and other non-liquid products out of the drain.
Think about butter. When melted, it’s a solid. However, when chilled, it’s a liquid. The same thing happens when you pour hot grease down a drain. Hot grease or oil may flow as a liquid. But when it cools in the drain, it solidifies into an immovable blockage.
Prepare Your Home for Drain Clogs
While drain clogs don’t happen daily, you still want to have your home prepared to deal with them if they do occur. First, have a plunger available. Cup plungers work best for sinks, showers, and tubs, while flange plungers are best to clear toilets. Ideally, you should store one of each in each bathroom of your home, but having a single cup plunger is still better than nothing. This device can help you to clear some clogs in toilets, tubs, showers, and sinks. For clogs far down in the drain lines, though, or those that don’t completely block the drain, plunging may not work. In those situations, you need the other item in your drain-fighting kit – the contact information for a local, trusted plumber.
Get Your Drain Clogs Cleared with Best Service Plumber
Even if you take all precautions, sometimes, drain clogs happen. If your plunger doesn’t clear the drain, phone us at 951-338-8344 at Best Service Plumber for help in Southern California. We take calls 24 hours a day, and if you have an emergency, such as a clogged mainline that sends sewage back into your home, we can dispatch a plumber at once.
If you have any questions or want to schedule a standard visit from one of our plumbers, use our online contact form to get in touch with us. We’re here to provide you with reliable, trustworthy plumbing services, including drain cleaning to clear clogs.
Stop Drain Clogs Before They Happen This Holiday Season
The holidays are a time when drain clogs can happen. However, you can prevent clogs before they form with good plumbing habits. Plus, you should know how to make quick repairs if you have standing water in a drain or a toilet that doesn’t flush. However, discretion is vital. Knowing when to call a plumber for drain clogs could save you in future costly repairs. Here’s what you must know about keeping your drains clear this holiday season.
The Holidays and Drain Clogs
More people spend time at home during the holidays due to time off work or school. Therefore, your home sinks, toilets, tubs, showers, and water fixtures will have more use than at other times of the year. With the increased use of your home’s plumbing appliances, your drains will also have to deliver more wastewater to the sewer system.
Not only will your plumbing have greater use but you will also likely prepare rich holiday meals that may require extra use of your garbage disposal or rinsing off greasy dishes. Grease can lead to drain clogs, especially if you pour hot grease or cooking oil down a drain. As it cools, it creates a solid block that stops the water flow.
All of these situations combine to increase the chances of clogs. Therefore, now is the time to know how to prevent and fix these problems.
Prevent Drain Clogs
To prevent clogs, never put grease or oil down the drain. Also, don’t use your garbage disposal for processing greasy foods.
In the bathroom, keep hair out of the tub and shower drains with a filter over the drain. Letting hair flow down the drain can create a clog over time, especially if it catches in a bend in the drain line.
Fix Clogs Yourself
If you have standing water in a drain or your toilet does not flush adequately, use a plunger to attempt to clear the line. If your plunger fails, the next tool to use is your phone. Call a plumber to have your drain line cleared with high-pressure jetting or another professional-grade drain clearing system.
Call Best Service Plumber for Professional Drain Cleaning of Clogs
Store our number (951-356-9746) for Best Service Plumber in your phone so you will have us at your fingers if your home has drain clogs that need clearing. You can also contact us online if you have other questions or want to schedule an evaluation of your slow-flowing drains that could have clogs developing. We’re here to help you with your drain clogs or other plumbing concerns, at any time of the day or night. Don’t let a clog ruin your holiday fun. Keep us in mind for expert help when your drains won’t run.
Avoid Toilet Clogs and Other Problems This Holiday Season
The holiday season is one of the hardest times on your home’s plumbing. You typically have more people in your home between parties and people home for the holidays. The higher population in your home at this time leads to heavier usage of our plumbing fixtures, such as the toilet. If you want to avoid toilet clogs and other problems this holiday season, you need to prepare your home now.
Toilet Clogs
Perhaps one of the most common problems that can occur with your toilet is a clog. In fact, the likelihood is so great that your bathroom should have a plunger in it to fix this problem. If you don’t already have a plunger, go out and get one. Plunging a clogged toilet could save you the cost of calling a plumber.
Toilets clog for several reasons. First, they may have too much material to flush, whether this includes tissue or waste. Use a plunger to try to clear the clog. If this doesn’t work, you should call a plumber.
Another reason behind toilet clogs is toys that children or pets put into the bowl. Sometimes, you may be able to see and pull out the toys by putting on an elbow-length heavy cleaning glove. However, if the toys got caught farther in the system, you might need professional assistance.
Slow Toilets
If you find that your toilet doesn’t flush as it should, you may have problems with water delivery from the tank. Several things could cause this from a float that doesn’t allow the tank to fill with enough water to clogged rinse holes under the rim of the bowl. If after adjusting the float in the tank and clearing out the rinse holes with a coat hanger, you still have problems, you have an issue that will need a more thorough examination and diagnosis.
Rocking Toilets
Over time, the wax seal between your toilet and the floor can wear out, causing unevenness and rocking of the toilet when you sit on it. Though it may seem like a minor nuisance, this issue can lead to serious problems if the wax seal breaks. Because replacing the wax seal requires moving the toilet, invest in the help of a plumber for the job. You will save yourself from having to move a heavy, bulk, and delicate porcelain bowl. Plus, when a plumber does the work, you can ensure that it will be completed correctly the first time.
Have Toilet Clogs or Other Troubles? Call Us at Best Service Plumber
Perhaps the best preparation that you can do for potential holiday plumbing woes is to take down our number at Best Service Plumber, 951-356-9631. We are available 24/7 to help you with emergencies that may arise. If you don’t have an emergency but want to contact us about making an appointment or to get questions answered, feel free to do so with our online form. We’re waiting to help you restore your home’s plumbing operation if toilet clogs or other issues happen over the holidays.
How to Prevent Drain Clogs
No one wants to wake up to water in the bathtub or sink from a clogged drain. However, almost everyone will experience this at some time in their lives. The best way to prepare for the event is to do everything that you can to prevent drain clogs. If you still get a clog, know when you can fix it and when to call a plumber.
Understand the Causes of Clogs
Drain clogs frequently happen when either the wrong materials go down the drain or they clump together to create blockages. For instance, soapy water can cause buildup on the sides of your pipes, slowing down the speed of water draining from a tub or sink. Hair, too, can also cause clogs. The following are some substances that frequently can clog your home’s drains:
- Soap scum
- Hair
- Cooking grease
- Fabric lint
- Food waste
How to Prevent Drain Clogs
Once you recognize the things that can cause blockages, to prevent drain clogs keep those things out of tubs, toilets, and sinks as much as possible. In many cases, filtering screens over the drains will help.
For instance, use a hair catcher or filter over your tub or shower drain to trap hair before it can wash down into the pipes. You can also install a filter over your washing machine’s drainage pipe to catch fabric lint.
In the kitchen, properly discard of cooking grease and food waste. If you have a compost bin, you can use that or throw them away. You should not put them down the sink where they can lead to costly clogs.
To prevent soap scum from clogging your drains, make sure to flush your drains with very hot water several times a month. This is especially important if you have low-flow plumbing fixtures that don’t use enough water to send soap scum all the way through the drains.
How to Handle Drain Clogs
If you do experience a clog, you have two options. The first is to attempt to plunge it out with a household plunger. This device will often work to free up most simple clogs. However, if it doesn’t work, call a plumber. Do not use chemical drain cleaners because they could simply move the clog further down into the waste system or cause damage to some parts of your plumbing.
When You Cannot Prevent Drain Clogs, Call Us at Best Service Plumber
The above tips to prevent drain clogs will not keep you from ever experiencing a slow or stopped drain, but they will stop most of these events from happening. If you do have a drain that needs clearing, phone us at Best Service Plumber. We have both standard and emergency services, depending on the situation. In some cases, a drain clog will block your main drain line, keeping you from using any of the plumbing in your home. Naturally, this requires emergency attention. A single sink that drains slowly may require standard service. To get ahold of either service, phone us at (951) 338-8624 to reach our office, and we can direct you to the best service for your drain clearing needs.