Tag: clogged drains

How Do Drain Cleaners Work?

Posted on | by Drainiacs

Reasons to Avoid Chemical Drain Cleaning Solutions to Unclog Your Drain

 

West Covina Drain CleaningChemical drain cleaners are a common remedy used in unclogging kitchen and bathroom drains, but did you know that these chemicals can actually cause more harm than good? Here are some reasons why chemical drain cleaning solutions should be avoided.

To start with, the chemicals found drain cleaners emit toxic fumes that can be harmful to your family and pets. These fumes can cause irritation to the eyes, nose and throat. Excessive usage can result in severe damage to your upper respiratory tract that can potentially lead to a chemical-induced pneumonia.

If drain cleaners are designed to eat away sticky buildup deep down in your drains, just imagine the harm it could do to your skin. One of the main ingredients, sodium hydroxide, can cause severe tissue damage, or burns, if your skin is exposed to it. Being splashed in the eyes with just a small amount of sodium hydroxide could potentially cause blindness.

When left unattended, sometimes dogs and cats will jump up onto sinks so they can lick up any water that’s left behind. You wouldn’t want to accidentally expose them to residual drain cleaner solution that hasn’t flowed down the drain. There are also other animals that you should be concerned about – wild animals that rely on lakes and rivers for water. Sometimes uncapped drain cleaner bottles wind up in these watery regions, poisoning fish and other surrounding wildlife.

Pipes are commonly made from copper, tough PVC plastic, or galvanized steel copper. And while these surfaces may seem durable or indestructible, the oxidizing chemicals found in drain cleaning solutions can be corrosive to them as well, particularly if the pipes are already in a weakened state.

The next time your drain becomes clogged, instead of reaching for a bottle of drain cleaning solution, call your plumber for professional drain cleaning services such as hydro jetting. Hydro jetting utilizes highly pressurized reverse water jets to clean drains at the effective rate of 1,500 to 4,000 pounds per minute, to break apart and flush down grease, dirt, food particles, hair, and other unwanted sediment.

Are the drains in your West Covina home clogged? Call Daniel Cordova Plumbing, Drain & Sewer at (626) 962-0885 and schedule a service call today!

How Can I Take Care Of the Drains in My Home?

Posted on | by Drainiacs

Maintaining Your Home Drainage System

 

West Covina PlumberIn order to properly maintain your home drainage system, you should perform a full inspection of your system at least once a year. This will allow you to find any issues that need to be repaired to avoid flooding in your home. Your inspection should include the entire system, inside and outside your home.

When inspecting your drainage system outside, you want to start with the most obvious places. First, check all eaves troughs and downspouts. Remove any leaves or debris you find inside, and look for any elbows or connections that need to be tightened. Check for any leaks that may need caulking and any badly dented or cracked sections that need to be repaired. Next, inspect all splash pads and extensions. Check for any loose pads or connections and any bad dents or cracks. Be sure to check the soft rollout extensions for any leaks, and ensure that they are working properly. Lastly, inspect your lot grading. Look at the slope from the basement wall. The backfill should be at least 8 inches from the top of the foundation. Keep an eye out for any settling, especially under stairs and decks. Also look for low spots that need to be filled, and any cracks or spaces on your driveway, walkways, or patios that are next to the foundation wall that should be fixed.

Inside your home, you want to start by inspecting the foundation walls. Check for any moisture along the floor while looking for any visible cracks that need to be filled or sealed. You also want to make sure that your sump pump is in good condition. Check for power, and then test the pump by pouring water into the well to ensure it is working properly. Follow the outside pipe to check for leaks and to be sure that water is flowing to the street or back lane. Finish your inspection with the backwater valve. Clean out any debris, and make sure the flapper is moving freely.

Make note of any issues that you find along the way. Any needed repairs should be a top priority. Are you dealing with clogged drains in your Baldwin Park home? Call Daniel Cordova Plumbing, Drain & Sewer at (626) 962-0885 and schedule a service call today!

Drain Clogs & Home Remedies

Posted on | by Drainiacs

If you haven’t heard us say it before, the number one thing you should know when it comes to clogged drains: IS TO STAY AWAY FROM CHEMICAL DRAIN CLEANERS!  That doesn’t mean you need to give your plumber a call every time you get a clog though.  There are actually quite a few home remedies that work well, none of which involve harsh chemicals, yet most of which will work just as good as any retail chemical drain cleaner.  These are our top 3…

 

  1. A good ole’ handy dandy plunger:  It’s not just for toilets!

When our customers think of a toilet clog, they automatically grab a plunger, which is actually the right thing to do!  However, when a bathroom sink, shower, or tub drain gets clogged we suddenly lose control and instead of calling a plumber, are quick to grab some chemical pollutants to try and make it right.  Wrong!  Just grab your plunger!  4 out of 5 times a plunger works great at pulling hair and scum out of a bathroom drain.  Try it out!

  1. Baking soda and vinegar: Making volcanoes in the bathroom!

Similar to chemical drain cleaners, mixing baking soda and vinegar causes a chemical reaction, which we have all seen in old childhood experiments of exploding volcanos.  Unlike chemical drain cleaners, however, baking soda and vinegar are not harsh chemicals, and instead of eating away at the hair and scum in your drains, together they help loosen the particles that are stuck in the drain, in order to help clear them away.  This process often has to be repeated a few times, but try it!  Pour 1 tablespoon of baking soda down the drain, followed by about 2 cups of vinegar.  Let it set for about 5 minutes and then follow it with 1 quart of boiling hot water.

  1. Dish soap and hot water: It says degreaser for a reason!

Everyday liquid dish soap is a great way to cut through kitchen drain clogs often caused by grease buildup.  The best dish soap is one that contains a “DEGREASER” which it will usually say on the bottle.  Our favorite is the blue Dawn dish soap.  Approximately 2 tablespoons of Dawn followed by 1 quart of boiling hot water repeated 2-3 times will usually do the trick.  Try it out!

 

If none of these recommendations work, or if more than one drain is clogged in your home at the same time, you might be facing a bit of a deeper issue and we recommend that you stop all water usage in your home and give us a call immediately!  We’re always here to help!

Got A Clogged Drain?

Posted on | by Drainiacs

Got a clogged drain?  Well, you’re not alone!  Every day hundreds of American households are faced with a clogged drain.  Whether it’s their kitchen sink, their bathroom sink, their shower, bath, or even their toilet, a clog is a clog!  The real problem I would like to address here isn’t quite the clog itself, but rather HOW these households (and that includes you!) choose to unclog a clogged drain; Liquid drain cleaners? Bleach? Hot water with dish soap? A wire hanger?  We’ve seen it all, and we know what works, what is most cost-effective, and what will take care of the problem for good (Or at least as long as you keep up with routine maintenance)!  Let us explain…

A clog is most often caused by some type of blockage in your drain pipes.  That’s a no-brainer.  When you notice your sink start to back up, the toilet begins to overflow, or shower water stand still, you know you have a problem.  Most people are quick to turn to chemical alternatives such as bleach and liquid drain cleaners to help cut through the gunk and clear the pipes.  Others turn to more traditional methods such as hot water with dish soap mix or wire hangers to loosen and/or pull out the gunk.  This is what we are often trained to do.  We hear it on TV, we’ve all seen our Dads or Grandfathers do it, and so we do it too!  There are just a few problems with these methods, and some HUGE PRECAUTIONS, so please read on and let me break it down for you.

If the water is somewhat flowing, bleach and liquid drain cleaners will often do the trick, but DO NOT mix the two, and remember that these are harsh chemicals and can easily burn or irritate your skin and your senses if they don’t work, and you, or a plumber, need to get into the drainpipe after.  Not to mention what these types of cleaners do to your pipes after sitting inside them for a while.

The hot water and liquid dish soap mix is a much better remedy, and if repeated 2-3 times will often work out as well, and is much friendlier to the environment and your health.  However, with these remedies, just keep in mind that the water must be somewhat flowing.  If it’s not flowing, DO NOT ATTEMPT TO USE THESE METHODS!

The other well-known home remedy for clearing clogs in pipes is a wire hanger.  For the wire hanger, well, there are two outcomes: you get the immediate clog out OR your hanger gets stuck!  And yes, we’ve seen it hundreds of times, but as long as your hanger doesn’t get stuck, this remedy will often work to remove any immediate clogs.  We still recommend against using it though for the obvious reasons!

So the water is flowing, we’re good right?  Well, not so fast.  Bleach, liquid drain cleaners, hot water, and wire hangers all have their own way of often taking care of the immediate problem, a simple clog, but is that really the problem?  In some cases, yes, and you’re very lucky if it is, but often there lies a deeper problem within your pipes, a type of clog that is simply out of the practical reach of any of these methods, usually caused by years of little to no maintenance.

So then what? If you have standing water, or somewhat-flowing water and the hot water with dish soap mix doesn’t work, or if it does work but the problem continues to occur, YOU NEED TO CALL A LOCAL PLUMBER!  It is as simple as that!  A plumber will be able to clear any immediate clogs the correct way and without the use of any harsh chemicals, and will also be able to inspect deeper into your drains for any further problems such as underground tree roots and piled-up debris.  At this point, a plumber can cut through any roots and completely clear your pipes using simple, non-harmful, yet powerful tools that are designed specifically for this, to efficiently take care of the problem.  The pricing for this is minimal, so do not hesitate to at least call for a free estimate.

Now, once your pipes have been cleaned and completely cleared of all debris, I strongly recommend setting yourself up on a routine maintenance plan or scheduling a yearly drain cleaning, because just like a car, the plumbing in your home is a massive machine that needs care and maintenance to continue to run properly for you and your family to enjoy!  So the next time you have a clog, think twice before you pick up that bottle of liquid drain cleaner!  Call a plumber instead and get it done right and save yourself some money in the long run!