While plumbing maintenance is key to preventing blocked drains, many homeowners tend to wait until they have clogged drains to think about maintaining those drains. Clogs can occur in your drains at any time in your home. Blocked or clogged drains can lead to potential health risks and water drainage issues. Calling your plumber each time you have a blocked drain can be time consuming and costly as well. For this reason, it's important to avoid certain activities in your home that can clog your drains. Here are some clog prevention tips you will find useful in your home.
Know Things That You Shouldn't Wash Down Your Sink
There are several materials which, when washed down your kitchen sink, will lead to clogs. The first of these materials are grease and fat. Build-up of grease will eventually reduce the internal bore of your pipes until they block. Therefore, be watchful of the liquids you are washing down your sink. Make sure that if you are cooking with fat, you let it solidify on your pan first and then scrape it into your garbage can afterwards. Don't put coffee grounds down your drain. Instead, dispose them of in your garbage can. You can also compost them or use them to add mulch to your garden.
Use Strainers
Use large-holed kitchen sink strainers to prevent stuff such as the small bits of potato from finding their way down your drain. Consider combining a kitchen sink strainer with a plug to help achieve better results.
Run Hot Water through Your Drain
Run hot water through your drain every night after cleaning your kitchen sink. Doing this will prevent deposits of hard water and will help liquefy any grease and fat. When doing this, adding a half cup of baking soda and vinegar periodically before running the hot water can also help.
Avoid Excessive Use of Drain Cleaners
While use of drain cleaners is helpful to deal with bacteria and other substances in your drain, which may cause drain issues, too much of these cleaners is not a good idea. This is because too much of these cleaners can corrode the inside your pipes and create grooves, which can collect materials and cause clogs. In addition, use natural-based cleaners rather than chemical-based cleaners. Also, remember to use these cleaners at night because the large amounts of water used during the day can wash off or neutralise the cleaners before they work on bacteria inside your pipes.
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