Clear Your Drain, No Matter What’s Stuck In It

January 1, 2015

By Baker Brothers

Posted in: Sewer Repair, Toilet Repair, Preventive Maintenance, Garbage Disposal, Drain Cleaning, Plumbing Inspections, Plumbing

Hey Dallas, you can always call us here at Baker Brothers Plumbing and Air Conditioning when your kitchen or bathroom drain is clogged. A clogged drain is the leading cause of water damage in homes, and if a problem ever arises, we can be on the job ASAP.

We’ve got decades of experience (since the 1940’s!), so we know how to keep drains clear. These tips are easy to follow and can go a long way.

1) Baking soda, vinegar, and hot water are your best friends.

Why? These three weird sisters loosen up the grime in your drain, and the chemical reaction when adding vinegar adds an extra oomph that gets the grease off really well.

Here’s how: Combine these two and you get a wonderfully bubbly concoction (just like the “volcano” you made in grade school). First, pour a pot of boiling hot water down the drain. Follow this by dumping half a cup of baking soda. Let this sit for a few minutes and then pour in a mix of one cup of vinegar and one cup of very hot water. We recommend covering this magic trick with a drain plug and letting this sit overnight. In the morning, take another pot of boiling water to flush out the drain one more time.

2) Maintain the garbage disposal.

What do you put down your garbage disposal? Be careful what you throw down there. Anything too hard will dull your shredder, and fibrous and starchy material waste can block your drain! Avoid putting banana peels, eggshells, artichokes, and coffee grounds down the shredder just to name a few.

After you’re cleaning up, wash down the garbage disposal with cold water. Hot water will break down waste from their solid states and the grease will coat the insides of your drain. If this happens, repeat Step 1…

3) Keep things running smoothly with bacteria.

And not the kind in your yogurt. As long as your drain problem isn’t hair-based, bacterial cleaners munch on fat and other gunk in your drains, breaking it down so your drains run freely again. Plus, seeing as they’re bacterial, they tend to be a lot better for the Earth than bleach or other harsh chemicals. And why hurt the Earth if there’s no need for it?

We can’t tell you how many times we’ve found glass, kids’ toys, glass, and other trash down there as well. Keep these away from your drains, because no drain cleaner on the planet gets those out (except the human drain cleaner)! Try the tips above and let us know how they work for you. And remember, DFW, Baker Brothers Plumbing and Air Conditioning is always here if you can’t fix the problem!