Three Things You Shouldn’t Do When Dealing with a Blocked Kitchen Drain

Vegetable peeling and egg shells on the sink

Calling a plumbing and drain expert is the smartest thing you can do when dealing with blocked pipes. Even if you think you have the right tools and roughly understand the steps you just viewed on YouTube, it’s not wise to assume you know exactly what’s wrong especially when you cannot see the reason behind the clogged drain for yourself.

If calling a professional drain cleaning service at St. George is your best move, what are the worst things you can do in attempting to clear the flow of water down the kitchen drain?

1. Pouring an Entire Bottle of Chemical Cleaner

You put on some gloves and gingerly pour the entire bottle down the drain. A whiff of the caustic chemicals escapes and you felt lucky you decided to wear goggles. After all, the label says you should take extra care given the fact that chemical compounds in the bottle could harm humans.

Now, what do you think they will do to the pipes? A potentially toxic solvent does not have a mind of its own and does not discriminate between clog and pipeline. Whether friend or foe, it will attack with full force, and before you know it, you’d have to pay for new pipes.

Even worse, you may have to pay a crew to dig and find a hole somewhere along the pipeline that’s escalating the water bill. Chemical cleaners dissolve the grease and organic matter contained in the gunk that is blocking the flow of water. Unfortunately, repeated and indiscriminate use may also be damaging the pipes.

2. DIY Disassembly

Man assembling the kitchen sinkAside from gloves and goggles, you have a lineup of plumbing and construction tools in the garage waiting to be used. When there is a stubborn drainpipe blockage, you go the idea to just head out in the yard and start digging. You’ve read somewhere that it is possible to remove a blockage in the pipes by disassembling them, removing the offending objects, and then putting them back together again.

Remember that having tools does not make you a plumber and you are likely to make a huge and expensive mess if you accidentally disrupt the delicate balance of the plumbing and sewer lines in the house. If the thought to disassemble the pipes crosses your mind, kill the thought before you start acting on it.

3. Neglecting Plumbing Pipe Care and Maintenance

Before launching an all-out attack on the clog that’s causing you problems in the kitchen, stop and think for a while. Who put the clog inside the pipes in the first place? Through neglect, misinformation, and sheer stubbornness, members of the household have been pouring grease and letting food debris down the drain not thinking of the consequences. If you don’t want to waste your time trying to remove clogs to no avail, remember to use and maintain them properly.

There are certain things you should refrain from doing when the problem of a clogged drain arises at home. Always call for expert help and ask for a professional opinion about things that are beyond your skill and understanding.

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