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Some Expert Tips for Avoiding Drain Clogs

How to Avoid Drain Clogs
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If we asked you what the #1 most common plumbing problem is, we can guess what your answer would be. It’s no surprise that drain clogs are the one plumbing issue that almost every homeowner has to deal with at some time or another. Fortunately, our professionals handle unclogging drains and exceptional San Diego drain cleaning services to get your plumbing system back in top shape.

Naturally, you’d like to avoid drain clogs if at all possible. Of course, we’d like to have your business when you do need drain cleaning, but we also want to help you have as few plumbing issues as possible. To help you out, we’ve provided some expert tips below on how to avoid drain clogs.

Get a quick overview on how to prevent drain clogs before diving into the details below.

  • Buy a drain screen or cover made of rubber or mesh to catch things like hair, soap scum, and food particles
  • Avoid pouring fats, oils, and grease (FOG) down your drain; instead, use a separate receptacle and put them in the trash
  • Regularly run hot water in effort to keep your pipes clear of debris, including any FOG you accidentally added
  • Steer clear of store-bought liquid drain cleaners, which are often a temporary fix and can cause corrosion
     

Use Drain Screens or Drain Covers

Soap scum, hair, objects accidentally knocked down into drains—they are all very frequent sources of drain clogs. You can stop most of them, though, with a drain screen or a drain cover. The latter is sold at pretty much any hardware or home improvement store, and are very easy to just simply place over the drain.

A drain screen does need a bit more installation, and you might want to work with a plumber to get it installed. You’ll also need to remove drain screens on occasion to prevent them from stopping up the drains.

Keep FOG Out Of Your Kitchen Sink!

FOG stands for “Fats, Oils, and Grease,” and these byproducts of cooking are quite the enemy to kitchen sink drains. Although they are in liquid form when hot, as they cool down from the air of the drain vents, they change into solids that become very hard to remove. We recommend pouring your FOG from cooking into a separate receptacle and putting that in the trash rather than down your drains.

Run Hot Water down the Drain After Each Use

This is a task that helps deal with FOG. While we want to reiterate that you shouldn’t be pouring it down the drain at all, if it’s done accidentally or if you simply can’t avoid disposing of it this way, then hot water will help break it apart so it can flow easier down the drain. You don’t have to run it for a long time, perhaps just 20-30 seconds, and this should help a little.

Avoid Store-Bought Liquid Drain Cleaners

When homeowners have a relatively mild drain clog, they’re often quick to reach for the chemical drain cleaners that can be purchased at the store. Unfortunately, these solutions are temporary at best, and because of the chemicals within them, can actually cause corrosion and damage to your drains and the rest of your plumbing system.

Schedule Plumbing Maintenance

Contact our team to have your plumbing system inspected. We use video pipe inspection among other methods to see what opportunities for improvement your plumbing system may have, and we might follow that up with drain cleaning or even recommend repiping in areas that your plumbing is corroding.

For reliable and effective plumbing services, contact Paws Plumbing, Inc. today!

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