Different Types of Drains and Sewers and Guide to Clean Them Effectively

Drain and sewer cleaning is not an easy task, and you need to call in the professional plumbing agencies to unblock your drain and sewage pipes. Natural, organic and ammonia-free cleansers can keep your kitchen and bathroom drains fresh and bacteria-free for a long time.

Drain Cleaning Is Used for Various Types of Drains and Sewers:

a)     Bathroom Drain Cleaning: This is required as soap and hair from showers and tubs clogs the drains. The sinks and washbasins also get filled with soap, toothpaste, grime and oil.

b)    Toilet Drain Cleaning : Toilets get filled with toilet paper and other items and therefore need cleaning

c)     Drains in the Basement as Well as in Utility Rooms: There are drains found in basements, drains in laundry rooms as well as drains in patios and driveways. These drains get clogged with dust, dirt, fur – if the household has pets, leaves and debris. Therefore these drains need to be covered with a trap. This can be filled with water; thereby odors like sewage gas do not escape from it.

d)    Outdoor Drains: These drains are present in downspouts which channels the water from the roof out of the home. Some of these downspouts are connected through underground pipes to the city sewers. Constant accumulation of dirt, grease and animal fat and oils from your bathroom and the kitchen skink area can combine to block the entire outer portions of the home drain.

Call Professionals of Trust the DIY Method: If it is done by the home owner, they can resort to various tools to assist them. The tools could be:

a)     Chemical based Drain Cleaners: These react with the obstructions and then both the chemical cleaner and the broken down obstructions are washed away. These are of different types.

·        The alkaline drain openers have either sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide as their main ingredients. They may also contain bleach or lye. They are found in either solid or liquid form and some of these cleaners to make them more effective should be used with hot or boiling water. These are very effective against grease, fat as well as hair or protein material.

·        The drain cleaners which are acidic have large quantities of sulphuric acid and are effective against fat, grease and protein matter. They also are effective against paper in drains. However, one should exercise caution while using these acidic drain cleaners as they are dangerous and cause severe burns if in contact with skin and even the vapors can cause vision loss or inflammation of the respiratory tract.

b)    Manual Drain Cleaners: These are like drain rods, plungers or plumbers snakes or hand held augers. These are easy to use and are not expensive. They can serve the purpose well especially when the drain is straight. However, for drains which are very long, they may prove ineffective.

c)     In the same vein as manual drain cleaners are the air burst drain cleaners which clean by sending a blast of air to help loosen the obstructions. They work faster than chemical cleaners, and can work on obstructions which are further away than can be cleaned with manual cleaners.

d)    Electric drain cleaners force a cable through a pipe and clean it. They can clean all types of obstructions but are expensive and require a trained hand to operate the cable.

Finally, you can also employ the sewer jetters for sewers are used to remove a number of obstructions which are along the drain. They do so by sending jets of water under high pressure. Apart from all these, it is very important to maintain your drain, and to keep it unclogged with the help of organic drain cleaning substances that do not pollute the environment.