Quick and Easy Ways to Unclog Your Pipes

There are a number of ways that your pipes can become clogged, from foreign objects that can become stuck to a build-up of grease and plants or tree roots that start to grow into the pipes. Clogged pipes or drains can be an annoying and stressful problem that interferes with your daily life.

If the clog is left without any form of treatment, it will become worse over time and may result in a flood in your home, costing you a lot of money in plumbing fees. Avoid this worst case scenario and save yourself some money by trying some of these simple and easy tricks to unclog and unblock your pipes at home, before it starts to overflow.

Using Household Items to Un-Clog your Drains and Pipes

One of the best-kept secrets in managing clogged pipes at home is the use of simple household items. While it is always helpful to have a plunger to hand in the case of a blocked drain or clogged pipe, there are other things that you can use to tackle a minor clog. Try using some of these simple household remedies before picking up your plunger.

Dissolving a Clog

The first thing that you should try when addressing a minor clog is boiling water. Simply boil some water and pour a bucketful down your drain. This will help to melt the grease or fats that could be causing the clog. If this doesn’t work, there are other remedies you can try before getting out the plunger. Boiling water will help to clean out your pipes, without using any toxins. You can keep using this method throughout the day, allowing time for the water to dissolve the blockage. If this does not work, then you may want to try another approach or call a plumber for further advice.

Alternative Uses for Soda

Find an alternative use for a bottle of fizzy soda by pouring one down the drain of a clogged or blocked pipe. A two-liter bottle of soda that is high in phosphoric acid will dissolve any clog or blockage as it has a highly corrosive action that works well on a range of different substances. (Just think what it must be doing to your teeth!)

Homemade Drain Cleaner

You can buy a variety of different kinds of drain cleaner in supermarkets and household stores that will work to unclog your pipes, however, there is a cheaper alternative that can work just as well. Make your own drain cleaner at home with a few items that you will already have in your kitchen cabinet. All you will need to do this is two cups of baking soda, one cup of vinegar and four cups of boiling water from your teakettle.The store bought pipe cleaners are very caustic and can damage the PVC pipes.

First, empty your sink of all water and pour one cup of baking soda down the drain of the affected pipe. Next, pour two cups of water boiled in in the teakettle down your drain. Wait a few minutes for the mixture of boiling water and baking soda to begin dissolving the blockage in your pipes.

After a few moments, pour the second cup of baking soda down the drain, followed by one cup of vinegar. You need to use white vinegar for the process to work properly. Put the plug into the drain and wait for it to start bubbling. Once the bubbles have begun to disperse, you can pour the last two cups of boiling water down the drain.

This homemade drain cleaner should remove a clog that is made up of grease, fat, lime scale or hair. You can repeat the process if necessary and use this method as a preventive measure on a monthly basis, for clean pipes.

Call Lightfoot Mechanical today! We are here to help.