Empty out those plugged drains pipes speedily
Empty out those plugged drains pipes speedily
How would you handle a blocked drain pipe in your toilet? – Keep a plunger handy for such emergency situations. The whole process of unclogging a blocked drainage is pretty simple and straightforward. But the last thing you want to do is be too aggressive and pulse to quickly. Ideally the plunger’s bell shaped head should be used to cover the drain fully, you can then push the plunger down and then pull it up again to create suction in a slow rhythmical manner. The suction created when the plunger is pulled up will hopefully dislodge the material clogging the toilet, tub or sink in your bathroom. Some washbasins and bathtubs are provided with overspill openings that have to be blocked temporarily with a wet cloth for the plunger to develop effective suction.
An alternative for plunger is a chemical drains pipes clearance product, one that uses corrosive chemical to unclog the blockage of the drain. But it would only be recommended to resort to using chemicals after you have tried fixing the problem with a drainage plunger. The chemicals must sit for a while as it eats away at the blockage, then you must run hot water down the drainpipe to flush it out. Because these chemicals can be corrosive or contain bleach you should only wear clothes that you are happy to be damaged. Eye protection is not a bad idea either if you plan on plunging again in case there is any residual back splash of chemical laden water. Make sure to follow the supplier’s guide so that you won’t come across any problems.
If both the plunger and chemicals fail to alleviate the clogging problem you have, then you can try unscrewing the nuts on the P-trap with pliers or a pipe wrench to gain access to the pipe. Now this is going to get messy so be prepared with a towel and bucket to clean up the mess. If you don’t want to damage the chrome finish of your pipes and also to get a better grip on the pipe, you can wrap the jaws of your wrench with electrical tape. Once you have removed the P-trap you can inspect the trap thoroughly for any blockage. If, however you cannot find any solid materials the problem is probably harder to get to, between the trap and the soil stack deep in the drainage pipework.
If you are trying to unclog your toilet you can use a toilet auger. A drain pipe snake should be used if you are trying to unclog your sink or tub. The flexible snake wire can be inserted deep into pipework of smaller diameter. By twisting the adjustable handle to drill into the clog, you then pull the obstruction up and out of your drain. Once, you have taken out the obstruction, re-fix the P-trap and rinse the drainage with hot water to make sure that the entire clog has been removed. Finally, you should double check that everything is sealed properly, tightly screwed into place and make sure that the P-trap does not have any leaks.
After trying all of these methods and you still have a water flow problem, it is time to contact a drainage contractor or local plumber. There are some incidents that cannot be solved by the common householder such as clogs in the soil stack or the sewer service near tree roots or even a broken pipe caused by age or pipe corrosion brought upon by nature or some “mysterious reason”, at these times contact a good drainage engineer.