How often do drain lines in your house come up? It’s almost never. It would be logical, since drain lines are something that we don’t think about until there is a problem. Our drain lines take water away from our homes and then into sewer lines.
Problems can be serious. A blockage can cause drain back-ups, which can lead to slowing down or stopping them from running. There are steps that you can take to ensure your drains run clean. These are five of them.
Take a look at the Greasy Food
Grease can lead to major problems if it is able to get into the drain. Even though grease may not cause an immediate blockage, it can build up and cause problems further down the pipe. Not all problems can be solved by dumping fat down the toilet.
Foods with greasy sauces or food can contribute to the problem. Don’t throw away greased foods and sauces, even if your garbage disposal is working. These can include butter, cream sauces, condiments for meat, and trimmings.
Do not let your hair go down the drain
Hair can block drains and pipes and can be hard to get out with a plunger. To prevent hair from getting down the drain, use a fine mesh hair catcher.
Soap Scum
Clogs can also be caused by soap scum. If you live in an area that has hard water, soap scum will form from the soap reacting with the water. This is a sticky, slimy substance. This issue can be solved by a whole-home water softener, or switching to liquid soaps and other body washes. Liquid soaps tend to be less likely to produce soap scum.
Clean Drain Lines
Prevention is key. Regularly cleaning your drain lines can help keep them running smoothly, before any issues arise. To prevent costly repairs down the line, you should have your drains cleaned by a Long Beach plumber.
Copper Sulfate
Tree roots can cause significant problems for drain lines. Keep the roots away by using half a cup of copper sulfate crystals every few months in one of your toilets.
Copper sulfate can be safely used. It will only affect the roots that enter the drain and leave the rest of the tree/bush unharmed. It could be too late if you wait until the drain slows down before using copper sulfate.