How often do drain lines in your house come up? It’s almost never. This would be logical, since they are something that we seldom think about until there is a problem.
Our drain lines transport water and waste from our homes and into wastewater lines. Problems can be serious if there is a problem. A blockage can cause drains to stop running or slow down. If that happens, back-ups can occur. 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 immediate problems, it can build up and cause issues in the pipes.
Not all problems can be solved by dumping fat down the toilet. Food and sauces that are too oily can also cause problems. 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 help prevent hair from going down the drain, use a fine mesh hair catcher at all times.
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 water reacting with the soap to create soap scum. This is a sticky, slimy substance.
This problem can be solved by a whole-home water softener, or switching to liquid soaps or body washes. Liquid soaps tend to be less likely to produce soap scum.
Clean Drain Lines
Prevention is essential. 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 local 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.