Unfreeze those obstructed drains
Unfreeze those obstructed drains
You might notice the stopped drainage when you are in shower and suddenly the water level starts rising up. Yuck! A obstructed drain. Imagine you are brushing your teeth and you notice that the sink is already half filled with water, Yuck!. The prospect of sorting plugged drains out is not a happy one; it can be messy and time consuming. However, clogged up drains are something that cannot be avoided; every household has to cope with it sooner or later. So you should know how to unclog them, well in advance.
What causes a clogged drain?.
Hair, dust and other particles getting stuck in the space between the drain pipe and the pipes are the main cause. The problem aggravates when bathroom products like soap, shampoo, conditioner, detergent, and the like begin to accumulate on the mass. When the offending mass becomes too dense to allow any water to flow through freely, the problem is identified as a obstructed drain. If your sink or tub fills up fast with water while it should have drained out quickly, you could be in for a serious case of plugged pipes.
So how can you unclog these drainage?.
You can do a number of things to unclog your bathtub or bathroom sink drain. The first thing that you need to do is to remove the stopper of your sink or bath drain. In case of a bathroom sink, the plug can be removed easily with a simple pull or it might need the complex effort of unlocking the hook keeping it in place from under the sink. For a bathtub you may be able to simply take out the plug, otherwise you might have to take off the overflow plate in order to get at the assembly.
The removal of the plug may allow you to spot the cause for the blockage. Those greasy lumps of entangled hair and residue can be seen sticking to the sides and corners of the drain pipe. Put on a pair of gloves and extract whatever blockages comes within reach. If the mass is located in a region, where it is difficult for you to grasp it and pull it out, then use a wire clothes hanger to dig into the clump and pull it back through the drain pipe pipe. This step of removing the residual clumps will remove the local blockage at your drainpipe point.
In a case of deeper clogging, your hand or hooked wire may not do the trick – you may have to try the next step. Use a drain plunger to loosen the blockage that is deeper down the pipework. In the first step, use a wet cloth to cover the overflowing drain pipe, and then use the plunger; this will make the suction stronger. Now, place the plunger straight away on the opening of the drain,and thump it up and down a number of times. You may find that this suction-push action of the plunger loosens the stopped debris down the pipe and the accumulated water now drains freely.
If the plunger method fails to properly unclog your drainpipe, you may have to resort to using chemical drain pipe cleaner. Chemicals should be applied only after all else fails because they are dangerous and can damage your bathroom hardware.
Call in the drains Professionals.
After taking all the steps that you can carry out yourself, if the blockage still remains, it will be wise to call your neighborhood plumber or drains services company for some assistance. A professional plumber should quickly solve your problem with his special tools and equipment. Taking professional help will cost you a bit but it is definitely worth it.
