Don’t you love that feeling when you go to brush your teeth or wash the dishes and the sink just continuously fills up with water? Although a blocked drain is a nuisance, it may not be as complicated as it seems to fix. Read on to get some useful tips to unblock that drain.
To prevent blockages:
One of the most common ways that a drain will clog is with hair, especially in the bathroom. Hair loves to stick to itself to form a large ball of hair that will get trapped going down your drain. You can buy drain covers for your showers and bathtubs that will catch the hair. Another option is to get a drain with small holes to prevent hair and other large debris to escape down your drain pipe.
To fix blockages:
Baking Soda and Vinegar: Baking soda is an incredible natural deodoriser and cleaner. Baking Soda is a mild alkali that will dissolve dirt and grease in water making it an excellent unblocker. Use one cup of baking soda with a cup of vinegar and pour the mixture down the blocked drain. The chemical reaction between backing soda and vinegar will loosen the dirt and grime and will cleans the drain at the same time!!! If the drain remains blocked don’t be afraid to repeat the procedure again. (Beware: leaves the drain with a beautiful vinegar fragrance!)
Salt, Borax and Vinegar: Borax is a very effective natural cleaner that eliminates odors and helps clean the drain pipe. Mix ½ cup of Borax with ½ cup of salt and 1 cup of vinegar for a cheap, easy and powerful drain cleaner/unblocker. This method does require patience - just let it sit in the drain for around an hour before rinsing with water.
Boiling Water: Boiling water is one of the simplest methods to unblocking a drain and is especially effective in the kitchen where fats and oils harden inside the drain. Boiling water will heat the fats and oils enough to soften them and allow the blockage to be washed completely down the drain. For best results with boiling water, heat several litres in pots or on the oven and flush down together.
Tip: Instead of waiting until the drain is completely blocked, try the methods above when you realize that the water is taking longer to drain, it will save you valuable time and money in the future! Drains are going to clog, it’s what they do! Maintaining healthy drains is a sure way to prevent clogging and will keep at bay any unpleasant odors lurking in the pipes.
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