What You Should Know about 5 Drain Cleaning Tips For Your Home in Bakersfield, CA?

Clogged drains in Bakersfield, CA can quickly progress from a small annoyance to a major, and expensive, problem. Fortunately there are a few tips for keeping your drains clean so that you do not have to call a plumber in Bakersfield, CA.

Try Hot Water

Sometimes just a little bit of hot water is all that it takes to clean your dirty or clogged drains and get them back to running smoothly. Flushing your pipes using hot water is often enough to dislodge materials or break up gunk buildup, all through the simple combination of heat and water pressure.

To get the best result, run the hot water through the dirty or clogged drain for around 15 minutes. The force and heat of the water should be adequate for dislodging anything that is affecting your drain, and will return your pipes to working condition for no cost.

Homemade Cleaners

If hot water fails to solve the problem or is impractical, then you can try to make your own homemade cleaning solution. Just like commercial cleaners, these solutions will break down and dislodge drain pipe buildup. However, these commercial solutions have the added risk of damaging or deteriorating your pipes from regular use. By far the most common mixture is simple baking soda and vinegar. These easy to find products react when they are combined to break up loose material inside pipes, and will have no impact on the integrity of your plumbing.

Try pouring a single cup of each down the pipe, and then follow it with boiling water after 3 to 5 minutes have passed. If it works, this technique can clean your pipes for little cost and with no added damage to your plumbing.

Drain Snake

The most important tool that many people do not have yet should if they have regular problems with clogged drains is a drain snake. This tool is what a professional plumber will usually use for relieving a standard clog and to excavate a drain pipe. They can be bought at any home improvement store for a very affordable price, which will easily pay for itself the first time that you use it to clean a drain.

Sugary Soda

An often overlooked drain cleaning tip, soft drinks and other sugary sodas will solve common drain blockages in a similar fashion to the baking soda and vinegar solution.

This method is also much safer than commercial cleaners. Soda application will break through any clogged debris as a result of the dissolving agents that are a part of these sodas, most often phosphoric acid. These agents are even more effective than commercial cleaners.

Prevention

One of the top methods for eliminating drain clogs is by avoiding them in the first place. Monthly performance checks for your drains are highly recommended, as is having a professional inspection done once each year. These proactive measures will help to limit clogs and catch them in their earliest stages before they become more serious and expensive to solve.

Also pay attention to the materials that your drains can and cannot properly process. Avoid any fibrous or stringy foods, as well as wrappers, bones, kitchen grease and paper products.