Dismiss congested drains pipes with this plan
Dismiss congested drains pipes with this plan
What are some easy home solutions for eliminating blocked waste pipes in your bathroom? The quickest and best thing to use to tackle the problem is your regular plunger. Using a plunger is very simple if you know how. What you don’t want to do however is to vigorously pump up and down like a jack hammer. For the best results you should place the head of the plunger over the drainpipe, smoothly push down and bring up again quickly creating and even suction in the drains pipes pipe. Hopefully the suction of the upwards movement of the drains plunger will pull what ever is stuck in your drainage back up into the bathroom toilet, tub or sink. It should be noted here that some bath tubs and sinks have overspill outlets that must be plugged with a sponge or wet towel before using your plunger if this approach is to work.
Instead of using your plunger you can apply commercial products containing chemicals that can dissolve the clog, for instance concentrated drains pipes cleaner. This is usually done after you attempt to unplug your drainpipe using your plunger. The chemicals must sit for a while as it eats away at the blockage, then you must run hot water down the drainpipe to flush it out. Use rough clothes that cover your body fully as things could get a bit mucky and some of the strong chemicals may spill on you and burn exposed skin. If you are not careful the chemical filled water may splash on your face while you are using the drainage plunger, so use some eye protection for the same. Also remember to read and follow the manufacturer’s instructions carefully so that you do not create new issues.
The next thing you can attempt to use if your plunger is unproductive is to loosen the nuts holding the P-trap in place with pliers or a pipe wrench. This will create quite a mess so be ready with a towel and pail. Chrome plated fittings can be protected from scratches by taping up the teeth of the pliers or wrench; that should also give you a firmer grip on the nuts of the trap. Once the P-trap is removed, check the trap for any solid materials obstructing the pipe opening. If you don’t see anything, the problem might unfortunately go far deeper and may be located between the trap and the waste pipes soil stack.
A toilet auger is the best tool for dealing with toilets that are blocked,. With a bathtub or sink, however a drainpipe snake should be used. Because of their size and length, drainage snakes are well designed for getting at blockages in small spaces in difficult to reach places. Once you have pushed deep enough, rotate the handle to screw and hook into the blockage and slowly draw it out, this should pull the blockage with it. Once, you have taken out the obstruction, re-fix the P-trap and rinse the drain pipe with hot water to make sure that the entire blockage has been removed. Finally, you should double check that everything is sealed properly, tightly screwed into place and make sure that the P-trap does not have any leaks.
If the drainage is still clogged after all these measures, or if the problem reoccurs chronically, employ a competent plumber or drainage contractor to fix it. Professional plumbers can identify and solve serious issues like aged pipes caving in, tree root invasion, blocked sewer line or soil stack; these should not be attempted by the homeowner as you will not have the right tools to solve the problem.