The crucial approach for unblocking your drains
The crucial approach for unblocking your drains
Drains when clogged, serve to be the most difficult problem of all the household emergencies. As with most emergencies they happen without any warning. Unpleasant odors, flooding of your house and loss of power are the worst aspects of a blocked drain. If you are a business that is impacted the disruption can result in loss of customer and staff goodwill with the associated lost productivity and sales revenue.
Below are mentioned a few simple preventive measures that you can take to decrease the chances of a blocked drain caused due to a foreign object or a structural defect.
One of the commonest thing to get stuck in the plug hole are the hair, so make it a point to remove them regularly.
Keep small objects such as combs, medicine bottles and toilet rolls away from places where they could accidentally fall into the toilet.
Using a disinfectant and hot water to clear the soap residues and regularly flushing the wash basin and shower pipework will prevent accumulation over time.
Dont flush away large and disposable items such as sanitary towels, nappies or product wrapping as they can become caught in the drainage pipe.
It is better to compost food wastes and cuttings as fertilizer rather than flushing them down the sink.
In the event of such material falling into the sink, do not push the matter through the plughole as this may impact and worsen the blockage; instead, try to extract the matter.
Disposing of cooking fats down the kitchen sink should never be done as the fats can solidify when they come in contact with cold water. When there are no other options other than flushing fats into the sink, dilute and soften the fats or other foods using hot water and detergent, so that they go through easily without blocking. After flushing the drain, run the tap for sometime, at least a minute, to ensure that there are no more blocked materials.
Now for some general maintenance tips to cut the risk of blocked drainage:.
Rain downpipes and roof gutters must be inspected bi-annually.
Remove any debris and fallen leaves from the drains with a trowel, but be careful while working on the roof.
The inspection covers should be easily accessible because you can then use them to check the flow of the drains regularly.
Make sure that the external drain grids are protected from garden materials, fallen leaves or accumulation of moss in autumn.
As with the internal drains you should regularly wash external drains with hot water and disinfectant.
In case of a business, it is better to employ a CCTV drain inspection service for drain surveys and ensure that they conduct a regular check on your drainage system. Such an inspection will indicate sludge buildup in the pipework if any, and also inform you of the structural condition of the drainage system.