The Importance of Drain Care & Maintenance

Proper plumbing maintenance and drain care is something that everyone should learn to do, as it will save money and time in the long run. When drains become clogged due to neglect, it can become expensive. While the plumber is fixing the actual problem, you won’t be able to use the drain, which might be very inconvenient. Below are some important things to keep in mind when you are practicing proper plumbing maintenance and drain care on a regular basis to keep your drains free of clogs and keep from having to pay a lot of money for plumbing repair in the future.

Keep certain things out of your drains. Most drain clogs are caused by very small items going down the drain that most people wouldn’t think would cause a stoppage. Drains are very narrow and most foreign objects can cause a blockage. These range from Q-Tips to paper towels or even cooking grease and coffee grinds, which many people think won’t hurt their drains. Even dental floss can cause a drain to clog in an old plumbing system. Keep all solid, foreign objects out of your drains as much as possible. Even if you have a disposal in the kitchen, try to use it sparingly with certain types of softer food, as opposed to everything organic you’re not eating.

Clean outdoor drains will lead to cleaner indoor drains. Plumbing is connected, in most cases, through both the indoor and outdoor drains. If there is a serious block in the outdoor drains around your house, there’s a chance this could lead to your indoor drains backing up and causing plumbing problems inside the house itself. Practice drain care and maintenance on your outdoor drains almost as often as you care for your indoor ones.

Use regular, natural drain cleaners. There are a number of methods for unclogging drains, many of which involve harsh chemicals that dissolve just about anything. Even though these cleaners are effective and won’t hurt your drain or plumbing immediately, they can lead to corrosion and other problems with your pipes and drains over time. Try cleaning your drains on a regular basis with natural cleaners like a table spoon of baking soda and vinegar. This won’t hurt your pipes but it will begin to dissolve, loosen or free anything in the pipes that may be building up to a future clog.