Plugged Drains – A Major Headache!.
Plugged Drains – A Major Headache!.
This has happened to all of us – the water fast submerging our toes while are taking a shower. How disgusting! the drain pipe is obstructed . And it’s not confined to the bath and shower, you could be brushing your teeth getting ready for bed only to be confronted with the sink filling up rapidly. Stopped drains are not only a major nuisance for household work; they are also unhygienic health hazards. However, most household bathrooms will experience a clogged up drain at some time and one time or another. Every householder must know how to fight that monster of a clogged drain.
Why Do They Happen?.
Most often, when the dirt,sand and debris that we wash off from our bodies combines with the hair that we shed in a bath, all those entangled clumps accumulate within and eventually block the drain pipe. The condition gets worse when products like conditioners, shampoos and detergents accumulate in the already clogged up drains. Eventually the clumps of accumulated matter prevent water from emptying out quickly or may even completely seal the drainpipe hole. So, if you are finding the water isn’t flowing freely through your drainpipe resulting in water rising quickly in your bath or sink chances are that you have a clog in your plumbing system.
How to remove the drainpipe blockage.
Here are a few things that you can do to clean your clogged up bathroom drain and get the water running. Of course, in either the sink or the bathtub, the first thing you should do is remove the plug. Look beneath the sink, you may have to remove a nut that secures the stopper or in some cases you can just directly pull out the plug by the u-bend. In case of bath drainpipe, you can either remove the overflow plate or unscrew the stopper.
You might be able to see the reason for the blockage after you have successfully taken the stopper out. Those greasy lumps of entangled hair and residue can be seen sticking to the sides and corners of the drain. Try to get as much of this out as possible by hand, this could solve the drainage problem. You may find it difficult to get at the blockage, in which case you could use something like a wire hanger to fish the material out. This step of removing the residual clumps will remove the local blockage at your drain pipe point.
However, there is a chance that you will not be able to reach the blockage with the wire so you will have to try something else. Use a drain plunger to loosen the blockage that is deeper down the pipework. To begin with, you should plug the overflow drainpipe to make sure that the plunger has optimum suction. Then put the plunger over the drainpipe mouth and press it up and down repeatedly. Hopefully, after doing this and once the plunger is taken away, any water should flow freely down the drain pipe as the vacuum created freed the obstruction.
You can unblock the drainage through chemical drainpipe cleaner too if a drains plunger does not work for you. This method should only be used as a last resort because the chemicals used are dangerous and can be harmful to your bathroom fixtures.
Call in the drains Professionals.
If you are unable to unclog the drainage even after trying all the methods, it is only advisable to call a professional plumber who has experience of drainage work. Plumbers should have equipment that can help unclog drainage quickly and easily. Though it won’t come cheaply, an experienced plumber’s help can provide peace of mind.