5 Top Tips for Maintaining Your Drains

Keeping your drains in great shape is important. Drain unblocking can be a large expense, and not to mention, a huge (often smelly) inconvenience for the average homeowner. When you discover wastewater pooling in your sink, shower, or toilet, it is never a good sight. But what about if you could make sure to avoid ever having these issues again? Here at Plumbers Sheffield, we have compiled a handy list of hints and tips to make sure that your drains stay in top condition all year round!

The Benefits of Maintaining Your Drains

The benefits of having a routine in place to take care of your drain maintenance are many. These include:

• Reducing the need to spend money on calling a plumber to resolve the issue
• Reducing the downtime and inconvenience from having a sink shower or toilet which is clogged up and unusable
• Helps to eliminate foul odours coming from your drain produced by old waste build up over the years
• Reduces the need for strong chemical cleaners to be used in the future which can pose a threat to the environment

Plumbers Sheffield's Top 5 Tips for Easy Maintenance

#1 Take care of what you put down the drain

With regular use, it is common for waste matter to build up within your pipes. Over time, grease, silt, and debris can all deposit on the inner wall of your waste pipes. If you notice that water is running slowly down the drain, chances are this is an early indication that a blockage is occurring. The best cure in these instances is prevention, so be sure to take care of items that you dispose of down the drain. It is never a good idea to dispose of fat, cooking oil, and hair down the drain, as these commonly clog up real fast.

For correct disposal, we recommend collecting oil and cooking grease in an old milk carton or bottle and dispose of this in the bin. In addition, hair and bits of food can be collected using a sink strainer, which you can place over the plug hole. When the large pieces of food items and hair have gathered on the strainer, these can simply be collected and thrown into the bin. These helpful daily habits will go along way to preventing a clogged-up mess in the future

#2 Regularly Rinse Your Drains

It is a great idea to rinse out you drains on a weekly basis to prevent the build-up of silt, soap scum and debris on the inside of your pipes. Try pouring a jug of boiling hot water with a little washing up liquid in down the drain, waiting 5 minutes and repeating the process. Doing this weekly will help to keep those pipes flushed clean.

#3 Use cleaning agents

There is a plethora of specialist drain cleaning products on the market and it can be useful to make use of these monthly. Be aware that chemical cleaners can damage seals on pipes leading to leaks and they can also be harmful to wildlife. Try to opt for enzyme cleaners help to break down organic matter in your drains making sure that they remain clear and odour free.

#4 Use home remedies

If you are reluctant to spend money on proprietary cleaning agents, then a simple home remedy can work just as well utilising vinegar and baking soda. These products react together to help remove any built-up matter within the drain. For this method run boiling water down the drain, followed by half a cup of baking soda and half a cup of vinegar.

#5 Have a schedule in place

When we are busy, it can be difficult plan in time to get these essential drain cleaning tips in place. One thing we suggest is to have a weekly routine set for your other house cleaning chores where you spend 10 minutes running through these steps on all your house drains. These small actions can save much time, money, and stress in the future

Using these top tips regularly will help to make sure your drains stay in great shape. If you are in the unfortunate position of having a blocked drain that you can’t resolve, call the team at Plumbers Sheffield, and one of our plumbers will be on their way to resolve the issue!