Life Hacks to Unclog Your Drains
Are your sinks taking forever to drain? Water pooling in places it shouldn’t be? Does that bad odor that seems to be getting stronger? These are all signs of a clogged drain or drain that is slowly starting to clog. Removing the clumps of hair or gunk that surrounds the surface of the drain may not always fix the underlying problem.
Here are a few ways to deal with the blockages:
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The Drain Snake
This is an incredibly cheap and straightforward tool that works perfectly when unclogging drains and one of the first things your plumber is going to use.
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The Coat Hanger
If you want to MacGyver it, straighten out a coat hanger and make one end a small hook. Use it like a snake but try not to push the blockage further down; pull it towards you. After finishing, rinse some hot water down the drain and try to clean the rest of it out.
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The Wet and Dry Vacuum
If you own a wet/dry vacuum, you can set the mode to liquids and cover up the vents to prevent a huge mess. Take the hose of the vacuum and cover up the drain to seal it as best as possible. Turn it on and see if the suction is enough to unclog the drain. No muss no fuss!
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Boiling Water
This is probably the simplest way to start out when trying to unclog a drain. Boil a large pot of hot water and slowly pour it down the drain in phases. Let each phase of the pouring go down and go to work for a few seconds before resuming.
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The U Pipe Clean
If you don’t mind getting a little dirty, find the U-shaped pipe beneath your sink, place a bucket underneath it and, using a wrench, loosen the pipes slip nuts. Remove the U trap and empty it into the bucket. You can then take a snake or hanger to fish around the open pipes and into the U to make sure all debris and clogs are gone. You can even use an old toothbrush to clean the sides of the pipes where gunk might stick.
These are just a few simple DIY tricks for trying to unclog a drain. If you think there is a deeper or more serious problem, contact us today and we can come out and take a look.
