If you’ve ever had a clogged sink, you know how frustrating it can be. It’s especially annoying when it happens in the kitchen, where food waste and grease can build up over time.
When a drain gets clogged, it can cause everything from a foul smell to water that won’t drain and even mold growth in your home. It’s also a sign that you need professional help.
Some of the most common things that can clog your drains include hair, soap residue, food particles and grease. While these clogs can be challenging to fix on your own, there are some simple and cost-effective ways to get rid of them.
If you have a clogged kitchen in Long Beach, try using a coat hanger to dislodge the blockage. Just bend one end slightly and insert it into the drain. This will push out or pull through the clog, and it should break free pretty quickly.
Another simple and inexpensive method is to use a combination of baking soda and white vinegar. Pour about a cup of the solution down the drain and run hot water to see if it breaks the clog up. Repeat this process until the clog is clear.
You can buy a plumber’s snake at any hardware store for about $15 to $20. The tool is great for removing clogs that are farther down the drainage pipe under your kitchen sink.
A plumber’s snake can be particularly useful for clogs that are farther down in the plumbing system and have a P-trap, which is a “stub pipe” or “stub out” that runs behind your cabinet wall. Depending on the extent of the clog, you may need to remove the P-trap and clean it out.
Other DIY methods for removing clogs from the drain include plungers, garbage disposal cleaner and baking soda/vinegar solutions with hot water. You’ll want to avoid chemicals like Drano, which can be too harsh for the pipes and damage your countertops or backsplash if the clog becomes stubborn.
While these methods are all relatively inexpensive and easy to perform, they’re not always effective at clearing clogs. They can also lead to costly problems down the line.
Rather than just fixing the immediate problem, a plumber will take a long-term view of clogs and how to prevent them from recurring. This means they won’t just clear up your clogs and make it look like you never had them, but they’ll also clean out the plumbing so that it won’t clog in the future.
This will not only save you money on drain cleaning costs, it will also make the plumbing in your home more efficient. It will also prevent your kitchen from looking dingy and dirty due to the presence of a clogged drain, which can be a distraction to customers and employees.
If a clog isn’t cleared up after trying these methods, it may be a sign that something deeper has caused the blockage in your drain. You might need to repair or replace the drainpipe and/or your sewer line.
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