Good practices and fundamental maintenance can assist to avoid a blocked drain. First, do not dump the food in the sink or pouring lubricant down the drain. Put coffee and food grounds in the garbage, and allow grease to cool and after that, put it in a pot and dispose it off.

Marketable drain-cleaning products are one alternative that can be successful in some circumstances. These products are greatly promoted and their product names are the home words, so you may be lured to pour them down a blocked drain earlier than attempting to anything else. However, this is not the finest strategy. In several cases, there are substitutes to drain cleaners that will be more efficient and less hazardous to your health and the atmosphere and they may even inexpensive.

Foreign things, such as bottle tops, jewellery, or toys, can as well, fall into a drain and block it. If that is the situation, drain cleaners will not assist to unblock the blocked drain. You have to take the objects away or call a plumber to carry out the job for you.

Suppose the foreign things are not the culprits, first try to find the block. Start by eliminating, verifying and cleaning the strainer or stopper at the entry of the drain. A few strainers are effortlessly removed physically, whereas others may need pliers or a screwdriver. Eliminate anything you can reach and after that, pour some hot water down the drain.

The subsequent step is to attempt to use a needle on the drain, and if that fails, try eliminating and cleaning the trap of the sink. Then, you have to try a sewer twist, or an auger. If any of these do not work, it is the time to make use of a drain-cleaning product.

Drain-cleaning products are available in gel, liquid or powder form, and they contain powerful chemicals. All chemical reactions entail moving electrons, and drain cleaners do effort by either captivating or offering electrons to the blocking substance, creating heat during the process. Since these products produce heat, they may make the polyvinyl chloride pipes in the homes softer. However, such harm is uncommon if you employ the drain cleaner as instructed, the damage is more likely to take place when the drain cleaner is applied to older, metal pipes.

Pour the hot water down the drains at least once in a week to assist to dissolve soap scum, grease and other build up earlier than they block the pipes. If you contain a home septic system, inspect it at least once in a year.