5 Steps for Drain Cleaning

The kids are all home from school and your home has been overrun by children. With so many people around, all sorts of things can find themselves caught in your drain. Don’t ignore the fact that water is slowly filling up in your sink. This is the first sign you might need a declogging. Save yourself from bigger problems with these five steps for keeping your drain clear of blockages.

1. Wet Vacuum
This is the first step in removing large blockages from your drain. Remove the filter from your vacuum and place the nozzle as tight as you can to the drain (a smaller nozzle works best). Place your vacuum on the highest setting and see if you can remove any major food or hair blockages from your drain.
2. Coat Hanger 
Straighten out your wire hanger as best you can and create a hook on the very end. Push the hook into your drain cover and see what you can fish up. It is important to remember that you are trying to pull things up when fishing, not push them down. This should remove any of the leftovers that the wet vac might have missed.
3. Boiling Water 
Simple enough. Boil a pot of water on your stove and slowly pour it down the drain. Do this two or three times to let the water work for a few seconds in between. This should start removing the gunk that is stuck to the walls of your drain.
4. Baking Soda & Vinegar 
Take ⅓ cup of baking soda and ⅓ cup of vinegar and watch it fizz. Immediately pour it down the clogged drain for the best results. This helps with the removal of the stuff you missed earlier in the process.
5. Caustic Soda (sodium hydroxide) 
You can pick some up at your local hardware store for about $20. Be careful though, it causes nasty chemical burns so make sure you cover any part of your skin that might come into contact with the cleaning solution. Stir the solution with some water in a mop bucket to dilute it a bit before pouring it down the drain. This will break up the build up on your drain walls and help prevent future problems. Once you let it sit for 30 minutes, wash it down with boiling water to complete your clean.

If this process did not work for you check out some of these other tips for unclogging your drain!

Going through this whole process should temporarily ensure you a free flowing drain. If you run into any problems or need some more in depth fixes, call Nassau Plumbing and Sewer Rooter today at 516-874-7937 or visit us on the web.