Home Habits to Prevent Drain Issues

At All Hours Plumbing, Drain Cleaning, Heating & Cooling, we’re your go-to experts for drain cleaning and all residential plumbing issues. If you’re experiencing clogs or backups in your drains, we can get you cleared up quickly and affordably.

Whenever possible, you’d like to take the steps to avoid having to call for these services from us too often. Here are a few positive habits you can get into that will help prevent drain clogs and other major drain issues.

Hot Water

After every significant meal and dish cleanup in the sink, pour some extra hot water down the drain of your sink. This helps prevent common buildups like grease, fat and hard water deposits inside the pipes – things that can build up even as you correctly use your garbage disposal. For extra protection here, you can even clean your pipe once a week with a mixture of baking soda and vinegar (let the combination sit for 20 minutes first).

For bathtubs, cleaning out the drain every once in a while involves filling the tub a bit more than halfway, then pulling the stopper and allowing water to quickly flow down the drain, clearing any minor deposits as long as you do this once every couple weeks.

The Right Drains

When food has to go down the drain in the sink, make sure it’s the right drain. Only the garbage disposal should receive even scraps of food, and even these should be minimized where possible. A good rule of thumb is cleaning plates of big scraps before they hit the sink, plus using drain strainers to catch food particles.

Natural Cleaners

When you need to clean out a drain using a specific cleaning product, shoot for natural products. Heavy chemicals may get the job done, but they can cause damage to pipes and your drainage system over time. Natural cleaners, on the other hand, will produce positive bacteria to kill negative particles building up – these good bacteria can then also be washed away with some basic water.

Professional Inspection

Finally, it’s recommended that you have your system checked periodically by an expert like All Hours Plumbing, Drain Cleaning, Heating & Cooling. Even the most proactive approach might not catch everything, and some routine maintenance is preferable to a big clog by a long shot.

Want to learn more about positive drain maintenance, or any other element of our plumbing services? The experts at All Hours Plumbing, Drain Cleaning, Heating & Cooling are standing by.