On the floor of our homes’ utility areas, i.e. the garage, basement and laundry rooms, lives an underappreciated but hardworking piece of plumbing called a drain. Despite it being neglected and seldom cleared, a drain does a nice job. Talk of swallowing all sorts of grime and sludge, its importance can never be underestimated. Sometimes an overload causes a clog thus water backup and even flooding. It goes without saying that clearing a blocked drain is just no fun. However, it doesn’t have to be that way, below is how to clear a bad blocked drain.
Identify the Required Tools
Any blockage can really cause trauma as you try to figure out how to handle this situation. Be it a blockage in the kitchen, in the toilet or even shower room does not come with a lesser challenge. In most cases, we are so desperate that we have to call the ‘expensive’ professional plumbers to salvage the mess. However, this is not important since there are two tools that you can easily acquire and the whole situation is completely fixed. A plunger and a snake are enough to ensure the drain is cleared and there shall be no more stress.
Use of a Plunger
To start with, soak a cloth in water and use it to seal one sink. Place the plunger on the other drain and vigorously plunge the drain with upstrokes and down strokes for around 1 minute. Strode the plunger’s head in water so as to allow water in and prevent air from entering the drain which will slow the draining process. Continue stroking and while you are exhausted and want to stop, release the plunger from the drains mouth in order to increase pressure. This makes the clogged materials to break. Is that all? Yes, but the truth is if the clogs were adverse, the longer may not solve the problem.
Clean the P-Trap
Free the trap arm by unscrewing it. This will make it easy to clean the waste tee. Remove the clogged materials from the P-trap. Plunging can clean this part but at times it may not depending on the intensity of the materials clogged therein. If the plunging process did not clean it, disconnect it from the drainage system, and clean it out. Unscrew the slip nut that connects the P-trap and clean it. Reconnect it and check to ensure its condition has been restored. Clean the trap arm and check if there any debris left and if the system is clear, then water should drain smoothly.
Clear Using a Snake
Insert the snake into the drain stub-out. Ensure the screw is tightly fixed. Turn the crank in a clockwise direction to scroll deep into the drainage. If it gets to a clog, Force it past the clog thus breaking it. Continue pushing it inside while still rotating it in the clockwise direction until it reaches the cable’s tip. After it’s done, remove the snake in an anti-clockwise direction and repeat the process until the whole system is clear. Pour water to clear all the materials along the drainage. Finally, pour some baking powder and vinegar to breakdown any fatty materials. Leave it covered for a while and later pour warm water to drain them.
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