Drain Clearing and Cleaning in the Santa Cruz Area

Drain Clearing and Cleaning in the Santa Cruz Area

There are multiple ways of clearing and cleaning your drains. Most methods that seem to work decently are at-home do-it-yourself methods. When you try on your own and can’t seem to get the drain to clear, it may be time to call in professional help. Plumbing professionals have many tools that can help clear and clean your drain without causing any damage.

In the Santa Cruz area, when you need a
Santa Cruz plumbing expert on your side, Anytime Plumbing can swoop in and save the day.

Unclogging a Drain Yourself

There are many ways that you can unclog your drains that are efficient and often environmentally friendly. You will need special supplies for some of these do-it-yourself remedies, so if you don’t have them on hand, it may be just as simple as calling a plumber to do it for you.

Bent Wire Hanger

A surprisingly effective solution to clearing a clog, taking a wire coat hanger, and straightening it out, leaving a hook shape on the end, can help remove stubborn debris. By inserting the hanger into the opening of the drain, begin “fishing” for hair and other stuck debris. The goal is to clear the clog, not push it further down the pipe.

Once you have removed as much debris as you can in the drain, run hot water to see if that has cleared the issue.

Baking Soda and Vinegar

A nice and environmentally friendly chemical reaction may be just what you need to get your drain cleared and smelling fresh at the same time. Take a third of a cup of baking soda and mix it with a third of a cup of vinegar. The two will begin reacting with one another almost instantly, so it is important to waste no time pouring it down the drain.

If you can get as much of the dried baking soda down the drain that you can before pouring in the vinegar, you may have a better chance of breaking up whatever is causing the clog.

Let the mixture sit for at least an hour, overnight if possible. Run hot water through the drain after waiting the allotted time to see if it has cleared.

Boiling Water

One of the most straightforward solutions, but not always the most efficient. Take a kettle and fill it as full as you can with water. Boil the water.

Begin pouring the water into the clogged drain in stages, waiting before beginning to pour more into the drain. Test the drain to see if the boiling water worked. You can repeat this as necessary.

Impromptu Pipe Cleaning

If it is your sink that is giving you the trouble with a clog, sometimes you will need to clean out the pipe. The “U” shaped pipe under your sink is considered a trap pipe. This pipe has the potential of collecting all kinds of debris.

To clean this pipe, all you need to do is get a bucket to catch the water that may spill. Unhook both ends of the “U” shape and dump it into the bucket. You may be required to fish around a little with your fingers or old toothbrush to get the stuck debris out of the pipe.

After reassembling the pipe, check to see that the clog has resolved.

Dish Soap

When you happen upon a clogged toilet drain, pour close to a quarter of a cup of dish soap into it. Boil some water in a kettle and begin pouring it down the drain. The soap will act as a lubricant and eat any greasy residue that is lurking in the pipe. The hot water will help flush away any debris stuck in the pipe.

If instant drain clearing isn’t achieved, grab the plunger and get to work.

Baking Soda, Vinegar, Pressure, and Gravity

That is kind of a mouthful, but very useful if your bath drain is being stubborn. You will want to mix a third of a cup of baking soda and a third of a cup of vinegar and pour it quickly down the drain.

Once an hour or more has passed, fill your bathtub up with water. Remove the stopper so that the water begins to drain, hopefully dislodging whatever was clogging it, to begin with. You can also use this in combination with a plunger or drain snake.

When Your Drain Won’t Move

After you have tried everything that you want to try on your own, giving a Santa Cruz plumber a call might not be a bad idea. Plumbers have a lot more tools at their disposal than your average joe. Plumbers are also experts at using the types of tools that could quickly clear or clean a drain.

Hydrojetting

A popular option for tough clogs is hydrojetting. A plumber will only advise the usage of hydrojetting if your pipes can handle it.

Hydrojetting is when a plumber inserts a small flexible hose into your drain system, and higher pressured water jets clean and clear your pipe. Pipes that are fragile cannot withstand the force the jet exerts.

Chemicals

Even though you can use chemicals as a consumer, it is not recommended that you do it on your own. The reason for this caution is because some chemical drain cleaners can cause more harm than they do good. A professional is the only one who should be handling these types of solutions.

Help in the Santa Cruz Area

Anytime Plumbing services the Santa Cruz area, providing clients with expert plumbers to see to all their plumbing needs. Whenever you need a plumber to rescue you, at any time, your professionals at Anytime Plumbing are there for you.

No clog is too big that our expert plumbing specialists cannot handle. With tools of the trade in hand, our plumbers can meet you day or night to get your plumbing problems under control.

When you require a plumber in the Santa Cruz area, don’t hesitate to call Anytime Plumbing for a consultation and get your problem solved today.