Teaching You All About Unclogging Drains

Clogged toilets are a common household problem, although with a bit of family or roomie education and some common sense, many times they could have been avoided.

A clogged toilet or commode does not drain when flushed. Water held in the tank of the toilet flows into the bowl, but does not wash away the contents down the drain. Instead the toilet bowl and drain become backed up behind a clog of waste, and the water stays in the bowl. When this happens, do not flush again! Most toilets can hold the contents of a single tank or flush of water without overflowing, but flushing an already backed up toilet is sure to cause a disgusting mess as the sewage flows over the rim of the bowl onto the bathroom floor.

Drain cleaning has stayed as up to date as any home improvement area in terms of new tools on the market and in improvements made to old standbys.

Your modern drain servicing professional has a remarkably high-tech selection of tools at their disposal. Examples include remote operated video cameras for inspection of plumbing, and precision-machined high-pressure sprayers used in jet-washing of sewers.

But a homeowner can handle most household clogs on their own if they have just one or two inexpensive tools. A plunger and / or a handheld drain auger appropriate for the troublesome drain(s) makes up its cost in the first saved service call to a pro. But with such a wide variety of plungers and drain snakes available, consumers must be informed about their proper use to make the right purchase decisions.

Utility drains are the drains in garages, laundry rooms, basements, and outdoor areas. Most of these areas will have drainage of some form, the most common being a basic drain in the floor leading to the wastewater line for the house.

Sinks in utility areas are often different than those found in kitchens and bathrooms. Utility sinks in most homes are deeper basins with a separate stopper plug, unlike bathroom lavatory basins. Laundry sinks also usually lack a disposal unit as you find attached to many kitchen sinks. Some utility sink setups even forgo the standard U-trap, and instead dump into or near a floor drain nearby. This may sound crude, but in areas where the floor is easily and frequently washed, catching and collecting all the waste matter that is rinsed down the sink can prevent larger problems from arising.