The Unclog Blog - HELP Plumbing, Heating, Cooling and Electric

What is hard water?

The term hard water refers to any water containing a high level of dissolved minerals such as calcium, magnesium, among others. These are minerals in the ground that came into contact with the water. Water from a well is very likely to be hard because it is drawn directly from the ground with no processing.

Water is a good solvent, which means it dissolves other substances easily. However, it also picks up impurities easily. So as water moves through rock and soil, it dissolves small amounts of minerals and holds onto them, making it hard water. The degree of hardness becomes greater as the amount of mineral content increases.

On the other hand, soft water is treated water that only contains the positively charged ion of sodium. Rainwater has no minerals, so it is naturally very soft.  Often, hard water has a characteristic taste from the minerals and soft water may taste salty.

A Word About Chemical Cleaners

Very often, whenever a drain is clogged, a homeowner’s immediate response is to reach for a bottle of drain cleaner. While this can be effective, it is not a one-size-fits-all solution:

• Use chemical cleaners sparingly, especially if your pipes and traps are steel, cast-iron, or brass.  Some chemicals will severely corrode metal pipes, particularly older pipes. Plastic pipes are more resilient to chemicals. 

• Ideally, you should use chemical cleaners containing sodium hydroxide or sodium nitrate, but no more frequently than once every few months.

• Always follow the safety instructions on the manufacture’s package.  You should let the cleaner sit in the bend of the trap for a short period of time to ensure effectiveness.

• If you do use chemicals, do not use them in combination with a plunger. Caustic water could splash your skin. Wear rubber gloves, eye protection, and be sure to follow the label's directions carefully.

• If you accidentally splash yourself with the cleaner and get some on your skin, douse the area with water thoroughly until the cleaner is completely removed.  It will burn if not rinsed.

Before you reach for a chemical cleaner, try these home remedies:

• For bathroom drains, once or twice a week, pour approximately 8 ounces of baking soda directly into your drain, then pour 8 ounces of white vinegar directly into the drain. Allow the mixture to bubble for a minute or two. Run very hot water for 3 to 5 minutes. This mixture will eat away hair and soap build up.

• To keep all of your drains working properly, mix 6 cups of baking soda, 5 cups of salt and 1 cup of cream of tartar. Pour about 1 ½ to 2 cups of this mixture into each drain in your house. Run very hot water for about 3 to 5 minutes. Do not store this mixture - make it and use immediately. This should be done once every other week or more often depending on use.

• Should you need to use a plunger, but hesitate because you haven’t been able to do it successfully in the past, your plunger may be to blame. Be sure that the suction cup is big enough to cover the drain opening completely but not so large that a huge amount of effort is required to unclog the drain.

• Another option involves a plumber's snake, which can push the clog out of your system without chemicals or boiling water. You might think that calling a plumber is required for this, but it's not: you can pick up the tool at any hardware store or plumbing supply house for a few dollars.

You can prevent drain clogs.  Take care of your drains and they will do what they are supposed to do – remove water.

If you do get a clog, you can always contact us!

How to Keep Your Household Drains Clog-Free

Bathroom Sinks and Bath Tubs

• Clean the drain strainers.  Some showers and tubs have strainers that are screwed into the drain opening.  Unscrew them and use a wire to clear out built-up debris, which you may not always be able to see. Also, be sure to scour the strainer before replacing it. At a minimum, do this at least once per quarter.
• Pop-up sink stoppers should be lifted out and rinsed weekly.  When hair and soap accumulate, they will quickly slip down into the pipes.
• Use a hair-catching drain insert, which can be found at hardware stores, plumbing supply houses, and even online. These catch most of the hair and other debris that lead to clogs without interfering with your drainage system.
• Don't use your bathtub for major cleaning projects. While it might seem like a good idea to clean engine parts or other nasty things in the tub, you're actually washing more grease and other substances down the drain than it was designed to handle. Instead, use a wash tub that isn't connected to any drains to prevent clogging and other unwanted side effects.
• Many people bathe their dogs in the bathtub because you can regulate the water temperature. Before bringing Fido into the tub, make sure to give him a good brushing first to remove loose hair, then use a hair-catching insert to keep fur from washing down the drain.

How to Keep Your Kitchen Sink Clog-Free

Aside from keeping your bedspread away from the sink, what other steps can you take to avoid clogs and potentially expensive maintenance calls?

Kitchen Sinks
The key is to remove kitchen waste properly:

•    Do not pour grease down the kitchen sink.
•    Do not pour coffee grounds down the sink.
•    Do not feed your sink food. It doesn’t get hungry.

Many people think that they can put most anything down their disposal. The garbage disposal is there to help break down food particles that slip down the sink accidentally.  If food items like potato peels, carrot peels, strawberry stems, etc. are consistently fed down the sink, the ground up particles will slowly build up and form a clog.

If you do accidentally pour grease or oil into your sink, add a few tablespoons of a grease-cutting dish washing detergent and run very hot water for about 5 minutes.

Top 10 Weirdest Things Found in Clogged Household Drains

You’re doing the dishes one night when you suddenly notice that your wedding ring is gone. Panicked, it finally dawns on you that your wedding ring has been swept down the drain.

According to a national survey of plumbing professionals, losing a wedding ring is not at all uncommon. In fact, plumbers routinely find strange things in household drains.

Top 10 Weirdest Things Found in Clogged Household Drains

10.) False teeth. Not just one set, mind you, but 20 sets pulled from a single drain
9.) Automobile parts
8.) 2.5 pound trout
7.) 6-pack of beer
6.) 2.2 meter boa constrictor. Only slightly more unsettling than finding this is finding a 2.4 meter rattlesnake in someone’s bathroom plumbing.
5.) 14 pairs of men’s XL briefs
4.) Piranha. Imagine being the person who pulled this out of a drain.
3.) Lingerie
2.) 2 sets of long underwear
1.) Bedspread. Honestly, we’re not sure how this is even possible, but it is documented that someone managed to do this. 

What's the weirdest thing you have lost down the drain?  Leave us a comment!

Preventing a Clogged Sink

Of course, prevention is the best way to keep your drains clear.  Treating your sink well will keep you from fretting over a clogged drain.  When cooking with grease, pour any excess into a can then throw the can in the trash.  Grease and fat can collect on the sides of your pipes and will attract food.  Eventually, enough food will get stuck to create a big clog.  Too much grease can also cause a sewer blockage, which is a bigger plumbing problem!  In the same vein, never pour coffee grinds down the drain.  Use them in your compost pile or just throw them in the trash.

Use cold water when you grind food into a garbage disposal.  This will flush the food particles down the pipe.  Too little water means, just like with the grease, food will gather along the inside of your pipes and create an obstruction.

One last tip – pour a kettle of boiling water down your kitchen sink drain once a week.  This will melt away small amounts of grease and food bits that may have stuck to your pipes.

Unclog Your Kitchen Drain with Ease

We all have been there – you are cooking or cleaning up after a big meal, when you turn around and are confronted with a clogged drain in your kitchen sink.  Don’t panic yet, there are a few steps you can take to unclog the drain yourself.

Do not put the job off.  Sure, plumbing problems are never pleasant, but waiting will not make it any better.  In fact, the job will start growing in your mind until it seems impossible to confront.  Take a deep breath, grab a few tools and get to work.  Remember the sooner you start, the sooner you will be finished.

If your sink has a stopper or a strainer, this is the first place you can start unclogging.  Often food and other items will collect around the strainer or stopper.  If you have a strainer, remove the screws holding it place and pull out the strainer carefully with a screwdriver.  Wash away anything that has collected there and clean out the top of the drain.  If your sink has a stopper, remove it with your fingers or unscrew the pivot rod that is connected to the opener.  When the stopper is out, clean it and wipe out the base of the drain opening.  

When cleaning the strainer or stopper does not work, it’s time to bring out the plunger.  Before you start plunging the clogged drain, cover any drains in adjacent sinks or other overflow holes.  If there is no water in the sink where the clog is, run about an inch or two in it.  The water will help force out any obstruction and will give you a clear signal when the clog is gone.  Try putting petroleum jelly on the base of the plunger before you start using it to create a tighter grip to the sink.  After two or three minutes of plunging, stop and see how your progress is going.  When the clog is gone, run hot water into the drain to make sure any residue is removed. 

When all else fails call your local plumbers.  They are trained to deal with clogged drains or pipes and can fix the problem quickly.  Don’t be shy about calling because of what seems like a small problem.  Small problems that are left untreated or are treated incorrectly can turn into big problems very quickly.