How to Unblock a Clogged Drain
If you have a blocked drain in your home, it is really important that you know how to deal with it properly. If you don’t, you could end up doing more damage than good. As plumbers in Perth, we have dealt with countless situations where a client has tried to unblock a clogged drain and has caused serious damage to their piping system. Here are four simple steps to help you to try and unclog your drain:
- If you see that your drain is blocked, try using a plunger to dislodge the blockage. Fill your sink partially with water and use the plunger to rapidly plunge up and down over the drain. If the water begins to run down the drain again, the blockage was only minor and is now gone!
- If plunging doesn’t work and your drain is still blocked, allow the water to settle then slowly pour a cup of baking soda into the drain, followed by a cup of vinegar. Make sure that you pour these ingredients in very slowly, otherwise the vinegar will simply wash the baking soda down the drain. Cover the drain with a wet rag immediately after doing this. A bubbling chemical reaction will occur when these two ingredients interact, hopefully dislodging the blockage. This is exactly the same principle as when kids make volcanoes at school for their science projects! Make sure you don’t try this method if you have already used a chemical drain cleaner; the reaction between these ingredients and a store-bought drain cleaner can cause unpleasant and noxious gases to form.
- If the baking soda/vinegar method doesn’t work, you are going to have to get physical. This should not be attempted by people who don’t know their way around their piping system. A drain snake can be used to dislodge the blockage by slowly pushing it down the drain until you feel resistance, then slowly pulling it back up to remove the blockage. Repeat this as many times as you need to to unclog your drain.
- If your drain is still blocked, call us immediately.