Any homeowner knows what a huge hassle it is to have clogged drains. Knowing how to prevent your drain from clogging is something that anybody trying to keep their home or business running smoothly has to know.
Here are a few tips that would help you prevent clogged drains:
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Use a screen or drain grate
You can never prevent things from falling into your drains. Hair will always fall when you shower, and small food residue will always find its way down your kitchen sink. A screen or drain grate would help you minimize this. Just make sure you clean the drain gate regularly as well, disposing of everything trapped into it in the trash.
Throw cooking grease in the trash
Grease becomes solid when it cools down. This means that when you let it slide down your drains, it would eventually harden and cause the kind of blockage that can be extremely difficult to get rid of. Not only that, the cooking grease makes your drains become smelly, too.
Throw coffee grounds properly
Even coffee grounds should not be thrown into your drains because they do not melt nor decompose as easily. Once this accumulates, that’s another potential clogged drain. Throw them in the trash, or if you have a green thumb, you can use them to liven up your soil.
Run hot water through your sink regularly
Especially in the kitchen, you can’t screen oil and grease and prevent them from falling into your drains. The best way to prevent them from getting stuck in your drains would be to put them back in their oily state through hot water and letting them flow freely instead of accumulating.
Throw some baking powder in
A nice variation to the previous tip, adding baking soda as you pour hot water into your drains is a great way to clean your drains and leave them smelling fresh and less musty.
Use lye and drain cleaners (but in moderation)
You can opt for a regular drain cleaner, or you can also use their most active ingredient, lye, in its pure form. Just pour some of it down the drain, follow it up with some water, and the chemicals will start doing their thing. Just a bit of warning though, lye can be harmful when used in larger quantities. Make sure you check out the label and follow all instructions to a T.
Pour vinegar down the drain
If you do not have any baking soda available, vinegar is a great alternative. Just pour about half a bottle of vinegar down the drain, let it sit for around 10 minutes, then top it off with a steady flow of hot water after that. Do this every three months or so and you’ll have clog-free, clean-smelling drains. If you’re not comfortable with the smell of vinegar, you can also pour in some lemon juice or anything similar after you pour the hot water in.
Keeping your drains clog-free does not have to be a complicated process. With these easy-to-follow tips, you can effectively maintain your drains and keep everything clog-free and fresh-smelling.
