Drain cleaning – there’s never a good time for blocked drains, but lockdown has got to be one of the worst. Imagine being stuck in your home with backed-up drains; or forced out of it because of emergency drain blockages.
We’ve put together our top ‘drain cleaning’ tips to help keep your drains problem free. After all, we’ve all got enough going on right now.
How to keep your drains blockage free
As always, prevention is far better than cure, and all it takes is a quick spot of regular drain cleansing to keep blockages at bay.
You can use off-the-shelf drain cleaning products; or make your own sewer cleansing solutions by mixing vinegar and baking soda (which is cheaper, better for the environment, and less damaging for your drains’ long-term health).
You can also find specialist eco-friendly drain cleaning products, or just get a good plumber to do a professional drain cleansing service every so often. Even a quick blast of boiling water is better than nothing.
And it’s all a lot cheaper and easier than dealing with home repairs after emergency drain blockages have flooded your home.
Our CCTV drain surveys can also help by spotting any future issues early, from root ingress needing root cutting to collapsed drains needing drain repairs, as well as flagging areas needing more intensive sewer cleaning.
Stop blockages at the source
Drain cleaning is even more effective if there’s nothing major blocking the way. So, always think before you flush – if it’s not pee, poo, or paper (the 3 Ps), it shouldn’t go down the drain.
And even kitchen roll can cause blockages that require a professional drain cleaning service or a CCTV drain survey investigation, as it is not designed to dissolve like loo paper or be flushed down the toilet. So, if you’ve hoarded a couple of spare rolls for lockdown, or you are in an area like Leicester that has gone back into lockdown due to the current Coronavirus pandemic, make sure you don’t flush it.
And, remember, never rinse or flush:
- wet wipes (even if they say they’re flushable)
- food leftovers (scrape plates before rinsing them)
- cooking waste (cool, store and put grease in the bin; don’t rinse it. Old jam jars are great for this.)
- stray hairs (get plughole hair traps and keep them clean)
- general dirt (clean plugholes and appliance filters regularly)
How to spot drainage issues
The obvious signs are smells, slow-running water (from sinks, basins, and appliances), backing up toilets and drains, and localised flooding when the rain comes, which all mean sewer cleansing action is urgent.
We’ve all been guilty of skipping the hoovering a few times since lockdown started (thanks to the absence of uninvited visitors), but it’s always a good idea to keep on top of your drain cleaning before any issues arise, especially now as we are all cooking at home a lot more.
A quick dose of sewer cleaning products (or vinegar and baking soda) can keep your drains smell-free and your home safe from drain-dwelling bacteria.
If you think it may be too late for simple drain cleansing, or you have an emergency drain blockage, your Wilkinson Environmental Ltd team can help with CCTV drain surveys to see if you have issues like collapsed drains that need drain repairs, or root problems that require root cutting.
With our remote CCTV drain surveys, our experts can identify the location and severity of drain problems without any need for digging, and can find the most cost-effective solution, whether that’s sewer cleaning, drain repairs, or root cutting.
Get more sewer cleaning advice
Our drainage experts work across the Midlands, from Warwickshire and Birmingham to Leicester and Nottingham, and can help with CCTV drain surveys, sewer cleansing advice, and drain repairs for issues like root ingress and collapsed drains.
Give us a call and speak with our team to book a CCTV drain survey today, get help with an emergency drain blockage, or for more drain cleaning advice.