Nobody wants to deal with a plumbing emergency. Clogs and burst pipes can disrupt your day-to-day life, leaving you scrambling for solutions. The good news is that many plumbing emergencies can be easily avoided with regular drain cleaning maintenance.
At Western Rooter and Plumbing, we provide regular drain cleaning services for homeowners and commercial property owners in Monrovia and the surrounding areas. Not only that, but we also provide hydro jetting to accurately and powerfully remove clogs from your plumbing system so you can feel confident knowing your drains are clear.
But what exactly is the benefit of regular drain cleaning maintenance? Is it really worth contacting your local plumbing technicians? Here, we’ll take a look at how drain cleaning services can keep your plumbing system clear and running properly.
What Are the Benefits of Drain Cleaning?
Drain cleaning can help to prevent clogs before they happen. Even if you do everything right and you don’t actively pour cooking oils and other substances down the drain that you shouldn’t, accidents happen. Hair from your shower can collect in your sewer line and merge with pasta you’ve accidentally sent down the drain. Over time, when enough of these substances collect, they can form a clog that can cause slow drainage, sewer back-ups, foul odors, and more. Our professional drain clearing services at Western Rooter and Plumbing can help prevent small problems from becoming major plumbing disasters.
Another benefit of regular drain cleaning is that it helps keep your drains clear, which means water drains quickly in your shower and sinks. No one enjoys slow drainage when you’re trying to do the dishes, brush your teeth, or bathe.
What Shouldn’t You Pour Down the Drain?
There are certain things you should never pour down your drain even if you have a garbage disposal. While some food and substances can result in clogs, other substances can corrode your pipes. That said, here’s what you should never pour down your drain for the sake of your plumbing system and, in some cases, the environment:
- Eggshells: For many homeowners in Monrovia, dropping eggshells into the garbage disposal may seem harmless and even more convenient than walking to and from the garbage can while you’re cooking or baking. However, eggshells can actually increase your risk of clogs in your plumbing system. When your garbage disposal grinds up the eggshell, these bits of shell can become stuck to other debris and cooking oils in your drain, snowballing into a large clog. Be sure to throw your eggshells into the trash.
- Coffee grounds: When you’re cleaning out your coffee maker, it can be tempting to pour out the coffee grounds at the bottom of your coffee pot into the garbage disposal. After all, coffee grounds are small and don’t seem like they could do much harm. But, like eggshells, coffee grounds can mix in with other cooking oils that may already be in your pipes, resulting in an increased risk of clogs. Additionally, coffee grounds aren’t completely water-soluble, which means they don’t absorb into the water when they’re poured down the drain.
- Butter and margarine: When you think of cooking oils that shouldn’t be poured down the drain, chances are your first thoughts include olive oil, canola oil, or bacon grease. But butter and margarine can also cause damage to your pipes if they’re poured or dropped down the drain. Butter and margarine are water-resistant and can create major clogs in your plumbing system. Even if butter is melted when you pour it down your garbage disposal, it can later congeal in your pipes when it’s cooled down where it’ll begin collecting other food particles and debris until a clog forms.
- Cooking oils: As we mentioned above, cooking oils are a big no-no when it comes to things you should never pour down your drain. While cooking oils like canola oil, vegetable oil, and olive oil can collect other food particles and debris to create a clog, other cooking oils such as grease can congeal and harden in your pipes. To preserve your plumbing system, pour your cooking oils, grease, and fats into a ceramic bowl or cup until it’s cooled down and can be thrown away in the garbage. Other cooking oils that shouldn’t be poured down the drain include salad dressings, mayonnaise, and sauces.
- Pasta and rice: It’s all too common to go strain your pasta and have some noodles slide out of the pot and into the sink. But before you scoot those pasta noodles into the garbage disposal, keep in mind you could be putting your plumbing system at risk of clogs. Even when shredded in the garbage disposal, pasta can absorb water, stick together, and grow into a clog that can be a major nuisance to your plumbing. If it doesn’t form a clog on its own, the pasta can merge with other food particles and substances to create one. Rice, like pasta, also absorbs water and can stick together to clog up your pipes. If you have leftover rice or pasta in your pots or bowls, be sure to throw them away rather than rinse them down the drain.
- Chemical drain cleaners: It can be tempting to use store-bought drain cleaners to chemically remove clogs and other debris from your pipes. However, these drain cleaners can introduce chemicals to the local water supply. What’s more, chemical cleaners can also corrode your pipes over time, leading to leaks or burst pipes. Approximately one in every 10 U.S. homes has a leak in their plumbing system and even a small leak can waste up to 90 gallons of water daily. The professional plumbing technicians at Western Rooter and Plumbing don’t use chemical cleaners to get rid of clogs and other debris. Instead, we use high-pressure water systems to clear clogs in an eco-friendly way.
Other substances that shouldn’t be poured down your drain include flour, produce stickers, sanitary products, cotton balls, paper towels, and “flushable” cat litter. These substances can cause clogs and other damage to your home’s plumbing system that can be frustrating to deal with.
What If I Do Have a Clog?
As we mentioned above, accidents happen. Sometimes you can pour something down the drain that you think is perfectly safe only to find out the opposite is true. Fortunately, if you do have a clog in your drains or sewer lines, our plumbing technicians at Western Rooter and Plumbing can help. We have years of experience providing drain cleaning services and hydro jetting in Monrovia and the surrounding areas so you can rest assured your plumbing system is in the right hands.
Our plumbing technicians will first inspect your drains and sewer lines using a camera to determine the extent of the clog, where the clog is located, and what has caused the clog. Then, we use hydro jetting technology that accurately and directly disrupts the clog using high-pressure water. This removes the clog in your plumbing system without having to use any harsh chemicals that could corrode your plumbing system or harm the environment.
If you’re a homeowner or commercial property owner in Monrovia or the surrounding areas and you’re looking to prevent clogs before they happen, be sure to contact our team at Western Rooter and Plumbing today about our drain cleaning maintenance services. We’ll help keep your drains clear and your plumbing system in great working order.
