Stress-free Drain Cleaning in Ajax-Pickering, It’s a Thing

"If you consider the contribution of plumbing to human life, the other sciences fade into insignificance." - James P. Gorman

Why Is Good Plumbing So Important?

Let’s face it, we all take the luxury of drinking clean water and flushing things out of sight and out of mind, for granted.

It’s a small wonder that entire ancient civilizations were built and able to thrive by discovering ingenious ways to provide citizens with ample clean water by way of underground plumbing structures, aqueducts, and branch lines.

The Romans were one of the first to construct a completely enclosed water supply system with cisterns that ran mostly underground and supplied water to farmer’s fields, and households. Portable water and wastewater removal was also imperative to a growing population and with the introduction of public bath houses.

Not much has changed since ancient times when it comes to plumbing and present-day cities - where the same concepts apply, but just on a grander, more intricate, and technically-advanced scale.

In fact, most of what happens underground is what allows everything above ground to keep moving so we can go about our daily lives without having to worry about where our clean water is coming from, or where our waste is going. Just like the plumbing in our own bodies, everything just seems to work effortlessly…erm...well, until it doesn’t.

And if you’re like many other Ajax-Pickeringians, another aspect we can all relate to besides living in a modern dwelling with pipes and plumbing is falling victim to the all-too-common clogged drain.

(Although, in hopes of sounding more humble, we can always refer to this as an advantage of living in a developed, seamlessly-organized, first-world country… otherwise affectionately coined as #firstworldproblems).

Why Choose Local Drain Cleaning Services?

The city of Ajax-Pickering certainly fits into that category and is a further reason why being well-educated on the dos and don’ts of drain and sewer cleaning in your area is a good thing.

Gunked-up drains can include anything from biological waste, unsightly hair, toothpaste, cosmetics, and other common kitchen and bathroom products you’ve innocently tried to discard by washing them down a drain.

The problem is, your drains can only take so much, and the buildup of particles or nasty bio-sludge can happen at any time. We tend to tune things out until it becomes a more noticeable problem, like when the problem turns into a smelly, unpleasant slew, and unfortunately for some - nothing is done until the problem turns into a genuine safety hazard for you and your family. At this point, the cost increases significantly, so ensure to get your plumbing problems solved quickly!

Common Culprits When It Comes To Household-Blocked Drains

The most common culprits of household drainage dilemmas happen in our kitchen and bathroom sinks, bathtubs, and toilets.

Never mind the inconvenience of having a clogged drain, but most homeowners in Ajax-Pickering aren’t aware of the dangers it can lead to if not tended to accurately and on a timely basis by a professional home drain cleaning service.

Here are just a few elements to be concerned about and when to know it’s time to clear those blocked drains:

Weak Or Slow Drainage

The first sign of a blocked drain is poor or weak drainage. When your drain is clogged, water will have a hard time passing through the pipes and can take a longer time, if able to pass through at all.

Worst-case scenarios will see the water travel back up through the drain from the point of congestion in the pipe, and possibly bubble up as it rises to the top of the drain.

Bad Smells

When a blockage in your drain is large enough to congest the pathway for water to travel completely from one end of the pipe to the other, it can result in a bad odor for a variety of reasons:

Your pipes can easily dry out and when there is no moisture to soak up and mitigate those waste products- bad smells can develop and be released into your home.
If a blockage is blocking one end of the pipe and the other side of the pipe has any leftover water in it, that water can in turn become stagnant and release odors as well.
If the clogged portion of the pipe has trapped food or bio-waste and that sludge is immobile, those also have the potential for awful smells to permeate through your home.

Dirty Water

With the advent of chemical-free home cleaning products and healthier lifestyles overall, we’re more aware of microorganisms that can’t be seen with the naked eye but have the potential to make us gravely ill, acutely or over the long term.

That’s why being cognizant of dirty water and its capacity to become a breeding ground for bacteria is a no-brainer. Having dirty water in your pipes is akin to playing Russian roulette with your family’s health and can be cause for concern regarding the general health of your loved ones.

The longer a clogged drain is left alone, the easier the chance of bacteria infiltrating your home water system and it becoming unhealthy to consume.

Health Risks

To make matters worse, if dirty water is left inside the clogged drain- the potential for humidity and airborne pathogens to seep into that particular room and your entire home, is quite good.

Chances are, the moist, humid, contaminated air is not only able to cause damage by creating mold inside the surrounding grout and walls of the adjacent room but can also do extensive damage to the inside of your family members’ lungs.

If clogged drains are left unattended extensively, they can cause significant irritation to sufferers of allergies, asthma, and other breathing conditions with bad odors escalating an already unhealthy situation.

Additionally, when water becomes contaminated with bits of the congested slough, it can also cause skin irritation if left alone.

Damaged Pipes And Leakage

When the water in your pipes is blocked and unable to get through, obviously it will need to expel at some point. This could lead to leaks in the pipe and cause damage to the pipes, or even run the risk of a burst pipe which could cost several thousand to repair and replace, depending on the extent of damage.

A leaky pipe can also cause secondary damage to surrounding walls and floors and create water stains or warping.

Leaking water can also lead to mold and mildew and, in warmer settings - attract bugs. In order to prevent leaks in your plumbing, it’s important to clear your pipes as soon as you notice an issue.

And in extreme cases, flooding can happen.

DIY Tips On Clearing Blocked Drains At Home

How To Unclog Drain In Your Shower

Pour boiling water down the drain.
Use a plunger.
Use baking soda and vinegar (the natural alternative to chemicals)
Take the drain cover off and pull out the clog by hand.
Use a hook.
Use a plumbers’ snake (also sometimes called a "toilet jack" or an "electric eel").
Use chemicals.
Call a local Ajax-Pickering Roto-Rooter plumber.

How To Clean Drain In Bathroom Sink

Pour boiling water down the drain.
Plunge the drain five to six times.
Slowly pour one cup of baking soda down the drain.
Wait a few minutes, then pour one cup of distilled vinegar down the drain.
Snake the drain.

How To Clean Drain In Dishwasher

Run the garburator

The dishwasher drains into the garburator so a blockage would affect the dishwasher. Running the garburator before every dishwasher cycle is a good habit to make sure there is a clear way for water to drain.

Clear the drain/filter

Remove the bottom dish rack. Inspect the dishwasher drain, removing any gunk or food caught there

Add White Vinegar

Place a cup of white vinegar in a dishwasher-safe container on the upper rack of the machine. Run the dishwasher through a hot-water cycle.

Sprinkle Baking Soda

Add one cup of baking soda across the bottom of the dishwasher. Run a short, hot water cycle.

Why Do Drains Get Blocked

The most common type of sewer backup is from clogged pipes. A combination of toilet paper, hair, soap scum, and grease are common causes of sewer backups, as well as random garbage being flushed down a toilet can lead to a disastrous clogged pipe situation.

How To Unclog Drain With Hair

Bleach is a “basic” chemical and hair is “acidic”. The neutralization reaction between an acid and a base produces salt and water. Bleach can dissolve any fiber that has acidic properties. Next time you have a bathroom sink, shower, or bathtub draining slowly try pouring a cup of liquid bleach into the drain.

Try these easy steps with either bleach or baking soda (for a chemical-free option):

Measure one cup of bleach or baking soda and pour it down the drain. Immediately follow with one cup of vinegar down the drain.
Watch for a fizzing in the drain and five minutes after the fizzing stops, flush the drain with two quarts of hot water.
Repeat this process until the clog clears.

Please note: take precautions and always wear gloves and safety goggles if you choose the bleach method or any other store-bought chemicals. Never mix your chemicals and don’t overuse them on your pipes as it will lend to erosion later down the line, making for weak drainage pipes that will need replacing sooner than later.

Professional Drain Clean-Out Service Care vs DIY

Sure, with the innovation of the internet and search engines, we’ve all secretly fancied ourselves a bit of a Handy Heidi now and then, even going as far as taking pride in how we’ve fixed the problem with little to no dents made to our wallets.

The trouble is, even if we’ve managed to mend the problem in the short term and saved a buck or two by doing it ourselves, we could be asking for more problems in the foreseeable future.

With a multitude of household DIY tips and tricks to Google, and in an effort to keep costs and drainage debris to a minimum- you might be setting yourself up for a huge plumbing price tag at the end of this choose your own adventure plumbing gamebook.

Enlisting the help of a certified Ajax-Pickering plumber doesn’t make you any less practical or resourceful, but more of a big-picture-kind-of-person and being proactive by thinking ahead.

By hiring a professional drain cleaning service who can correctly fix and prevent further damage to your pipes, from the onset of your problematic pipe predicament – is a much better use of your money than dipping into the old rainy-day account when an emergency finally happens.

Having a backup is usually a good thing, unless, of course, it’s a drain pipe.

Whatever your drain issue is, Ajax-Pickering professional plumbers have the right fit for your plumbing needs.

Catering to either residential or commercial properties, as well as those middle-of-the-night emergencies, when blockages and clogs happen, we are here to help.

We offer sewer drain cleaning service at a fair, hourly rate with no hidden fees or add-ons.
We also have the use of a video inspection camera as needed. With the use of our video inspection system - no clog is too hidden for us to find.
We offer friendly, knowledgeable technicians with fully stocked service vans to solve any problem within or outside of Ajax-Pickering city limits.

Roots in your sewer main? No problem, we got you.

Grease back up from your kitchen sink. No problem, we can help!

Hair clogs in your tub? No problem, we can unclog any drain!

Remember- taking unnecessary risks with your pipes and plumbing could lead you down a slippery slope of gooey sludge … to a much larger headache and bill!

Prevent future plumbing panic attacks and hire a professional drain and sewer cleaning service near you and just relax (sigh). Call Mr. Rooter Plumbing of Ajax-Pickering for a breath of fresh air. Experience the Mr. Rooter difference!