Every Home Owner Should Know About Drain Maintenance

OK your drains may be messy things hidden out of site, but the efficient functioning of your home or office depends on these messy little devils doing their job properly day in and day out. If your drains become clogged or blocked your sinks and toilets will not drain properly and your morning shower may turn into something more like a bath with water all over the floor.

So how do you maintain something that you can’t even see?

If your home is new (and that is the best time to start in with drain maintenance) you can just follow a few simple rules to keep your drains functioning  better.

• Don’t use your sink or toilet bowl as a garbage bin – anything larger than coffee grounds should not go down the drains.
• Your toilet is not a garbage disposal unit either, only put in there what God provides.
• Catch food debris with a sink strainer and put tea leaves and coffee grounds into the compost or garden.
• Don’t put fat and oil down the drain. Scrape or pour it into an old milk carton, freeze, then throw in the garbage bin on garbage night. By freezing it, you avoid all the nasty odours brewing in your home.
• •Clean the drain periodically by pouring in 1 cup bicarbonate of soda, followed by 1 cup vinegar. When the fizzing stops, follow up with boiling water. Use a plunger if the drainage is sluggish.

If you don’t have the advantage of starting off with new, fresh drains it might be best to have one of our plumbers inspect your drains to determine their condition and make recommendations as to anything which should be rectified.

Once your drains have been inspected and put into top shape just follow the simple rules above and schedule an inspection from time to time to keep them clean.

Tip: Pouring very hot water down your kitchen drains will tend to keep them free from grease buildups.