When your kitchen and bathroom sink drains become clogged and dirty,it would be frustrating to the homeowners. The clog build up within pipes can completely damage your plumbing and harm your health.
Clogging reduces the structural integrity of pipes and can cause them to leak, or break down. This may even lead to flooding that warps floorboards and rots wall supports. Clogged drains are one of the most common issues we deal with everyday. If the pipes are not cared for properly it can lead to much bigger problems. Take good care of your plumbing to last for a long time. Address clogs as soon as you come to know and make sure that your pipes are properly cleaned out regularly.
How To Keep Your Drains Clean and Clear?
Use a DIY pipe cleaning solution
For cleaning bathroom drains, make use of table salt which can be very effective. Put one tablespoon of salt into your bathroom drain followed by ¼ cup of plain white vinegar,just leave it for an hour. Then, run hot water to clear out the dirt from the drain. For best results, do this one more time.
Use Your Garbage Disposal Properly
A clogged garbage disposal can easily become a huge mess, all the homeowners must understand what should and should not be put in a disposal.
Don’t ever put these items in your kitchen sink,
- Eggshells
- Coffee grounds
- Meat and bones
- Pasta, rice or other starchy foods
- Fibrous fruit and vegetable peels
- Harsh chemicals and paint
- Paper products
Operate your disposal with cold water for about 60 seconds after the disposal is turned off. This will flush food particles completely down the pipe. In addition, regularly cleaning your garbage disposal will remove the building up of any food particles inside your drain pipe and eliminate odors.
Use a Mesh Drain Strainer
One of the inexpensive methods to prevent clogs is to use a mesh drain strainer or basket. The solid waste will sit in the trap rather than flowing down the drain. After this process, remove the trap and toss the solids in your trash can. Drain traps are simple, inexpensive yet effective.
Use Natural Cleansers
Instead of buying chemical products that are harmful to both your pipes and your health, try some inexpensive and natural products like vinegar and baking soda. Vinegar is a natural cleaner and deodorizer. The acid content is an organic solvent that easily removes the food particles inside pipes. Pour a cup of vinegar down the drain and let it sit for 30 minutes. Then wash the drain thoroughly with hot water. Do this atleast once a week to keep drains running freely.
Baking soda is one of the effective cleaning agents for kitchen drains. It absorbs odor and keeps your sink smelling clean and fresh. Sprinkle some baking soda down your kitchen drain weekly twice and wash it off with hot water to help eliminate odors.
Scrubbing the Sink After Each Use
There’s a lot of routine maintenance to keep a clean kitchen sink. Whenever you use a kitchen sink, scrub the surface with the cloth and wash out the dirty water down the drain. When you finish washing, start running the hot water. A combination of hot water and soap on the surface of your sink will do magic. Try this hack repeatedly and feel the difference.