Your Guide to Everyday Drain Maintenance
Blocked or sluggish drains can be a real nuisance. Sometimes they can stop your day completely in its tracks while you wait to get it fixed.
While some issues can’t be totally avoided, you can still take real steps towards preventing problems in the first place. It all comes down to knowing how to treat your drains, what you should and shouldn’t put down them, and ensuring you maintain their quality.
In this article, we’ll guide you through everyday drain maintenance tips to reduce the likelihood of drainage emergencies in the future.
Use the bin
Not everything can go down the drain. Food, oil or grease are a recipe for a blocked drain, building up over time to reduce the effectiveness of your drainage system. Eventually, food waste can congeal and accumulate in your pipes, leading to complete blockage of your drains.
Instead, you should always make sure to put all food waste into the bin. Additionally, before washing up or putting plates in the dishwasher, you should wipe off any leftover residue or oil from plates and implements with kitchen roll and put the tissue in the bin.
Flush smarter
Following on from the previous point, you should also be mindful of what you are flushing down the toilet. Only water, human waste and tissue paper should be flushed away.
Everything else needs to be placed in a bathroom bin. This includes wet wipes, sanitary products, cotton wool, nappies, dental floss, bandages and anything else that could cause blockages in your drainage system.
Gently does it
Regularly cleaning your drains is important for ensuring large blockages don’t accumulate over time. It’s recommended that you clean household drains around once a month, though busy households may want to increase this regularity. However, avoid using harsh or corrosive drain cleaners wherever possible as they can harm the interior of your drains over repeated use.
Instead, opt for natural cleaning combinations like vinegar and baking soda. You can also use biological drain cleaners which are more gentle on your drains than chemical ones.
Break through blockages
If you have noticed slow water drainage, unpleasant smells or standing water that is not draining at all, you most likely have a blockage.
You can use a drain cleaning product or natural alternative to try and eliminate the blockage first. If this doesn’t work or if your drain is repeatedly getting blocked, you should get a drainage professional to diagnose the problem, pinpoint its location and quickly resolve it.
Find out what’s really going on
It is difficult to know the condition of our drains without a CCTV drain survey, which is recommended for homeowners once every year and before you purchase a property.
During a drain survey, cameras are fed into the drainage system to identify any current or developing problems. This enables drainage professionals to diagnose the issue, spot anything that might cause problems down the line and accurately establish its location.
This is an ideal preventative measure that stops issues becoming a bigger problem further down the line. That’s why an annual drain inspection and CCTV survey should always be on your maintenance checklist.
Take advantage of our free call-outs and no-obligation quotations today. Here at MPH Drain Services, we’re a leading drainage expert for Yorkshire and beyond, providing essential drain maintenance, repair and diagnostics that include CCTV drain surveys where appropriate. We operate a rapid service in the local area so get in touch today.
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