There is nothing more annoying than having a clogged drain during winter. The sinks take a longer time to drain then water starts pooling around in the shower. After that, you have to bear the terrible odor which is very unpleasant. Within a few hours, you have the whole drainage system of your house blocked. Well with winter season the situation gets worse since you cannot easily access plumbers due to the extreme weather conditions. However, there are some few DIY tricks recommended by plumbers that you can use to give yourself some few more hours as you wait for the nearest plumber to come to your rescue. The main bonus feature about these methods is that you don’t need to have plumbing knowledge or experience to use them in unclogging your drain.
These simple methods to unclog your drains are:
1. A wire hanger that is bent
This is done by bending a metallic clothe hanger and creating a hook on one side. Then after that insert it in your drain and start fishing out the dirt. It is a very effective method of getting rid of things like hair. The trick is to pull things out with the hook not push them further into the drain. After you have completely removed all the dirt, pour some hot water down the drain.
2. Vinegar and baking soda
Mix the two ingredients together, the same proportions recommended 1/3 of each. Immediately they fizz, pour the mixture into your drainage. The fizzing of the mixture will help in clearing out your drainage, by removing of the things that have built up on the walls of your drains. Let the mixture sit in the drainage for a few hours, even for 24 hours then after that you can flush using hot water.
3. Hot Water
You just need to boil some water, then after that pour the hot water slowly into your drain. The hot water should be poured in stages, each time give the water time to settle and a few seconds to work. The Drain Rescue Plumber website has the available resources if you would like to learn more.
4. Cleaning the pipe
A dirty messy job but it will help. This method is effective if the drain is clogged closer to the sink. You will need open the section near the U shaped pipe of the sink. Make sure there is a bucket underneath the sink to collect the dirty water. After that make sure you clean the pipe of all the dirt and then check the insides for the presence of any debris. Using an old toothbrush will be helpful in making sure that all the dirt has been removed from the pipes. It will be a messy job but very effective, make sure when you are fixing back the pipes, the screws are tight so that you don’t have another accident in the future.
5. Dish Detergent
One of the simple home remedies of dealing with clogged toilets. You just need a ¼ cup of your dish detergent to unclog your toilet. Mix it with some water. The detergent functions as a lubricant and will break up the entire greasy residue present in your drainage. After mixing the two, pour the mixture down the drain and then begin plunging. In case the plunger doesn’t work, your next option would be to use gloves.
