At least once a year, clean the drain traps under your sinks, which are often the source of a clog. Annual maintenance on your drains could save you from relying on harsh chemicals, which can damage older pipes and irritate your skin and eyes.
Cleaning this part of your drains is an easy, do-it-yourself job. You’ll need a bucket, a pair of slip-joint pliers, and a small wire brush.
Look under each sink for a pipe shaped like a “P” or an “S.” The curved part of the pipe is called the trap because it traps water to prevent sewer gases from wafting through the drain and into your sink. But it can also trap hair and dirt, clogging your drain.
Turn off the water and place a bucket under the trap. Remove the slip nuts on either side of the trap using your pliers. Let the water empty into the bucket before removing the trap.
Remove the trap and scrub out the grease and gunk when the trap is empty. Rinse it clean using fresh water from the bucket.
Apply pipe joint compound or plumbers’ tape to the surface of each slip nut washer and secure the trap back in place. Use your pliers to tighten the slip nuts.
Run the water and check the pipe for leaks. A leak could signal that a slip nut isn’t correctly aligned. Run the water again to see if the drain seems clear.
Other tricks to keep your drains running
Use a drain strainer in the kitchen drain so larger items don’t fall into the drain in the kitchen.
Catch hair in the shower before it becomes a big mess.
Flush the kitchen weekly with cold water for several minutes to send larger items down the drain. Do not use hot water as it melts the grease in the drain only to have it solidify further down the drain.
Follow the flush with a cup of baking soda to keep the drain smelling fresh.
Collect grease in cans instead of pouring it down the drain. Wipe out pans with a paper towel to catch even more grease.
Pour half a cup of baking soda and half a cup of vinegar down the drain. Let it sit for 15 minutes and then flush with hot water. Do this regularly to keep the drain flowing freely.
Ask your plumber to recommend an enzyme drain cleaner that safely absorbs grease and organic buildup in pipes without harming your pipes or septic system. Use it once a month. We like Bio-Clean.
Garbage disposals are not exempt from causing problems with drains
Clean the garbage disposal once a month. Baking soda, vinegar, and water are good cleaning agents. Avoid using acidic cleansers as they could hasten the deterioration of the grinding blades. Unplug the disposal before cleaning or maintaining it.
The most important preventative measure is to avoid putting these items down the disposal: pasta, coffee grinds, grease, eggshells, fruit pits, potato peels, or large food items that expand. The garbage disposal is not an alternative to the trash bin. The disposal is designed to take small bits of food items scraped off the plate.
Don’t use harsh chemicals when cleaning drains
Most household drain cleaners are safe for your pipes, but Rosie doesn’t use the ones that contain corrosive chemicals. If your pipes are old, harsh chemicals like lye, hydrochloric acid, and trichloroethane can do more harm than good. They can kill the beneficial bacteria your septic system needs to operate correctly.
Worse, these chemicals can irritate your skin, eyes, and throat.
To get rid of clogs in drains
Try to release the clog with a plunger first.
Invest in a flexible metal drain snake that you can use to pull hair and clogs out of the drain.
Remove the drain trap and clear the clog manually.
Wear gloves because this is a slimy task. Don’t use hard, inflexible cleaning devices because they may break the drainpipe
A caution: Do not use any of these methods if you have recently used a commercial drain opener.
Sewer smells in the bathroom are a common concern
What does it mean when a bad smell comes from one of the bathroom drains?
A problem with a vent or the water heater will affect all the drains in your house. If a sour smell comes from only one drain, the problem is probably isolated to that room’s plumbing.
One possibility is that the pipe under your sink’s P-trap is clogged. The bend in the pipe—called a P-trap—can collect hair, toothpaste, gel, dirt, and other gunk that will wreak if it sits there long enough.
The solution: Remove the P-trap and clean it out. See the above procedure for doing this. To dissolve the clog without removing the trap, pour an enzyme-based cleaner like Bio-Clean down the drain every day until the enzymes can eat away at the organic waste that’s trapped in there. Then, treat the drains regularly to prevent future clogs.
Be on the lookout when it comes to your drains!
Run water through every drain: Test all the drains in your house regularly, including the sinks, showers, tubs, and toilets you don’t typically use such as the guest bathroom. Also, check the drain with a connected garbage disposal.
IMPORTANT: Never put your hand or any cleaning device in the garbage disposal drain, until you unplug the disposal from the outlet first.
Fill, flush and watch: Fill each sink halfway, and the bathtubs just a few inches. Then drain them (flush the toilets). Watch for the little whirlpool to form as the water drains. If that doesn’t appear and the draining is slow, there may be an issue.
Keep your licensed plumber’s phone number handy in case of an emergency!