One of the biggest plumbing hassles is a clogged drain. It seems like a problem that should be simple to fix, but sometimes you have to call in a professional plumber for help! We thought we’d share a few tips on how to avoid a clogged drain to begin with and a few tips on what you can do if you find out you’re dealing with a clog. Come to our hardware store in Snyder County to find all you need to deal with this plumbing problem and more.
Prevention
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure! Make sure you do a few things to help prevent your drain from clogging in the first place. For example, to keep your kitchen sink from getting clogged, make sure you dispose of all grease and fat in a glass jar and then throw it away. Do not pour grease or fat down into your kitchen sink, even if you have a garbage disposal running. The same goes for coffee grinds, aluminum foil, egg shells and other items like that. They do not belong in your sink; throw them in the trash.
After you use your sink, make sure you run hot water down the drain for a bit. This will help keep any oils moving down and through your pipes, instead of building up inside of them. If your kitchen drain starts to smell, you can throw a cup of baking soda into it and then rinse it through with some hot water. The baking soda is a good cleaning agent, and it will also help get rid of those bad smells.
If you have a clog
If you discover that you have a clog in a drain, there are a few things you can do before you call a plumber. You can use a plunger to try to suction out the clog, or you can pour a pot of boiling hot water down the drain and then add a half cup of baking soda. Let that sit for a few minutes and then add a cup of vinegar and a cup of very hot water on top of that. Cover it with a drain plug and let it sit for a few minutes. Then remove the plug and pour another pot of boiling water down to drain to to flush it all through.
Would you like to visit our hardware store in Snyder County? Call Hilsher’s General Store at 570-374-1550, visit us on Routes 11/15, 7 miles south of Selinsgrove or you can Contact Us.