How to clear a clogged pipe or sewage system? Improving the clogged pipe, siphon or sewage system does not require an immediate plumber’s visit. You can try to fix the problem yourself. We advise on how to open the pipe or sewage system at home. Sewerage in the home and apartment is an absolutely maintenance-free and invisible installation every day.
However, when the pipe or sewer becomes blocked, existing simple operations seem to be extremely difficult or almost impossible to perform. And in this situation, most Poles try to use the services of a plumber. And this is a mistake – the pipe or sewage system can be cleared up by yourself.
It is worth knowing how to do it, because sometimes this knowledge can be invaluable. For example, at night, when no plumber (or obliging neighbor) is able to help us.Pusher, or domestic necessity
Once in almost every home there was a special rubber pusher. No wonder – it was not possible to buy chemicals to unblock the pipes . At the same time, this device was great at removing small blockages in pipes or drains.
The traditional pusher consists of a rod and a rubber cup attached to it. The modern one is equipped with a pneumatic mechanism, thanks to which a person using a pusher can use less force. Before starting to unclog the pipe, it is necessary to plug the overflow hole(i.e. a hole in the wall of the sink or bathtub protecting against overflow of water). The method of operation of the pusher is very simple: it should be applied to the hole in the sink, wash basin or bathtub and vigorously press.
A rubber (and now also a plastic one) the soda will start sucking air out of the sewage system and create pressure to remove the blockage. Chemistry to unblock pipes or viper – when to use them? Sometimes, however, such a method will turn out to be insufficient.
Then it is worth trying to use the help of a chemical that you can buy in any supermarket. It should dissolve the blockage (e.g., food scraps, hair tangles) in the siphon trap. Its use is local, which means that it works where it will be used and it will rather not help the congestion that is in the drain pipe or other part of the sewage system .
With more stubborn congestion, use the spring action or so-called manual or electric snakes. The manual spring for unblocking the sewage system is a steel wire coiled in a spiral of length from 1.5 to 5 meters. On the one hand, it has a sharp tip, on the other – a wooden or plastic crank. It is suitable for clearing up any sewage system . You have to use it sensitively, especially when you push an old and damaged installation.
Removal of the blockage is best carried out in two people – one of them holds a long spring and the other screw. After completing the work, we unscrew (that is, turn the crank in the opposite direction than the previous one) the spring. If, despite all attempts and measures, the sewage system will still be clogged, then only the use of a qualified plumber remains.
Today, on the shelves of hardware stores you can find a lot of names of tools intended for cleaning pipes.
This is one of the easiest way to clean sewage in terms of labor costs – pipe cleaning is carried out by a chemical reaction.
It must be remembered that for the manufacture of such tools using sufficiently caustic chemicals, so they must be used carefully.
Tip! Do not use chemical cleaners if the water in the drain does not go away at all. In this case, the product may splash out and damage the coating of the bath or sink.
It is necessary to properly select the means for cleaning the sewage system.
For example, for the kitchen, it is better to take means for cleaning pipes that contain alkali, since they dissolve the fat well, but for cleaning the drain in the bathroom it is better to take an acid-based product, as they do an excellent job with contaminants from hair and soap flakes.
It is necessary to use means according to the instruction, for protection of skin of hands it is better to put on gloves from rubber.
Professional Sewage System Cleaning Methods
If all the basic methods of home cleaning were tried, but it did not bring any results, the question arises, how to clean the sewage system? After all, living in a house or apartment with a faulty sewer is extremely unpleasant.
For difficult cases, there are professional cleaning methods offered by companies working on this profile.
You can order, as a preventive cleaning, and elimination of an emergency caused by congestion.
It is also recommended to carry out periodic cleaning of the sewage system because the fatty deposit that forms on the pipes is an excellent nutrient medium for bacteria.
This is the cause of unpleasant odors and a slow drain into the drain of used water.
As a rule, professional sewage cleaning begins with a system survey.
This allows you to assess the degree of contamination of pipes, identify the most difficult areas and choose the most profitable in this case method of cleaning sewer pipes.
Thermal Method
One of the most effective professional methods of purification, which is subjected to sewage – cleaning with high temperatures.
The principle of the thermal method is to feed very hot water into the system under pressure.
As a result, fatty and other deposits on the pipe walls dissolve and are removed.
This method is perfect for pipes made of cast iron, but if the system was assembled from polypropylene or PVC pipes, then heat treatment cannot be used.
Chemical Method
Chemical cleaning methods have the same principle as the use of household chemicals. However, professional methods involve the use of stronger and more effective reagents.
Safety requirements for the use of these substances must be fulfilled flawlessly.
If the house has cast-iron or plastic sewage, then cleaning the pipes with chemical reagents is effective and safe for pipes.
But for steel pipes, this method is categorically not suitable, since the preparations used cause severe metal corrosion.