Beware the FOG
Families these days are eating healthier diets with less fried foods and fatty meats. Yet many people don’t realize we must remain diligent in preventing fats, oils and grease discharges down our drains. Cooking fats, oil and grease (FOG) are leading causes of clogged drains, back-ups, and sewage spills. Keeping FOG out of your drains will keep the plumber away, save you money, prevent embarrassing backups, and inconvenient messy cleanups. So where’s the grease? How can we trim the fat from our sewers and keep our pipes running smoothly? Below is a list of many typical pipe-clogging foods to avoid washing down Boston drains: • Oil and butter • Mayonnaise and sour cream • Cheese • Sauces and dips • Salad dressing • Cake frosting • Pie dough • Gravy • Turkey and chicken pan drippings • Fat remaining on plates from BBQ steak Eating a healthy diet, low in fat is great for our bodies. By also placing our drains on fat-free diets, we help protect the environment and do our part to keep city costs down. Now that’s got to make you feel good all over! Tips for fat-free drains: Scrape food and grease from plates into the trash – garbage disposals don’t remove grease. Place a strainer in your sink drains. Pour off cooking grease from […]
Repeat After Me: Drain, Waste, Vent
Drainage Systems Whether your Boston home is on a sewer or septic system, the systems within your home are essentially the same. Drainage systems do not depend on pressure, as supply systems do. Instead, waste matter leaves your house because the drainage pipes all pitch, or angle, downward. Gravity pulls the waste along. The sewer line continues this downward flow to a sewage treatment facility or a septic tank. While the system sounds simple, there’s more to it, including vents, traps, and clean outs. The vents sticking up from the roof of your Boston home allow air to enter the drainpipes. If there were no air supply coming from the vents, wastewater would not flow out properly and the water in the traps would need to be siphoned away. Traps are vital components of the drainage system. You can see a trap under every sink. It is the curved or S-shape section of pipe under a drain. Water flows from the basin with enough force to go through the trap and out through the drainpipe, but enough water stays in the trap afterward to form a seal that prevents sewer gas from backing up into your Boston home. Every fixture must have a trap. Toilets are self-trapped and don’t require an additional trap at the drain. Bathtubs frequently have drum […]
Take the Plunge
There are several different types of plungers available to clear partially or completely clogged drains, but all use basically the same principal. A plunger is used to create a positive or negative pressure inside the pipe to loosen the blockage and allow it to flow down the drain. As a first line of defense against any clog, a plunger is a safe bet. However, if you’re clog proves to be too much for this simple tool, your Boston plumber can handle any clog you’ve got. Sink Plunger This is the standard plunger that we all recognize and has probably been around as long as indoor plumbing. Consisting of a pliable rubber cup and handle, this plunger is capable of creating both a positive pressure (by forcing the cup down) and a negative pressure (vacuum) when pulled away from the fixture. Variations on the design are typically limited to the size of the cup and length of the handle. The sink plunger; as it name suggests, is best used on sinks or relatively flat fixtures to which it can create a suction seal. When using the sink plunger: Cover the overflow hole of the sink or tub; Keep the fixture partially full of water, because water is not easily compressed it will place a stronger force on the blockage; Plunge forcefully […]
Chemical Drain Cleaners, Electrons And More.
Noah Can’t Help You With This One
The laundry room, which can be located in such areas as the basement, the main floor of your Boston home, or even up in the attic, can be a place where a flood can occur. When a laundry room flood occurs, the damage can be extensive and expensive. Fortunately, there are a number of things you can do to prevent flooding of your laundry room. To determine if you have a plumbing issue that could result in a laundry room flood, check to see if the floors and walls around the laundry room sink are damp. Check the joints in the pipe connections to see if they are loose. If they are, you can tighten them yourself. Also, check to see if there are tiny holes or cracks in a pipe. If there is a small hole that can cause a leak, you can wrap the pipe in rubber hose and attach clamps at the top, bottom, and at the source of the leak. There is also plumber’s epoxy you can purchase which is effective at sealing small holes and cracks causing leaks. Clogs are another cause of a laundry room flood as they can cause the floor drain line or sink drain line to backup. Causes of a clog can include: hair, soap, and lint which can accumulate in […]
The Great TP Debate Continues…
How Often Should You Have Your Boston Drains Professionally Cleaned?
If you want to keep your drains clean and working, regular drain cleaning is a must. For sewer lines and basement drains and other bigger drains, your Boston professional plumber recommends regular inspections approximately once every two to three years depending on the proximity of typical clogging culprits like roots and the age of the system. It will greatly help you to ensure the longevity of your drains and drain pipes. Drains can become clogged for many reasons most often due to an accumulation of things like grease, hair, scale and dirt. The most common remedy used by Boston homeowners for attempting to unclog drains is the chemical drain cleaners. Most homeowners see it as the most convenient way to relieve clogged pipes. This method just requires that you pour a solution down the drain and leave it alone for a while. Please be advised this method poses many health risks for anyone who uses it. Chemical drain openers are very corrosive by nature and present the risk of damage to any part of the skin or the body that will come in contact with it. The fumes from these chemicals are very potent and can cause severe damage to the respiratory tract. This damage to the respiratory tract can be permanent and can happen easily without you realizing it. […]
Got a Drain Blockage Problem? What Boston Homeowners Should Do
What’s the situation? Is it something you need to fix immediately or it can wait for few days? Will the small leakage affect other water supply systems or it’s alone need to be fixed? Trying to fix a major and interrelated plumbing or drain problem would not be a good idea. People sometimes try to fix the leakage all by themselves or call a good-neighbour for this to save the money they would need to pay the professional service provider. Decide the situation and the urgency. Trying to fix a major blockage or pipe fix all by yourself can cost you even more in the long run. If the problem is deep, it would require specialized equipments, high-tech machinery, skills and expertise to solve it. Trying to solve such a major issue would only make it more complex. Your professional Boston drain cleaning contractor can unblock clogged drains without even damaging the pipes and flooring of the home but your good-neighbour can create a bigger damage. It is often better to call a professional service if you’ve other tasks to finish. The costs are often affordable and the repair work is done pretty perfectly. What’s the reason behind the blockage or damage? Do you have any clue what could be the possible reason for the blockage or damage? Did it […]
The Dangers of Chemical Drain Cleaners
If you’ve ever had a slow drain in one of the sinks in your home, you might think it’s better to use a chemical drain cleaner than to hire a plumber. After all, using a drain cleaner is easier and many times is all you need to take care of minor drain clogs. However, there are many precautions you need to take when using chemical drain cleaners that those TV commercials don’t tell you about – otherwise you could harm not only your skin but your pipes as well! When using chemical drain cleaners, there are certain precautions you should always take to protect yourself and your plumbing system. For instance: Avoid the Seriously Harmful Chemicals Obviously, any time you’re dealing with chemicals you want to be careful to avoid the ones that carry serious risks. Unfortunately, it can be hard to determine which chemicals are seriously harmful as opposed to just mildly harmful. When choosing a chemical drain cleaner, avoid ones that use acid or lye – these chemicals are extremely potent and can severely damage your waste water and septic systems, damage PVC pipes and even seriously burn your skin. If it gets to the point where you absolutely have to use harsh chemicals to clear out your drains, you’re probably better off hiring a plumber. That said, […]
9 Steps To Avoid Drain Cleaning Disasters
The fall time is coming, and it is one of the busiest times of years for plumbers and drain cleaning professionals. Sewage systems can become overrun with additional house guests, causing inconvenient backups. In preparing and cleaning up evening meals at home, homeowners can also clog up their sinks, disposals and washing machines. Below are 10 steps to help you avoid having a clogged drain… Do not under any circumstance dump grease directly down your drain. Grease solidifies when it cools, and will solidify on the inside of your plumbing. Always collect excess grease in spare containers. Wait for it to solidify and then dispose of it. Never force large amounts of food down the garbage disposal at once. Give the unit plenty of time to grind the food before adding more. Don’t use your garbage disposal as a trash can. Always turn on the water before starting the garbage disposal, and keep it running for a minute after turning off the disposal to move the waste through the pipes. Leftovers can do a number on your sink. Make sure all food scraps are scraped off plates before rinsing. Letting food remnants slide down your drain with cause backups in your kitchen pipes. In sticking with the same theme, also make sure dishes are scraped clean before placed in the […]
