Spring is just around the corner! That means now is the time to get out your broom to sweep the floors, your cleaner to wipe off the counters, and a duster to get in those hard-to-reach nooks and crannies, but what about your drains?
It’s easy to forget about drain cleaning when they’re tucked away in sinks, showers, and toilets. However, drains can clog due to hair, grease, oils, or coffee grounds and cause gunk you don’t want to see to return through your pipes.
To keep your pipes clear of debris, use a drain cleaner, reliable home remedies, a plumbing snake, or a professional service to remove clogs during drain cleaning. Proper maintenance each month can help prevent a major issue in the future.
Why Spring Cleaning Should Involve Drain Cleaning
While your floors and counters are the most visible to yourself and guests, your drains do the heavy lifting and require routine maintenance and cleaning as well. The benefit of a clean drain is that it allows liquid to easily move through the pipes, preventing clogs that lead to slow drains or debris resurfacing.
But what drains in your home need to be cleaned regularly? We recommend you pay extra attention to kitchen drains, garbage disposal, bathroom sinks, shower drains, and toilets during spring cleaning this year.
Cleaning Kitchen Drains
Drain cleaning is an important, albeit unappealing, part of home ownership. But if you use your kitchen sink daily, it’s a necessity to make sure the drain functions properly when you need to use it. You can ensure this by frequently cleaning your drains yourself. No professional assistance is required.
Luckily, there is a fool-proof way to DIY kitchen drain cleaning with three ingredients you likely already have in your pantry. Here’s what you need to get the job done:
- White vinegar
- Baking soda
- Boiling water
Garbage Disposal
If your disposal isn’t working as well as it used to, now’s the time to change that with the help of three simple ingredients you already have at home:
- Ice cubes
- Lemon wedges
- Course-ground salt (like rock or sea salt)
Begin by dumping a few lemon wedges, ice cubes, and pinches of salt down the drain. Run cold water over it and turn on your garbage disposal until the ice is completely gone. Your disposal should run as good as new and smell delicious too!
Cleaning Bathroom Sink and Shower Drains
Drain cleaning extends beyond your kitchen. Your bathroom sink and shower also have drains that need to be tended to. But how do you clean them yourself without hiring professional help?
Step 1: Start by pouring ½ a gallon of boiling water down the drain in order to break up any build-up in the pipes. After a few minutes, follow this by running cold water.
Step 2: Use a plumbing snake to remove hair or other foreign materials that may be clogging the pipes.
Step 3: Pour a drain cleaner of your choice into the sink and leave it there overnight.
Step 5: In the morning, run hot water down the drain for a few minutes to clean the pipes out.
It’s recommended that you repeat this process every two weeks for a large household and once a month for a smaller household.
Cleaning Toilet Drains
Prevention is key for keeping your drains clear and avoiding much more costly problems with your plumbing in the future. So how do you clean your toilet drain? You’ll need two ingredients:
- Apple cider vinegar
- Baking soda
Begin by pouring the vinegar and baking soda down your toilet and allowing it to foam up. After a few minutes, flush the toilet to clear out any clogs that have built up since the last time you cleaned it.
Other Spring Cleaning Tips
While cleaning your drains is a relatively simple process, you can avoid most clogs in the first place by not dumping certain materials down it in the first place. Stick to trashing grease, fats, oils, coffee grounds, eggshells, and flour rather than pouring it down your drains or dumping it in your toilet.
Prevention is the way to go when it comes to your drains. It can be costly to fix major plumbing issues that develop as a result of stubborn clogs.
Clean Your Drains During Spring Cleaning This Year
Drain cleaning is a necessary part of home ownership, but it doesn’t have to be a drag. With a few simple ingredients you likely already have in your pantry, you can clear up small clogs in just a few minutes.
If you’d rather hire a professional to get the job done, ASI is here to help!