It is not surprising that basement floor drains get clogged up. They’re the last stop of all the drain pipes that lead out of the house. That just means that all the wastewater that pass through all the drains in your home wind up through the basement drain. From there, the sewage will go straight to your septic tank or the public sewer line where your plumbing is connected to. Because of the basement drain’s exposure to all kinds of waste materials, it ends up getting clogged up. What you have to be concerned about is that when the basement floor drain is blocked up, you won’t be able to use your plumbing fixtures. Otherwise, more problems will arise such as backups and flooding in the basement. To avoid inconvenience, you have to ensure that your basement drain is regularly cleaned. Here’s a step-by-step guide that involves the proper way of clearing these drains.
1. Wear your rubber gloves. You’ll have to protect your hands from harmful bacteria that may be present in the pipe. When you’re ready, check on your basement floor drain and remove its cover. There’s supposed to be a screw that secures it to the floor. Loosen it with the use of your Phillips screwdriver. When it has been removed, carefully lift it out for you to be able to access the drain pipe.
2. Check for debris and sediments along the sides of the pipe. If you find any, remove them using an old toothbrush or a similar tool. You’ve got to have a container or a bucket that you can use to dispose the waste materials you’ll possibly gather.
3. If you’ve gotten rid of apparent sediments and particles, boil a bucket of hot water. When it’s ready, cautiously pour it into the pipe. Be very careful so you won’t scald yourself. The boiling hot water will loosen and wash away the sticky substances that have accumulated on the walls of the drain pipe. Give the water some time to settle and disappear.
4. Once the water has been flushed down, go get your favorite baking soda. Instead of using just a cup of this baking ingredient, you’ll have to use 16 ounces or more. Remember that you’re when clearing drains, the bigger the pipe, the more baking soda you’ll need. Pour the ingredient into the basement floor drain, making sure that it will touch the walls of the tubing.
5. Afterwards, pour three cups of white vinegar into the drain and plug the hole with a rag or an old cloth. Let the two ingredients create a chemical reaction. Their combination will result to a fizzing action that will get rid of the sticky substances in the pipe.
6. When you no longer hear a fizzing sound, remove the rag or cloth and then pour a bucket of boiling hot water again. Doing so will wash away the remnants of the two ingredients and clear the pipes.
7. Reinstall the basement drain’s cover and secure it with its screw. Perform a test to make sure that the clog has been successfully removed.
We hope that our blog today has taught you the best way to use this natural basement drain cleaner. If the problem persists, just call your reliable Boca Raton plumber to clear your basement drain for you. Plumbers 911 Florida delivers top-notch plumbing services in Boca Raton FL including drain pipe cleaning, camera sewer inspection, leak detection, septic tank care, plumbing repairs and many more! Call us at 305-662-0668 (Miami-Dade County FL), 954-468-0512 (Broward County FL), 561-327-6287 (Palm Beach County FL) to schedule a service!
Learn how to plumb a floor drain, too! Watch this video now.