Alas, this happened, a local disaster of family scale. And it is with you, and as always at the most inopportune moment. You can’t hear any more cheerful murmur with a greedy smacking, since the sewer system of your house suddenly stopped doing its dirty, but, as it turned out, such important things, turning a snow-white sink and a luminous clean toilet bowl into dull, foul-smelling containers with unsightly contents. And then the question inevitably arises before you: how to clean the sewer?
Ways to eliminate blockages
There are several solutions here.
- To carry out the results of life in the yard, which gives an instant result, but does not solve the problem.
- Contact professional plumbers, which guarantees the elimination of the malfunction, but requires a certain time and financial costs.
- To clean the sewer with your own hands using simple tools and affordable chemicals, which often saves a lot of time and money.
The choice of the method of elimination depends on the complexity of the blockage, the physical condition of the drainage system and the personal desire to do this rather dirty job. But if you are determined to cope with the trouble yourself, then here are some simple tips on how to clean the sewer at home.
Use of chemical solutions
The chemical cleaning method copes well with clogs resulting from organic, grease and mineral deposits inside the sewage pipes, as well as in the event of freezing, but is powerless in the case of large stuck objects (stones, rags, metal).
Pay special attention to the fact that the chemical method of cleaning the sewage blockage is applicable only when the drainage system of your house is mounted from cast iron or plastic elements. For steel pipes, this method is unacceptable, as it provokes their active corrosion.
Chemical solution from improvised means
The simplest chemical solution to eliminate stagnation can be done without leaving the kitchen, using vinegar, baking soda and ordinary water, which, despite the availability of ingredients, serves as an effective and environmentally friendly way to clean the sewer in a private house or apartment. Quenched soda, entering into a chemical reaction with vinegar, softens any deposits that cause clogging of sewage pipes, which, under the pressure of hot water, will drain down the drain. The cleaning process itself looks like this:
- First, pour one and a half to two liters of boiling water into the drain with ½ cup of soda dissolved in it.
- After about 5 minutes, 200 ml of vinegar and the same amount of hot water are poured into the hole.
- After 10 minutes, the procedure ends with washing the sewer with a large amount of boiling water (5-7 l).
Household chemicals will corrode everything
Liquid and powdery pipe cleaners, which are very popular for this type of work, can be purchased at any hardware store, and the instructions on how to clean the sewer at home using one or another cleaning agent are printed on the packaging. At the same time, the principle of using almost all such chemicals is identical and uncomplicated.
Liquid cleaning agents begin to act immediately after they are poured into the drain, and after the time specified by the manufacturer, the sludge formed as a result of the reaction is washed off under the pressure of water.
Processing blockages with powder reagents (usually based on sodium hydroxide) less damages the pipes, gives a quick result and does not imply a prolonged presence of the cleaning agent in the clogged drain. In this case, the drain hole is filled with boiling water, then, after a couple of minutes, add 1-2 cups of cleaning powder (depending on the complexity of the blockage), and after two or three minutes, the loose blockage is washed off with hot water.
Before cleaning the sewer using chemicals, carefully read the manufacturer's tips.
Due to the fact that cleaning products work by actively dissolving scale, hair and dirt, these chemicals are usually very corrosive and can harm both old pipes and your skin. Therefore, when using them, be careful and careful, and carry out all work in rubber gloves and safety glasses.
Vantuz - first aid for blockages
Now we will consider how to clean the sewer in the house using specialized tools. The simplest and most common, but very effective device that can relieve a sink, toilet or bathroom from clogging is a plumbing plunger or, as it is often called, a plunger. It is a piston, consisting of a long wooden or plastic handle, with a flexible diaphragm attached to it in the form of a bowl of dense rubber.
Like a suction cup, the working part of the plunger fits snugly against a smooth surface around a clogged drain, and when pressed, pushes air into the pipe, creating excess pressure in it, destroying the blockage. For maximum efficiency of the plunger as a way to clean the sewer, the surface of the clogged drain should be covered with 3-5 cm water (add if necessary), which enhances the compression. For the same purpose, using plugs or rags, it is necessary to seal adjacent outlets of the drain.
Then, by installing the plunger over the problematic drain, abrupt movements, moving the plunger handle up and down, they achieve the elimination of blockage. If necessary, the operation is repeated several times, achieving unhindered water flow, a sign of which is the formation of a swirling funnel. For hygienic reasons, it is advisable to have two plungers in the household, for the toilet and sinks, respectively.
A long and dirty but efficient plumbing cable
Now we’ll try to figure out how to clean the sewer in a private house using a plumbing cable, because in apartments a deep blockage most often falls under the jurisdiction of the housing and communal services and utilities. This is a simple device in the form of a thin metal rope, consisting of several steel threads twisted together by several layers in the opposite direction.
The number of layered plexuses determines the thickness of the cable (from 6 to 18 mm), which determines the permissible length of its use. The working end of the device can be a hook, twisted spiral or brush from the disheveled ends of the steel winding. At the same time, the tip of the cable should not only be stiff enough to pierce the resulting cork, but also very tenacious so that you can grab and pull out the object that caused the blockage. The other side of the plumbing cable is usually equipped with an iron handle, to facilitate its supply into the sewer pipe.
Features of pipe cleaning with a cable
This is really a very dirty and unpleasant job, but if you decide to clean the sewers in a private house with your own hands, then take care of the toilet (in the sense of overalls) and tarpaulin gloves to avoid tearing and cuts from the sharp ends of the steel braid.
The cable must be fed into the plugged drainage channel progressively, turning clockwise: this way it will freely overcome possible bends and reach the place of clogging. In this case, it is necessary to increase the pressure and, actively rotating the handle of the cable, to achieve the destruction and pushing of the barrier deep into the pipe or hook and pulling the object that sealed the sewer to the surface. After that, rinse the drain with plenty of hot water.
Sometimes the cable can be replaced with a piece of thick wire with a hook bent end, which allows you to successfully solve the problem of shallow blockages.
Siphon: a simple solution to complex problems
We suggest considering another reliable method of cleaning sewers that works in most cases. It consists in the dismantling and cleaning of the siphon (U-shaped trap or water lock), located in the vast majority of efficient owners immediately under the sink. One of its functions, in addition to cutting off unpleasant odors from sewer pipes, is to block small debris and organic particles that regularly enter the drainage system. The most common are two types of siphons, which differ in the type of trap, which can be in the form of a glass or a knee.
In the first case, the cleaning process will not take you more than five minutes. Place a large basin or bucket under the sink, simply unscrew the glass of the siphon counterclockwise, remove the hair, food debris and other debris that has accumulated in it, rinse it thoroughly in hot soapy water and screw it back. That's all, the blockage is eliminated.
The second type of siphon is used in places where the drain hole is close to the floor (toilet, bathtub) and in this case the U-shaped trap will have to be dismantled entirely, which is also not at all difficult. It is enough to untwist two plastic fittings that fasten the knee to the neck of the drain hole and the drainage pipe, after which, as in the first case, clean the trap, wash and mount it back.
The main thing in this water procedure is to carefully install the rubber (plastic) gaskets in place without distortions and tightnesses, and after completion of work, it is necessary to check the siphon with water pressure for leaks at the joints.
Other ways to eliminate sewage blockages
There are a number of other ways that allow you to both clean the sewer and visually monitor the condition of the entire drainage system as a whole. Most of them involve the use of high-tech and expensive equipment, the use of which is of interest only to professionals.
Mini sink against drain plug
Perhaps, the more or less accessible methods of eliminating blockages (especially for car enthusiasts) include the use of mini-sinks with special nozzles for this purpose. The hose starts up a meter into the drain hole and, after turning on the unit, independently moves along the pipe, destroying the blockages and layers encountered under the influence of high hydrodynamic pressure, washing off the formed slag into the sump.
Purely where they don’t litter
Finally, the last method, which gives an almost one hundred percent guarantee that you will not be wondering how to clean the sewer for many years. This is a universal and easy to use method called prevention.
- Install strainers in sinks and other places of drains, which will protect the sewer pipes from debris.
- Regularly flush the system with chemical or biological cleaners, which not only protects the drains from slagging, but also eliminates the appearance of an unpleasant odor.
- Every 1-2 weeks, drive hot water through the sewer pipes to flush fat deposits and food debris.
- Avoid flushing inorganic debris and insoluble food waste into the toilet.