Plumbing Service: Drain Cleaning

Does your home have drains?

Of course!  Every home has drains. From all of your branch lines all the way down to your main sewer line. What do you do if your toilet is clogged, or your kitchen sink is clogged. What about if your bathtub is clogged?  Perhaps no matter what you do to try to unclog these lines, nothing seems to work!  It’s a nightmare! But don’t fret! Here at Proudfoot, we have a specific plumbing service to deal with these kinds of things.  We believe that our procedure for unclogging drains is proven, and we will not give up until your drain is unclogged. Well, that and that you are satisfied with our service!  That’s why we think you should choose us as your plumbing service provider for drain cleaning. Not to mention our many other services too!

DIY Main Drain Cleaning

1.  Before beginning any sewer opening process, you should run the water until the stoppage is visible.
2.  Next, fill your laundry trays, and then drain them if the stoppage does not occur. Then, fill and discharge the washing machine.
3.  Keep adding water then, if water level is going down slowly.
4.  Next, we would “snake” out the drain. Something called the “spade bit” is the first tool to use with the eel; you must note the distance the eel is inside the drain when the stoppage begins to clear.
5.  Then pull back the eel cables.
6.  Take note to see if there are any roots or clay on end of eel tool.
7.  If eel hits resistance before the stoppage begins to clear, work slowly into the blockage and retreat often; then continue to repeat. Do not force the eel into the blockage.
8.  After the blockage is cleared, fill a 30-gallon container with water and flush it down the drain.
9.  Remember to use the product, Root-X if it is noted that roots are present.
10.  Also, a product called Bio-Clean should be used for any grease that’s still in the trap.

We also have procedures for drain cleaning in other areas of the home, such as cleaning the branch lines coming from the toilet and the kitchen area.  Plus, we have our procedure for drain cleaning the branch line coming from the bathtub. This is something that always seems to be a problem area.

DIY Bathtub Branch Line Drain Cleaning

1.  Run the water and try to get bathtub to back up again, as happened originally.
2.  After the stoppage becomes visible, we always make sure to obtain the customer’s upfront approval for the next “stoppage” task.
3.  Remove waste from the tub and any overflow coverage as well as the drain linkage.
4.  Or remove, lift and turn the tap toe assembly.
5.  Start with a plastic zip cleaner; use it to check the bath “shoe” and trap for excessive hair buildup.
6.  Next, remove the drum trap or p trap inlet to run your eel.
7.  After any blockage is cleared, replace the drum trap lid or trap assembly.
8.  Finally, you’ll need to check on how well the drain is cleared. A strong water “funnel” when draining is an indicator of a successful job.

While it’s important to have procedures such as the above, it’s also important to know that even the best of procedures does not always work 100% of the time.  One must be able to adapt to any situation in this type of business.  And that’s what we do at Proudfoot; we will make sure your drains are clear when you call us with this type of problem!

Click here for a DIY Basement Drain Cleaning procedure.

Plumbing Services: In Summary

We here at Proudfoot always believe that being prepared and having a procedure for just about everything that we do is the best way of solving your plumbing and heating problems the fastest and most efficient and cost-effective way possible. Give us a call at (412) 461-2198 if you want anything in your home or basement checked out. Or contact us here! It always pays to be prepared!