How To Avoid An Expensive Drain Cleaning Emergency

An emergency drain cleaning call (also known as “roto-rooting”) can cost hundreds of dollars. A blocked sewer line can cause thousands of dollars in property damage — not to mention the potential negative health consequences that can result from exposure to raw sewage backing up into your home. As with many things, an ounce of prevention can help you to avoid hours of frustration and save hundreds (if not thousands) of dollars in the long run.

HOW TO AVOID DRAIN BLOCKAGES IN YOUR ELKHART HOME

• Avoid Putting Grease Down The Drain.

  Kitchen grease and other oils tend to cling to the inside of drain lines and form a sticky coating that catches other particles as they make their way through the sewer lines in your home. Avoid putting grease down the drain and instead pour it into a dried out tin can or glass jar and throw it into the garbage after it has cooled.

• Place Feminine Hygiene Products In The Garbage.

  Feminine hygiene products tend to get hung up on the rough edges of joints in drain pipes or any small tree roots that may have infiltrated your main sewer line over the years. Place these sorts of things in the garbage rather than flushing them down the toilet.

• Call As Soon As You Notice a Problem.

  You’d be surprised how many times customers with drain cleaning emergencies call us saying something along the lines of: “My drains have been running slowly for a few days, and now I’ve got a back-up in my basement.” The number one way to avoid a major problem is to deal with it while its still small. Toilets bubbling or other drains gurgling when you use other drains are usually signs of a problem that you should deal with sooner rather than later.

• Clean Main Drains Regularly.

  According to the engineers at Elkhart Public Utilities and South Bend Water Works, you should have the main drain line that connects your home or business to the city main cleaned on a regular basis. This sort of routine drain cleaning helps to deal with minor problems like tree roots and small defects in the piping materials from becoming major problems.

• Have Your Drains Scoped.

  Scoping your drain involves putting a special sewer camera through the lines to inspect for defects in the pipe such as holes, separations, offsets, root infiltration, and collapsed sections. We recommend inspection be performed on an annual basis to make sure you have time to deal with an issue before it results in a major back-up.

A backed up drain — and the resulting property damage and clean-up — is not something you want to deal with on a Saturday afternoon. Call Church Plumbing & Heating at (574) 295-6844 to have your drains cleaned and inspected regularly to keep things flowing smoothly.