HomeDrain Cleaning

GOODE PLUMBING DRAIN CLEANING

There are different methods of cleaning the many different types of drains and different types of drain obstructions in your home or business. Let’s start with the easy ones, which also happen to be two of the more common drain related issues that we get calls for.

Bathroom sink drain clog

Most bathroom sinks have a drain with a pop-up assembly-this allows water to drain under normal conditions, with the option to pull a lever to close the drain if you want to keep some water in the sink. Often, when the bathroom sink stops draining or drains very slowly, the clog is not far away. Toothpaste, soap deposits, and hair get caught on the drain stopper rod assembly. You may even be able to fix this one yourself! We always recommend wearing vinyl, nitrile, or latex gloves when doing this. You will need to remove the drain stopper in the sink. If this is held in place by a rod, you can remove the rod by loosening the securing nut that holds it in place, sliding the rod back, and pulling the stopper out. You can then use a drain cleaning tool or a needle nose pliers to remove any hair/soap deposit, etc. Reassemble the drain stopper in the that you disassemble it. Test the drain by running water, and check for leaks. If this has worked, great! You saved yourself some money and gained some pride. If the drain is still slow or clogged, we can help by disassembling the p trap, and rodding with drain cleaning equipment if needed.

Food Disposal (“Garbage” disposal)

We receive calls for non-operating disposals regularly. One thing that we always tell clients is to check for a reset button. Many disposals have them-it is a resettable circuit breaker. Look under the disposal, and on the bottom of it, you may find a small button. If yours has one, depress the button, and try to operate the disposal again. If it works as it should, great! If not, we are a phone call away and can get one of our professional technicians out to take the next step.

OTHER DRAIN OBSTRUCTIONS/CLOGS

Kitchen sink lines become clogged over time. Sometimes it is during the holidays when too much as been placed down the drain. Other times, it happens over time. Grease and food waste from plates, soap deposits, etc., can cling to the walls of the drain piping. On many older homes, the basic design was simple and well thought the out-a short horizontal run from the sink led to a long vertical drain pipe, which in many cases lead out to a catch basin. Over many years, food, soap, and grease would build up in the piping, eventually getting to the point that the sink would drain very slowly or not at all. This became worse as the cast iron piping that many of these drains were made of aged and became rough inside, causing for a surface that was ideal for these deposits to cling onto. On newer homes, we find that while the materials are often better in terms of having a smooth surface (PVC or copper), many of them are being designed with a very long horizontal run. This, combined with energy efficient faucets that use less water, do not allow for the waste to be washed away. Some homes may have a grease trap under the sink.

Bathtubs and showers

Soap deposits, hair, etc., can build up in these drains over time. Older buildings often used drum traps, which featured a cleanout plug that can be removed to help clean the line out. Drum traps are no longer allowed by code, but we can still access the drain line through other methods to help clean the line out.

Toilet Clogs

Often, toilet drain obstructions are within the toilet trap way. Other times, they may be farther down the line. We have seen cast iron stacks age and corrode, causing the inner walls to deteriorate and clog toilet drains and sometimes complete bathroom drain systems.

Laundry

Detergent, clothing particles, and dirt and grease from clothes can clog a laundry drain line. Many older homes used a laundry or utility sink and a catch basin. Newer homes rarely use a catch basin and often the washing machine drains directly into a drain standpipe rather than a sink.

House/Building Drains

Sometimes a clog is worse than just a single fixture not a draining-a common call for us is when the house or building drain is completely clogged, meaning no plumbing fixtures in the home or building can be used without a back-up! Stop using the water and call us-we can help! The most common causes that we find when this occurs is a non-functioning ejector pump or check valve, heavy root intrusion into the drain or sewer piping, and blockage from sanitary or cleaning wipes-do not put these down any drain, even if the package says they are flushable! We have seen many very large, expensive issues caused by these.

There are different methods for many of these drains. Manual cleaning, catch basin pumping, rodding, and hydro-jetting can be used for many of these. Our sewer camera can help locate issues in many larger drain lines and allows you to actually see the problem in your piping. In many cases, homes and buildings do not have adequate cleanout. Some older homes do not have one at all and rely on cleaning the main drain from a catch basin or by removing a toilet-we can help by adding a proper, full-sized clean out. If a drain line is so clogged that it should be replaced, we can do that, too! We can also help spot potential drain clog issues, whether it is from a very old, corroded pipe, a poor drain design, or other issues, that we can take care of before it becomes an issue.