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Guide to unblocking drains
Many people are daunted by the thought of tackling a blocked drain; sometimes the smell or the sight of dirty water can make them consider calling out someone to take care of it. In some of the worst cases this might be needed but a lot of the time it can be taken care of fairly easily. This article is a small guide to unblocking drains.
Safety
The first thing in any guide to unblocking drains to be aware of when undertaking any sort of task to do with drains is safety. You could be handling cleaning chemicals or splashing around with dirty water so rubber or latex gloves are a must. Goggles are also important especially if handling chemicals, you do not want any splashes of drain cleaner anywhere near your eyes or skin. Wearing protective clothing is advisable as is following any instructions on packaging.
Locating the blockage
With any guide to unblocking drains, the location of the blockage must be first found out. This can be done by using a drain rod or maybe an old wire coat hanger will do the job, or course it won`t reach as far as a drain rod but the blockage my not be that far down the pipe. Use your rod to search around to locate the blockage, if no blockage can be felt then maybe it's because it's too soft. If the blockage seems to becoming from an outside manhole then pouring a little dyed water down the drain to locate which drain it flows to could be an option. If it is your kitchen sink is blocked then removing the U bend and checking it could sort the problem as it is a place where a lot of blockages occur. Be sure to have a bucket or some old rags handy to catch any excess water.
Removing the blockage
The next bit of the guide to unblocking drains is removing the obstruction; this can be done in a number of ways. If you had found the blockage with your rod then adding an attachment to the end of the rod could help dislodge the item causing obstruction. If the blockage cannot be felt in anyway then first action to take would be to try and pour hot water down the drain to see if that helps, boiling water can remove many obstructions and should be tried before you shell out for any expensive items.
The next step would be to use a plunger as the force created by suction can dislodge many items, there are power plungers and other pressure tools also available to use.
Chemicals
The last step in things to remove blockages in any guide to unblocking drains would be chemicals. Drain cleaners and caustic soda can be extremely effective in removing stubborn greasy deposits or build of hair. They simply poured down the drain in question and left to work for a period of time, after the allotted time they are flushed away with hot water.
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