Stubborn clogs in your plumbing can be annoying and messy. Whether it’s a completely blocked shower or a slow-draining sink, a clog can disrupt your day and leave you with a major headache. When these issues arise, homeowners often go to the nearest grocery store and grab drain cleaner. Why? Because it’s a quick fix and can get your sink draining at a normal pace again.
Before reaching for that bottle, you should ask yourself whether drain cleaner is safe for your pipes, your family and the environment. In this article, we’ll look at potential issues with drain cleaners and how professional plumbers provide better, safer solutions.
The Truth About Chemical Drain Cleaners
Chemical drain cleaners are a simple yet potentially harmful solution to fixing a clogged drain. They contain potent and hazardous ingredients, such as sulfuric acid, hydrochloric acid and sodium hydroxide (lye), that can do more damage than good.
While drain cleaners offer a temporary fix, most plumbing experts advise against them due to the potential risk to your family’s health and plumbing system.
How Does Drain Cleaner Ruin Pipes?
Drain cleaners can damage pipes in several ways due to their harsh chemicals and the heat generated during the chemical reaction with blockages. Here are some reasons drain cleaner is bad for your pipes:
Damages PVC and Plastic Pipes
If you’ve ever used a drain cleaner to clear a clog, you might’ve noticed that it quickly got rid of the blockage, and your drain was good to go again. Have you wondered how it works? Well, cleaners either take or give electrons to the material causing the clog, generating heat in the process. The heat from the chemical reactions makes the grease thinner and easier to dissolve. However, it can also soften, warp and even melt plastic pipes, compromising their structural integrity.
Because of the compromised structure, the pipes can become more susceptible to damage, potentially resulting in leaks and more extensive plumbing issues.
Corrodes Metal Pipes
Older homes with metal pipes are also at risk of damage from drain cleaners. Active ingredients like lye and sulfuric acid are corrosive, especially when coupled with heat-generating chemical reactions. They eat away the materials causing the clog, but they can also go further and eat away your pipes if you don’t properly flush the area with plenty of water afterwards. Corrosion can make your pipes brittle and prone to bursting, creating an even bigger problem than clogs.
Beyond Your Pipes: Other Reasons You Shouldn’t Use Drain Cleaners
Aside from wanting to preserve the quality and structural integrity of your pipes, there are other crucial reasons not to use drain cleaners. Most of these cleaners rely on harmful chemicals to remove blockages, which pose a significant risk to your health and the environment. In some cases, the cleaners don’t even resolve the issue.
Health and Safety Risks
Drain cleaners contain hazardous ingredients that release toxic fumes. If you inhale the fumes, swallow or let the cleaners come into contact with your skin and eyes, you can put yourself at risk of various health issues, such as:
– Respiratory issues: Inhaling the toxic fumes can irritate your nose and make breathing challenging due to throat swelling.
– Skin and eye irritation: If the drain cleaner splashes on your skin or eyes, it can cause severe irritation, chemical burns or even blindness.
– Accidental poisoning: Small children and pets are especially at risk of accidental poisoning, since they don’t always understand that household cleaners are dangerous to ingest.
Environmental Contamination
If drain cleaners are detrimental to your health and pipes, they are definitely harmful to the environment. Once they clear the clog and leave your plumbing system, these harsh chemicals can end up in rivers, lakes and other water sources. They don’t immediately break down once they reach the water source, so they can harm aquatic life and contaminate the environment.
Residue from drain cleaners can also seep into the soil and contaminate groundwater, which is a source of drinking water for many communities.
Ineffectiveness
Chemical cleaners are often ineffective against tough blockages and only provide temporary relief. In most cases, the clog is further down the line and caused by tree root intrusion or pipe issues, which a chemical cleaner won’t resolve. Drain cleaners can also fail at entirely dissolving deep clogs, and homeowners find themselves dealing with the same problem over and over again.
How Do Plumbers Clean Drains Professionally?
Fortunately, hiring plumbers to clean the drains offers a safer and more effective alternative to chemical cleaners. Professionals employ proven techniques and tools to expertly unclog pipes while ensuring your plumbing system remains in top condition. Here’s how plumbers clean drains:
Advanced Camera Inspections
One essential tool plumbers use is a fiber-optic camera for inspection. These cameras are typically designed to be waterproof and highly effective for inspecting sewer lines and other underground pipes. Professionals perform camera inspections to pinpoint the exact location and cause of the clog. Accurately identifying the issue ensures the use of the right solution to resolve it.
Drain Snaking
Plumbers commonly remove clogs with drain snakes. A drain snake is a tool that extends into your drain to physically break up or retrieve a clog without using harsh chemicals. Drain snakes come in different models — hand-cranked for smaller clogs and motorized for larger, more serious issues.
Hydrojetting
Some plumbers use hydrojetting, a powerful drain cleaning technique that uses high-pressure water to clear stubborn clogs and buildup. The hydrojetting system thoroughly cleans the entire diameter of the pipe and can effectively remove hardened grease, mineral scale and tree root intrusion.
Eco-Friendly Cleaning Solutions
Eco-friendly cleaning solutions, like bacteria-based cleaners, are an excellent alternative that professionals use for drain clearing. These cleaning solutions are made of all-natural ingredients and are safe to use around children and pets. They use bacteria to eat away the materials, eliminating the buildup.
Discover a Safer Way to Clear Your Drains With GreenBox Home Services
While store-bought drain cleaners may offer an easy solution to clogged drains, the potential pipe damage, health risk and environmental impact outweigh the temporary fix. Next time you have drain blockages, let the experts from GreenBox Home Services help.
We offer safe and effective drain cleaning for homes. Our certified and licensed plumbers can effectively remove clogs throughout your house, from toilets and kitchen sinks to floor drains and main sewer lines. We perform thorough camera inspections to identify the problem and use BioOne, a bacteria-based cleaning solution, to eliminate blockages while maintaining pipe health.
Don’t risk your health or your pipes. For professional drain cleaning you can trust, contact GreenBox Home Services to schedule a service today.
