If the water is not draining as quickly as it should in your sink, toilet, shower or other drains, or if it’s not draining at all in your Modesto, CA home, you might be tempted to use drain cleaning products or pipe cleaning products. While it seems easy and convenient, those cleaning products might be doing more harm than good.
Continuous use of drain cleaning products can be harmful to your plumbing system and to the sink, toilet or bathtub. Here are some reasons to avoid using pipe cleaning products and other household cleaners to unclog your drains in Modesto, CA.
Drain cleaners
Drain cleaner is a caustic chemical designed to erode gunk in your pipes—but that unfortunately means it will erode your pipes as well. Especially in cases where the pipes are plastic, you should avoid using drain cleaning products on a regular basis.
Using pipe cleaning products every once in a while to break up smaller clogs is probably fine, but most pipes can’t stand up to regular use of these products. If your drain is a little slow, that might be a sign of a small clog. If it’s completely stopped, or very slow, that could be a sign of a larger clog, and drain cleaner might do more harm than good in this situation.
You should avoid using drain cleaner in a toilet, because that caustic liquid will not flow down the drain as you want it to. Instead of heading to the source of the problem and working its eroding magic on the clog, it will sit in the bowl and generate heat, which can cause the bowl to crack, or worse, result in an explosion.
Other household chemicals
While drain cleaning products aren’t the best choice for unclogging a slow drain, they may help in a pinch every once in a while. But there are some other household cleaners you should definitely never put down the drain.
First off, if you’re on a septic system you should know that it’s never a good idea to put bleach in the toilet. Once flushed, the bleach will kill the bacteria in the septic tank that actually break down the septic waste. This could lead to clogging of the septic system and may result in permanent damage.
Whether you’re on a septic system or not, it’s a good idea to avoid pouring bleach down any drain in your home. Bleach creates toxic gases when mixed with certain types of household cleaning agents, including ammonia, vinegar, acetone, rubbing alcohol, disinfectants and toilet cleaner. You should also never mix it with pesticides, as that will create toxic gases as well.
If you have slow drains in your Modesto, CA home, avoid using pipe cleaning products or household chemicals to try and take care of the source of the clog. Instead, get in touch with the team at Alvarado Pumping Septic Service to get the problem handled responsibly and get your drains flowing again. Reach out today to schedule your appointment.