Blocked drains are a real nuisance, so to help move them along you’ll need to know our tips to unblock drains. 

There are a number of ways you can try using to unblock drains, we have outlined the ones we find most effective so you can try them and hopefully continue with your day as normal without any further complications. 

Its always a good idea to keep yourself protected from any germs when trying to unblock drains, we recommend wearing some long rubber gloves, protective eyewear such as glasses or goggles as well as putting down some old newspaper to protect the floors.

Tip #1 - Baking Soda and Vinegar

If you need to unblock a sink, toilet or drain then using baking soda and vinegar is a great idea as the reaction between the two will help dissolve what is blocking your drains. First pour a cup of baking soda down the drain, followed by a cup of vinegar and a cup of hot water. You should start to hear or see a fizzing reaction take place which means it’s working, so cover the drain and leave for about an hour. After an hour you can try rinsing the reaction through by pouring boiling water down the drain, hopefully it will have worked and you will notice it draining a lot better. 

Tip #2 - Boiling Water 

Boiling water is a simple but effective way to clear blockages caused by fat, oil and grease. As you may know fats and grease sometimes get poured down the sink after cooking because they are hot and in liquid form. However as they cool down they solidify in the pipes and can obstruct the flow of water. By pouring small amounts of boiling water down the sink or drain you can help melt away the solidified mass and wash it through to get things moving again.

Tip #3 - Bent Wire Hanger 

This method is especially good for removing blockages in sinks, showers and baths. If you take a wire coat hanger and straighten it out and fashion a hook at one end, you can feed it down the plughole and using the hook you can try and fish out the gunk causing the obstruction. Be careful not to push the blockage further down the pipe, when you think you’ve got all you can out run the water to see if it is draining better. 

If these methods don’t work, or the blocked drain is frequently reoccurring then get in contact with us at Metro Rod Northampton. We offer a range of services including drain unblocking via high-pressure water jetting and electro-mechanical cleaning which are both highly effective at removing the whole obstruction. Equally if you are finding yourself with frequent blockages then we can take a proper look with our CCTV Drain Surveys which will spot the problem so we can assess the best way to deal with it. 

Talk to your local Metro Rod specialist

We are always happy to arrange a free site assessment and no obligation quotations for any work you might need. Alternatively, you can call our emergency hotline number on 0800 66 88 00

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