No one likes dealing with a clogged drain. It’s practically a guarantee that you’ll need to touch some extremely unpleasant gunk to sort out the problem. We’ve made a list of the best ways to keep your home pipes clean so you don’t have to deal with nasty food residue!
Strainers
Give your garbage disposal a break and install strainers on your kitchen sink (your bathroom drains will thank you, too)! You can keep a lot of gunk out of your drains for a few bucks with strainers. Try to avoid letting anything go down your drain other than water and food oils.
Vinegar and Baking Soda
Most households have vinegar and baking soda on hand, and they work great as natural remedies to clogs. Baking soda absorbs some of the stinkier smells you may notice in your sink. Sprinkle some down your drain and flush it with water a few times a month.
Vinegar’s natural acid works well as a natural drain cleaner. Just pour a cup of vinegar down the drain, wait 30 minutes, and rinse with water.
Hot Water
Not every solution needs to be complicated! Once or twice a week, flush your sinks with hot water to help melt away light grease deposits. For bathroom drains, use extremely hot water to clear away persistent gunk and residue.
However, use coldwater when running your garbage disposal. This will keep greases and fats in a more solid state so that your garbage disposal can break them up more effectively.
Call a Professional
When all else fails, don’t turn to drain cleaning products; instead, call a professional to take a look at your sewer and pipes. Drain cleaners are known to erode and damage your pipes while taking care of the current clog. Even though it solves the problem in the moment, it isn’t worth creating a bigger issue in the future!
Now that you know the best ways to keep your home pipes clean, avoid clogs like the plague, and you’ll never see a backed-up sink again!
