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Drain clogs and sewage backups can have a detrimental effect on your home’s plumbing system. As the water cannot adequately drain away, dirty water can accumulate in pipes and create overflows that can damage interiors. If you have a clog, your first response may be to clear the clog yourself with plungers or cleaning fluids. In many cases, these can clear basic clogs. To prevent clogs from regularly returning or to remove blockages that are further down the drain, a regular drain cleaning service from a professional plumber can help you maintain clear plumbing in your home.
When you contact a plumber to request a drain cleaning service, a technician will attend your home to gather information about the scale of the issue before undertaking the service itself. The initial consultation and cleaning service will take between 1-2 hours and will comprise of the following steps:
Step 1: Background Information
The plumbing technician will typically wish to know more about your home, its plumbing system, and any frequent plumbing issues. A series of questions to discover the types of drain issues your home experiences, and their frequency will help a plumber to determine the scale of cleaning that might be required.
Step 2: Detailing The Process
The drain cleaning process will typically include diagnostics to help determine the cause and location of the blockage, typically done via sewer line inspection with a camera. Once the blockage is located, or the drain that usually causes an issue is identified, a drain cleaning service will follow.
Step 3: The Diagnostics
Fixtures will be tested to determine how water behaves to gather more information about the cause of slow drainage. Any backups or slow-moving drainage will be noted, and the plumber will use the diagnostic results to determine which tools are used for the service at your Tampa, FL, home.
Step 4: Preparing The Area
Clear access to the area that the service will take place in is required. Drop cloths may be used to protect nearby surfaces before any cleaning takes place. If possible, before the arrival of the technician for the drain cleaning service, make sure there is a clear path from the nearest door to the drain access point. It is recommended that the cleared area is at least 3ft wide, to ensure that drain cleaning equipment can quickly and safely be carried to the drain access point.
Step 5: Drain Cleaning
A drain cleaning machine will remove clogs and clear sewer lines of any material that’s backed up. In some cases, during the drain cleaning process, the clog will be outside of the sewer line. When this occurs, an additional camera inspection will need to identify where materials are collecting further down the line.
Step 6: Test Water Flow
Once the blockage appears to have cleared, a plumber will run tests to determine if flow and drainage have improved. Several plumbing fixtures may be run at once to watch how the water now flows through your drainage system.
Step 7: Confirm The Results
To fully confirm the extent of the cleaning that has taken place, another camera inspection typically follows. It will confirm the removal of any backups, and the technician will usually show you the cleaning process results. Any broken or damaged lines will be apparent once drains have been thoroughly cleaned, and follow-up work may be recommended to prevent the recurrence of drainage issues.
What To Do Before The Plumber Arrives?
One of the most tempting things you might wish to do before calling out a plumber for a drain clearing is to use a chemical cleaner. These types of cleaner are usually bad for pipes and can erode your plumbing over time. Try to avoid this while waiting for your scheduled service.
As mentioned previously, unobstructed access to the affected drainage area is vital. Drain cleaning equipment and technicians need to freely access the troublesome area to help clear and maintain drainage pipes.
Protecting your property is also crucial whenever any maintenance is due to be carried out in your home. To avoid accidental damage, it’s a good idea to remove personal items from the immediate area surrounding the access point and make sure the path to and from the working area is as free as possible of clutter. Whether it’s sentimental or monetary, anything with value should be protected and/or moved from the immediate vicinity to prevent accidental damage.
If you’ve experienced sewage backup before, you may be confident in how to remove it from the affected area. If possible, clear the sewage backup and, ideally, remove it from the site before the plumber arrives so that the drain cleaning service can commence as swiftly as possible. If not comfortable with the task, you can request a remediation company deal with its removal.
Unfortunately, a critical factor in preparing for a drain cleaning service is to accept that further work may be required, and that bad news can follow this type of work. A vast majority of drain cleaning services will identify the root cause of drainage issues that affect sewage flow, and many defects, such as pipe leaks, are progressive. If not dealt with as soon as discovered, large-scale sewage disasters can occur. Be prepared for the possibility that replacement parts or follow-up repairs may need to be scheduled after the initial cleaning service.
Whether it’s a bathroom remodel, kitchen remodels, replacement pipe, replacement septic tank, or replacement sewage system, drain cleaning services can highlight problematic areas and require appropriate resolutions, which can be costly.
The plumbers at Drain Flo Plumbing in Tampa, FL, are experienced in a variety of drain line services from small drain repairs to full-scale drain replacement. Whether you need PVC drainage system cleaning or cast iron drain maintenance, choose Drain Flo Plumbing to complete your drain cleaning service. By contacting one of the most trusted plumbing companies in Florida, you can help prevent drain-related disasters from impacting your home.
