Bulldog Plumbers Fort Lauderdale

The next time you’re enjoying a shower, think about the floor drain beneath your feet. When was the last time you de-clogged it? Floor drains around the home are the last thing on our mind when cleaning, but they become an annoyance when they start to clog and backflow.

Hair, fibers, fats grease, and all types of contaminants can cause floor drains to back up. The thing with floor drains is that they are the most efficient at draining. Therefore, they are in areas around the home that require rapid drainage.

Unfortunately, when they clog or block, bad things can happen when the water backs up fast. Most homeowners don’t give a second thought to floor drain maintenance until they start to back up and cause problems.

Don’t let that happen to you. In this post, we’ll give you some handy tips for floor drain maintenance.

#1 Fill the Traps Often

Around the home, floor drains to catch the overflow from toilets, tubs, sinks, water heaters, and washing machines. There are plenty of uses around the house, including providing irrigation for funneling storm waters away from areas like the patio or driveway.

Whether the floor drain is inside or outside, they both serve the save function – to efficiently send water to the sewer system as fast as possible. The purpose of traps prevents the odors and gases from the sewers finding its way into your home.

Keep the traps full, especially in warm weather. This practice prevents pathogens from traveling through the pipework into your home. The water in the trap creates a barrier for the smells, bacteria, and viruses, preventing them from entering the plumbing around your home.

#2 Clear All Clogs Right Away

The floor collects debris all the time. Whether its hair in the shower or leaves in the driveway. Keeping your floor drains free from debris stops clogs before they have the chance to form. Some drains are harder to clean than others.

It might take you an hour to get the hair of your shower, but 30-seconds to get the leaves out of the outside drain. The first sign of a clogged drain is when it starts draining slowly. If you manage to catch the clog early, then it won’t have the chance to flood.

Most drains will unclog with a few strokes of the plunger freeing the clog. However, if they are stubborn clogs, pour some baking soda and vinegar down the drain to help dissolve the clog away. Professional plumbers use a device called an auger to clear deep clogs in pipes.

An auger is a snake-like tool that fits inside the drain and unblocks the source of the problem. The auger gets through leaves and hair, and fat deposits or grease build-up.

#3 Keep Your Drains Clean

We recommend keeping your drains clean by adhering to a maintenance schedule. You only must clean your drains once every quarter if you run a large household. The shower or bath is usually the biggest problem.

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