Do liquid drain cleaners really work?

Its everyone's solution to a "BLOCKED DRAIN", just tip some sort of liquid drain cleaner down the pipes and the blockage will sort itself out, simple as that!

Is this correct?  Yes it may well be the case depending on the type of blocked drain you are experiencing, but in majority of the cases it will not help long term and if it does short term it will be a band aid to a much more under lying the problem.

In this blog we dissect what will and wont help you get that pesky blocked sewer resolved quickly and of course easy on the back pocket.

Okay so you manage a hotel, pub, shopping centre or some form of commercial operation?  The chances are that in the gents washrooms there is at a minimum one urinal?  And every now and again it becomes slow to drain and then all of a sudden its blocked (no flow)?!!

So this will be the only situation where a liquid drain cleaner will truly works its magic properly and should only be performed by a licensed plumber.  At Mayfair Plumbing and Gasfitting we use a product called hydrochloric acid (this should only ever be used by a licensed plumber).  We firstly dry the urinal trap out of any water or urine and fill the trap with the hydrochloric acid.  The room must be well ventilated and the correct Safety Equipment must always be used (gloves, overalls, masks and safety glasses).  We would typically let the initial dose of acid sit for 5 minutes and then flush with hot water if possible otherwise cold is fine.  Depending on the severity of the blockage 2 to 4 doses of acid can be needed (and the time in which the acid sits for will vary depending once again on the severity of the blockage) in order to get the desired flow back into the urinal drain lines.

Your other typical type of blockages that people will contact us about after they have attempted the use of a liquid drain cleaner are: Hand Basin not draining properly, kitchen sink slow to drain away and shower gurgling after 3 minutes of use.

All these fixtures have traps installed to them to stop the rise of sewer gases into the property. When you tip an off the shelf liquid drain cleaner into these fixtures the crystals etc just end up staying in the trap itself and not helping at all.  In most of the cases the actual blockages lie further than just the trap itself and the liquid drain cleaner is either not strong enough or never ends up reaching the blockage to actually resole the problem.

When we are addressing blockages which are within the above locations of your home or office it will be one of the following things causing the blockage:  tree roots, hair, grease, fat and collapsed drainage pipes.  All of these mentioned blockages require some form mechanical intervention in order to properly have the flow established again inside the drain pipes.  These forms of blockages are very intense and a liquid drain cleaner may start to slightly desolve the problem but it is inevitable that one day you will need a hydro jet drain cleaning machine out to your plot and have the invasion removed.

If you do have a very minor blockage for example in the kitchen it could be that there is some small amounts of grease and fat stuck inside of the trap below your bowl, in this example a liquid drain cleaner could assist, but it is most likely that with such a minor blockage you would not even be noticing the resistance in flow to start with so the need for a liquid drain cleaner would most likely not even come into play.

If there is something in this blog which we can help you with further please dont hesitate in contacting us further on 0429 361 819 or email: plumbers@mayfairplumbing.com.au

Can you clear a blocked drain that is infested with tree roots using a hydro jetter?

To those who are not familiar with drain cleaning equipment they think that the only method which could possibly clear tree roots out of a blocked drain pipe is by using a metal snake simply because its metallic and sharp so of course it will cut through the roots inside of a blocked drain line.  This thought process makes sense, BUT what a lot of people don't know is that there is some even better technology available to the public today and its called "HYDRO JET DRAIN CLEANING".

So what is the hydro jet drain cleaner and how does it work? Well as you may or may not know water has long been pressurised and used for cutting items such as metal and even precious stones such as diamonds so why wouldn't it be able to cut through trees roots?  Exactly and that's what the hydro jet drain cleaner is used for, un blocking drain pipes FAST!  In the you tube video about hydro jet drain cleaning below you will clearly see just how the jetter clears blocked drains.

If you find yourself with a plumbing emergency on your hands with either sewerage or storm water overflowing then you will need a plumbing contractor who owns a hydro jet, the jet can get to the source of the blockage quick smart and relieve the pressure from the line with in minutes, that's the kind of result your looking for when your plumbing is backed up and surging out of the drains.

If you would like to know a little more about Mayfair Plumbing and Gasfitting and the services which we can offer you why not visit us at http://www.yelp.com/biz/mayfair-plumbing-and-gasfitting-adelaide-3 or alternatively you can contact us via the phone on +61429361819

Plumbing on Tap, a blog about anything plumbing related ON TAP, with out the drip

Welcome to plumbing on tap a complete blog about anything related to plumbing, if it involves water, sewer, storm water, gas and even electricity your going to hear all about it in this brand new release to the plumbing market globally.

Aaron from Mayfair Plumbing and Gasfitting is a guru of the plumbing world and has worked on pipes and drains all over the world, he has now taken some time out of his busy life as a registered master plumber and decided to give some of his wisdom back to the public around the world and share some of his tips and tricks that only a plumber could know.

As a quick kick start to this blog for all you weekend warriors I would like to give you a couple of quick points worth noting in the case of a plumbing emergency.

Point 1: Always know where your water meter isolation valve is located in the case that you may one day need to suddenly shut the water off.

Point 2:  Familiarize yourself with the location off your gas shut off valve in the case of an emergency where you may need to isolate the gas all of a sudden.

Point 3:  Always have the number of your local plumber on hand because you never know when you may need him or her.

A friendly emergency plumber is always your best friend in the time of a plumbing emergency