These days, it’s normal to have a bottle of drain cleaner in your cabinet just in case a drain gets clogged. When the water stops draining, most people will try the drain cleaner before bringing in professionals. It makes more sense to slosh some chemicals down the drain instead of paying for a plumber to visit, right?

While we can see how this makes sense to a lot of people, the fact is, drain cleaning chemicals are not good for the environment or your health. Most professional plumbers don’t like drain cleaners for just that reason. The problem is, clogged drains happen. What can be done when the water stops moving as quickly as it should?

Why You Should Avoid Chemical Drain Cleaners

Danger to Your Plumbing

• Drains are made to keep flowing despite many different challenges. When they finally get stopped up, there’s probably something major in there. Only highly corrosive chemicals have the ability to burn through major clogs. Your pipes are not made to deal with nasty chemicals like that. As a result, you might get your flow back after using a chemical drain cleaner, but at the cost of your plumbing’s integrity. Over time, the drain cleaners can also damage your plumbing fixtures.

Danger to You

• Drain cleaners don’t just present a threat to your plumbing, they also are dangerous to your health. Their fumes can cause irritation in your nose and eyes. If you get cleaner on your skin, you’ll end up with chemical burns. Worst of all, if you ingest the drain cleaner, it can lead to extensive injury or death. This is why it is so important to keep the cleaner locked away, especially if you have small children.

Danger to Your Environment

• Drain cleaners eventually leave your home, headed toward the water treatment facility. Though the plant filters and neutralizes many of the dangerous chemicals, it doesn’t get all of them. All leftover chemicals get into the environment, where they can hurt animals and fish.

You Have Chemical-Free Options

• Did you know that you probably already have what you need to solve a clogged drain without chemicals? First, try a plunger. If that doesn’t work, you have more options, including salt. Simply pour half a cup of salt down the drain, followed by boiling water. Run the hot water for a while until the clog resolves. A solution for grease clogs is a combination of baking soda, salt, and cream of tartar. Chase the mixture with boiling water. Lastly, you can always invest in a plumbing snake to get the clog out or loosen it enough to move on.

The Best Solution Is Prevention

During your everyday activities, clean plates off before rinsing them and be sure to keep as much hair out of your shower and sink, too. Make sure your drains have mesh covers, too.

At the end of the day, when you want to avoid a drain clog, there’s nothing better than getting your drains professionally cleaned. Contact us in Nashville for drain cleaning today!