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It may not seem like an immediate concern when your outside drains are clogged. But leave it for some time, and it’ll become a serious hygiene issue. Thus, it’s essential to unblock an outside drain sooner.
If your house smells funny or water pools up in your bathroom and kitchen, it is mainly because you’ve got a blocked outside drain. But don’t fret! Outside drains getting blocked is a widespread occurrence in any residential household. But you may need a professional hand and a friendly plumbing service for stubborn blockage.
It is usually pretty easy to unclog drains without hiring professional plumbers. However, it’s best to have some tips and tricks up your sleeves before you start gearing up to unclog an outside drain. That’s where we come in. We’ll discuss four easy DIY methods for unblocking an external drain, which may apply to internal drains.
So, without any more dilly-dallying, let’s get on with it!
The most common agents that can cause your outside drain to clog are tree branches, leaves, soil, moss, and other outdoor debris amassing on the drain opening.
But whatever you flush or pour down the toilet and kitchen pipes can be equally problematic when unclogging your outside drain, which is blocked with all that stuff.
For instance, pouring fat, oil, or tea leaves down your kitchen sink can compromise the integrity of your outside drain. Similarly, flushing too much toilet paper, sanitary products, or wet wipes down the bathroom toilet will probably lead to blockages. Even leaving hair in the bathroom shower or bathroom sink can cause your outside drain to clog.
You can usually unclog an outside drain if you know the right tips and tricks. So, we’ll highlight the easiest ways to help you keep your pipelines clean and unblocked and keep your plumbing fixtures working as they should. Let’s look at how to best deal with your blocked outdoor drains!
This is for those who don’t have any drain rods or a drain snake to unblock drains. So unblocking a drain outside may sound unconventional, but without a drain rod, coat hangers can work effectively for unclogging drains instead. If you have an old wire coat hanger lying around the house, pull and straighten it out before bending one end to form a small hook. Now, carefully insert the hooked end of the wire hanger inside the blocked outdoor drain cover and fish around for any contaminants or material causing your drain blockages.
Once you do this, you can remove all nasty items from the outside drain. Also, try not to push the gunk further inside the drainage system because you would want to pull the blockage out of the drain.
After pulling out all the gunk and debris, run some hot water down the drain to clear the path.
Boiling water is the easiest way to clean up your clogged outside drain. Just put on a kettle full of tap water and boil it up. Now, slowly pour the hot, boiling water down the drain. This will wash and melt away any stubborn blockages.
Then, wait a few seconds between each pour to allow the water to work through the obstruction. Be careful while pouring the boiling water down the outside drain; you don’t want to end up with painful burns on your hands.
When it comes to house cleaning or unblocking drains, the combination of baking soda and vinegar works like magic. To prepare the cleaning mixture, mix an equal ratio of vinegar and baking soda in a measuring cup.
Once you see a fizz forming after mixing the two items, pour it down the clogged outside drain without wasting time. This fizzing action will remove any blockage built up inside the drain.
Leave the mixture to work on the drain blockage overnight, then wash it off with hot water.
Caustic soda can be a good option if you’re looking for a more robust cleaning solution. Add three cups of caustic soda to a bucket containing three or four gallons of cold water to use it. Stir it to form a fizzy mixture, and then pour it gently into the clogged outside drain. Let it sit for 30 minutes, and work on debris before washing it off with hot water.
However, even though caustic soda can be an effective cleaning agent for unclogging outside drains, it can cause severe chemical burns on the skin. So, remember to wear protective goggles and latex gloves while using this compound.
Prevention is better than cure, especially regarding clogged outside drains.
Indeed, letting gunk and debris build up in an outside drain can soon create irreversible plumbing damage. And then, you’ll have no choice but to spend hundreds of dollars on emergency plumbing services for your blocked drains. So, taking necessary measures while you still can with your blocked drain is better before facing the most challenging drain blockage.
If you maintain your external drains occasionally, unclogging them won’t be a backbreaking task. You can follow the four easy methods mentioned above. But this is just the tip of the iceberg—you can always do more research and learn to take better care of your home and prevent future blockages.
For persistent clogged drains and other plumbing problems in your residential and commercial properties, contact a highly recommended professional team of experienced plumbers. They have the right tools to handle blocked drains, such as high-pressure water jets or pressure hoses, to eliminate stubborn clogs and prevent flooding in your property.
Don’t know where to search for a professional plumber? Please don’t ignore the issues in your plumbing system and leave it unattended for a long time. You don’t have to wear rubber gloves. You can leave everything to us. From your blocked outdoor drainage to stubborn debris and food scraps in your inside drains, removing tree roots in your drain pipe and sewer line, installing a garden tap for your garden hose and ease— you can rely on us! Gold Coast Plumbing Company goes the extra mile in all our plumbing services to provide you with the plumbing solutions you deserve. Call us now and get the solution you need!
So, good luck and stay safe. Until next time!
