drain maintenance tips

July 8 2020

Gurgling Drain Causes

Michelle Abramson Drainage, Plumbing air bubbles in pipes, clogged drain solutions, drain maintenance tips, gurgling drain causes, plumbing vent blockage, prevent drain noises, professional plumbing services, sewer line issues

Have you noticed drains around your home making gurgling noises? While the obvious way to tell a drain is clogged is slow drainage, this gurgling sound can let you know that something is wrong with your drains before it’s too late. Here are some causes for a slow gurgling drain. The most common and obvious reason is a blocked drain. Over time, a drain will begin to collect things like loose hair. In the kitchen, small bits of food and coffee grounds will begin to build up. This buildup will eventually start to block your drain. While in a perfect world we’d be extremely diligent about protecting our drains from this buildup, we know that sometimes it’s easy to forget. We suggest adding a small filter to your drain to catch unwanted bits before the drain clogs. If you’re currently experiencing a clogged drain, all you need to do is clear the blockage and it’ll be as good as new! Gurgling drains can also be a last indicator of a blocked mainline before the water backs up. If you notice a gurgling sound in your toilet or your bathtub this is likely the case followed by the water failing to drain, stop using the water immediately and call a professional. If this is happening to you call R&B Plumbing and we will be on our way to help right away! Lastly, gurgling in the drains around your home could be caused by a blocked vent stack. The main drainage lines in your home are all connected to your vent. The purpose of this is to draw sewer gas away and release it out the roof. If your vent stack is blocked, the methane gas cannot escape. This is what’s causing the gurgling noises. If you suspect this is happening in your home, call R&B Plumbing and Heating to help you figure it out. If you’re hearing gurgling in the drains around your home or suspect any issues with your plumbing give R&B Plumbing a call today. We are able to help guide you with information and if an issue needs to be resolved we can send out trained professionals to help you out!

March 26 2019

Top Ten Ways to Prevent a Clog

Michelle Abramson Drainage, Plumbing avoid kitchen sink clogs, bathroom drain care, drain maintenance tips, prevent clogged drains, proper waste disposal, R&B Plumbing services, regular pipe cleaning, use of drain strainers 0

As promised, here is our follow-up to our Ask an Expert question on using enzyme products.

R&B’s top 10 list for preventing a clogged drain.

Don’t have kids. Ok just kidding, we love kids, but they are by far the most common culprits. The number of Hot Wheels and other children’s toys we’ve removed from toilets is far greater than the number of toothbrushes! The lesson is, mind what you flush. It should usually only be things that will disintegrate in water.
Men, this one is for you. Don’t pour bacon grease (or any other grease that’s solid at room temperature) down the drain. I don’t know why people keep doing that! Running hot water down with it doesn’t always work either because cools as it travels and eventually it’s all going to congeal somewhere. Maybe you get lucky and it’s not until it’s gone far enough… And maybe you call R&B!
Use a basket strainer and compost. The worst clogged drain we ever had (and remember, I should know better) was when I put a raw chicken breast down the garburator. It took my poor plumber husband an hour and two trips to the shop for different pieces of equipment, to clear it. This story actually became a blog series which you may like to read
Try not to wash hair down the drain. In the bathroom, hair is the biggest culprit. It gets caught on the strainer and then catches all kinds of goop from shampoo to toothpaste, slowly adding up. Gross as it is, you can use tweezers to pick the hair out of the drain when it starts running slowly. It’s like a gruesome iceberg. It looks like very little from the top but when you pull the whole thing out its significant.
I’m going to say this one even though we’re an eco-minded, environmentally cautious population for the most part… Don’t pour or clean drywall putty, grout or most commonly, paint down the drain. This includes cleaning brushes and rollers – it’s surprising how much paint they hold. Here’s a tip, if you’re going to paint again tomorrow, don’t clean it, wrap the roller in plastic and put it in the fridge.
This one is for my mother. You get more bees with honey than you do with vinegar – same goes for preventing clogged drains. Vinegar seems to cut grease clean well, and if you freeze it half and half with water first you can run it around in your garburator to clean that too, instead of it just running through and down the drain. The baking soda followed by vinegar approach to clean drains has limited success but DIY sites seem to like it. R&B doesn’t recommend any other ‘maintenance’ where you periodically pour things down the drain.
If you do have a waste disposal unit, use WAY MORE water than you think you should. Running cold water for a long time and letting the garburator run and run is how it’s done. Running cold water will help ensure it doesn’t over heat.
Also with the waste disposal rules, there is a “Never, Never” list. Never, never put certain things down the garburator: Banana peels, mango stones, and egg shells are the three biggies, you can Google yourself a list, but I’d add expired, raw chicken breast just based on my own personal experience.
Hot water, not boiling can be used to flush and prevent clogged drains. This is great if you’re doing dishes by hand. Our teenagers actually help us out with this one when they insist on doing dishes under a running hot water tap (although it’s a frustrating waste of water since a full sink getting drained works just as well). The reason we don’t use boiling water directly from the kettle is that it’s actually at a higher temp that ABS pipe is rated for. This opens the door for a chance (from a technical aspect) that you could damage your pipe.
If your washer drains into a laundry sink, invest in a lint trapper to catch those fibres (and stray socks!)

When you break these rules, and you will if you’re human, please do not use chemical drain cleaners. Here are a few tips to try yourself before you call us. For kitchens try a toilet plunger. For bathrooms, you can also try a shop vac to clear a clogged drain. For both of these to be effective, be sure that you have a tight seal! If you have a snake, and know how to use it, go ahead. If those fail you need us, and R&B will be there.

While you are here, why not check out this 30 second clip on some of the best tools for fixing a clogged sink. Who knows, it could save you a whole lot of time, money or headache.

December 29 2016

Clogged Kitchen Sink – Blog 2 – Tips to keep your drains clearhttps://randbplumbing.ca/clogged-kitchen-sink-tips-keep-drains-clear/

Michelle Abramson Drainage, Plumbing avoid clogged drains, DIY drain cleaning, drain maintenance tips, kitchen sink clog prevention, natural drain cleaners, plumbing maintenance advice, proper waste disposal, R&B Plumbing

From the life of a plumbers wife – clogged drain.

I learned the hard way this year about all the things I did wrong that resulted in our super clogged kitchen sink. Here is what you should do to avoid making the same mistake.

Use a lot of water. Yes even though we are conserving water at the moment, there is a time to use it liberally. Here’s why. Many sinks like ours have the drain pipe running transversely with a gentle slope, along the back of the cabinets for quite a ways before it ties into the vertical main drain line. Island sinks and sinks that have been moved during a renovation are especially susceptible to this type of rough in. If you are like I used to be, you probably rinse the crumbs down the sink and then turn the water off. I never used to think about running the water for just a little bit longer to wash those crumbs all the way along the transverse lie to the vertical stack; I just stopped when the sink was clean. This method leads to a build up of crumbs and debris along the pipe that there was never quite enough water to wash away. The tip is to use enough water to rinse to the main stack.
If you have a garburator run it for longer than you think you need to. I used to think that as soon as the chunky sound of the blades ripping through the debris sounded smooth again, that the job was done. Its not. Like a blender there are the big chunks broken down over and over again until the result is slurry that washes down the pipes (again with a LOT of water). If you just do the brief on/off, you actually end up sending chunks down the pipe instead of a slurry. You can also end up leaving unmasticated food in the garburator, which can smell.
Do not use hot water to wash grease down the sink. If it is already solid, put it in the compost. Hot water will liquefy grease until it cools and then it turns into chunks again. Those chunks can cause clogs.

Now if you are just reading this out of interest, GREAT! However, if it is unfortunately from a clogged drain, read the next blog on what to do before you call my R&B.

January 13 2016

Clogged Drain – Tips to Keep Your Drains Clear

Michelle Abramson Drainage, Plumbing avoid pouring grease down drain, clogged drain prevention, drain maintenance tips, enzyme-based drain cleaners, natural drain cleaners, proper waste disposal, regular drain cleaning, use drain strainers

I learned the hard way this year about all the things I did wrong that resulted in our super clogged drain. Here is what you should do to avoid making the same mistake.

Use a lot of water. Yes even though we are conserving water at the moment, there is a time to use it liberally. Here’s why. Many sinks like ours have the drain pipe running transversely with a gentle slope, along the back of the cabinets for quite a ways before it ties into the vertical main drain line. Island sinks and sinks that have been moved during a renovation are especially susceptible to this type of rough in. If you are like I used to be, you probably rinse the crumbs down the sink and then turn the water off. I never used to think about running the water for just a little bit longer to wash those crumbs all the way along the transverse lie to the vertical stack; I just stopped when the sink was clean. This method leads to a build up of crumbs and debris along the pipe because there was never quite enough water to wash them away. The tip is to use enough water to rinse to the main stack.

If you have a garburator run it for longer than you think you need to. I used to think that as soon as the chunky sound of the blades ripping through the debris sounded smooth again, that the job was done. It’s not. Like a blender there are the big chunks broken down over and over again until the result is slurry that washes down the pipes (again with a LOT of water). If you just do the brief on/off, you actually end up sending chunks down the pipe instead of a slurry. You can also end up leaving unmasticated food in the garburator, which can smell.

Do not use hot water to wash grease down the sink. If it is already solid, put it in the compost. Hot water will liquefy grease until it cools and then it turns into chunks again. Those chunks can cause clogs.

Now if you are just reading this out of interest, GREAT! However, if it is unfortunately from a clogged drain, read the next blog on what to do before you call R&B.

–Blog 2 of 2

January 6 2016

Clogged Drain

Michelle Abramson Drainage, Plumbing chemical drain cleaners, clogged drain solutions, DIY drain unclogging, drain maintenance tips, emergency plumbing services, mechanical drain cleaning tools, plumbing maintenance advice, professional drain cleaning

Would you like to know a secret? We had a clogged drain in our kitchen sink of monumental proportions a few weeks ago and my first-hand experience has resulted in a series of tips from my DH who is also a master plumber.

Even though we are the proud owners of a top of the line Insinkerator Pro 1100 garburator, (installed!), This garburator has a full 1 horse power motor, and is one of the quietest on the market. The Pro Series can even chew up bones. I know we are composting now, but it is hard to compost soup, stew, and cereal bowl dregs. Plus, sometimes the item for the compost is so stinky, you really just want it gone right away. One thing a garburator can’t do for you, no mater how good, is get food that has gone down the other side of your double sink. I learned the hard way about clogging sinks.

I post this now because we’ve just survived, I mean enjoyed the holidays and many of you will have had a LOT of excess food around and some of it will end up down the sink. This, unfortunately, leads to an extremely high incidence of clogged drains this time of year. Want to avoid it? In this blog series I will give you some tips for avoidance and for treatment before you call the professional.

If you still need help, call R&B and then look at the blog on how to clear clogged drains so you know what to expect.

Clogged drain not the problem? Click here to learn about other problems that could be associated with your kitchen sink.

— Blog 1 of 4

drain maintenance tips

Gurgling Drain Causes

Top Ten Ways to Prevent a Clog

R&B’s top 10 list for preventing a clogged drain.

Clogged Kitchen Sink – Blog 2 – Tips to keep your drains clearhttps://randbplumbing.ca/clogged-kitchen-sink-tips-keep-drains-clear/

Clogged Drain – Tips to Keep Your Drains Clear

Clogged Drain

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