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Five Reasons to Avoid Chemical Drain Cleaning Solutions to Unclog Your Drain

 

While chemical drain cleaners are easy to obtain and are reasonably affordable, they are also known for being harmful to humans and the environment. Below are five reasons why you should avoid using chemical drain cleaning solutions to unclog your drain.

Chemical drain cleaners contain toxins that can be hazardous to your health if inhaled. They can also cause irritation to the eyes, ears, skin, nose, throat, and mouth. While drain cleaners have warning labels that list chemicals containing known carcinogens, many people ignore these labels.

These cleaners are also bad for the environment as residual product left inside the containers go into landfills and can end up in watery regions, poisoning the fish and other living creatures that thrive on that particular water supply.

Drain cleaners contain hydrochloric acid which can cause damage to pipes and the enamel-based coatings that commonly cover bathtubs and sinks. Additionally, hydrochloric acid can create holes in pipes by dissolving metal. Holes lead to leaks that require the replacement of all traps and pipes destroyed by the drain cleaner.

Severely clogged drain pipes need a much stronger solution than what drain cleaners have to offer. Chemicals only mask the problem and dissolve clogs a little bit at a time which means that you will have to repeat the process several times before noticing a significant difference. Surprisingly, it’s not just hair or grease that can clog drains. Sometimes tree roots can make their way between the main sewer and your house which requires the need for a professional plumber to use specialized equipment to bore the root-obstructed drain pipes or traps that would otherwise be destroyed by chemicals.

You may think that you are saving money by using chemical drain cleaners, but overtime, you could actually end up paying much more than expected, because, as mentioned above, drain cleaners can corrode pipes, and corroded pipes are useless once they have holes. It’s much more practical to hire a professional plumber to remove the unwanted debris through the use of traditional snaking or hydro jetting which uses pressurized water and reverse jetting action to break up obstructions.

Need to have the drains cleaned in your Winchester home? Call Powell’s Plumbing today at 540-665-8196 and schedule a service call today!

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