What's The Difference Between Drain Cleaning And Clearing?

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Almost every homeowner is familiar with the concept of a clogged drain. You turn on the water, expecting it to leave your sink, only to find that it's actually filling up the bowl instead. When that happens, you might be tempted to reach for your plunger, a wire hanger, or one of a number of other DIY drain clearing solutions. While these may be fantastic temporary fixes, you should also strongly consider hiring a professional drain cleaning service as well.

But what is drain cleaning, and how does it compare to simply clearing your drains?

Drain Cleaning Goes Deep in Your Pipes

Most drain clearing solutions are effective up to a certain point, but they simply can't reach beyond a certain part of your pipes. Clogs that are beyond the P-trap, for instance, are especially hard to dislodge, since hot water and chemical solutions can lose their effectiveness the more they intermingle with the debris that's on the inside your pipes. Plungers and wire hangers are almost completely ineffective at that point, and if the clog is farther than the P-trap, it's virtually impossible to dislodge them yourselves using any method. Professional drain cleaning services allow you to remove the clog no matter where it is, even including the main sewer line.

Drain Cleaning Services are Safe

While most over-the-counter solutions are great at dislodging pipes, the amount of chemicals that are inside these concoctions can be corrosive to the inside of your pipes. While one or two uses may not affect them too much, copper and PVC piping can be eaten away slowly by repeated applications of chemical drain clearing solutions, and can cause leaks inside your house. A professional drain cleaning service, on the other hand, will use the right equipment for your pipes, ensuring that your clogs are clear with minimal damage to the rest your house.

Drain Cleaning Services Prevent Future Clogs

Clogs don't magically appear out of nowhere. While the occasional eggshell can clog up your kitchen sink, most clogs are usually the results of months or even years of debris that have collected inside your pipes. Drain cleaning services, such as hydro-jetting, use pressurized water to clean the inside of the pipes, scrubbing the sides clean to prevent the debris from reforming and collecting more debris as it passes by. If all you're doing is poking a hole in the clog to allow water to pass through, you'll end up repeating the process every time that clog reforms. Proper drain cleaning prevents that from happening.

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18 November 2020

Cool off Your AC Bill

Every summer, I agonized over energy bills that would shoot into the stratosphere as a result of my efforts to keep cool in the heat. Every time I turned the temperature down, my bills increased. This summer, I decided to take some of the control over my energy bill back. I installed reflective film on my windows that reduced the amount of light and heat coming into the house. I started serving more cold meals or asking my husband to barbecue outside, so that my air conditioner didn't have to compete with the hot stove, and I started doing laundry at night to reduce appliance heat in the house at peak times. I also had ceiling fans installed. So far, the difference in my bill has been tremendous. This blog is a way for me to explore other ways to reduce energy drain during the summer months.