迈克’s Tips for Keeping Your 下水道 Clear

In light of everything going on in our world today, many of us are working and caring for our children at home. You may also be cooking at home more instead of eating out. That means a lot of extra wear-and-tear on your kitchen and bathroom plumbing and 下水道. 我们顶尖的排水技术员之一, 迈克格林, shared some great tips to prevent 备份 and keep your 下水道 running smoothly to meet any extra demand as a result of being at home more.

Photo of 迈克, a 排水 Technician at TLC宝博体育买球

迈克, 你的排水专家

迈克出生在底特律, Michigan but has lived in 里约热内卢牧场 since he was ten years old, practically making him a 宝博体育买球 native. He was originally a licensed electrician, 但六年前他来TLC的时候, he wound up being a drain technician instead. 剩下的就是历史了! He and his wife have been happily married for 13 years, and together they have one dog that they named Blue after the Michigan Wolverines. 迈克 spends most of his spare time volunteering and serving in his community.

排水 TLC宝博体育买球迈克的建议

Don’t be afraid to clean out the hair in your bathtub drain

迈克 encourages you “not to be afraid of your own hair.“我们大多数人都觉得这样做很恶心 clean the hair out of the bathtub drain. 它甚至可能看起来不卫生. 但它 really is just hair that is perfectly safe to pull out and throw away. 这是一个 simple, easy way to keep your 下水道 from backing up.

You can clean the hair out with a pair of tweezers or pliers if you’d like, 但你也可以用你的手指. By regularly cleaning out the hair, you can prevent bigger clogs further down the road. This maintenance tip can save you from paying a plumber to come clean the drain.

Clean the p-traps under the bathroom sinks once a year to avoid buildup

的 p-trap is a “U” shaped section of pipe under your sink. 当水流过 it, debris like silt and hair sink to the bottom. 这可以防止粘稠物 going into the main drain pipe and causing a major backup.

专家提示: 这是你可以自己做的! If you look under your sink and see that you have a plastic p-trap, you can clean it yourself. 的 connection between the p-trap and the pipe leaving the sink should only be hand-tight and easy to unscrew.

Put on some rubber gloves, grab a bucket or a large bowl, and put it under the p-trap. Unscrew the connection between the p-trap and the pipe coming from the sink. You can expect water to come out of it, so just dump it into the bucket. 清理头发和杂物. 如果你有一把旧牙刷, use it to give the insides of the p-trap a little scrub to remove the buildup.

If you have a metal p-trap under your sink, do not try to clean it yourself. 迈克分享说这很难 to get a metal p-trap put back together correctly. 把它全放回去 足够紧密的结合是很棘手的. If it isn’t tight enough, it will leak and 甚至可能造成水损害. 他建议你拿一个 执照的宝博体育买球工 帮你清理,还是 replace it with plastic so you can do it yourself in the future.

Be careful with what you put in the garbage disposal

A garbage disposal is a helpful tool, but most of us don’t realize it has limits. 迈克 shared how to know whether or not to use the garbage disposal:

  • If you’re cleaning out the refrigerator, use the trash can.
  • If you’re cooking a meal, use the trash can.
  • If you’re scraping your plate and washing dishes, use the garbage disposal.

的 kitchen sink drain isn’t designed to handle large amounts of food, even if it’s ground up by the garbage disposal. 的 garbage disposal makes little bits of food – like dinner plate scrapings– manageable, but lots of food like potato peels or leftovers can cause major clogs.

Be very careful pouring liquids down the sink

的 most important rule of the kitchen sink is to 从来没有 把油 浪费掉. You may have heard that it’s okay to 把油 浪费掉 if you run hot water with it, but that’s not true. 油脂造成严重破坏 下水道. It might take some time to build up, but it will eventually cause major 备份.

在那里 are other ways to get rid of cooking grease. 迈克建议倒油 over a metal spoon when you’re putting it into a disposable container. 这种方式 the spoon absorbs the heat, and the container doesn’t melt. 把 当它满的时候,整个容器被拿走. 有些油脂,比如培根油脂 可重用的做饭.

箴 提示: If you’re thinking about pouring other liquids 浪费掉, it’s important to remember that the thicker it is, the more likely it is to cause drain problems. Dispose of thick liquids in another way.

Call a professional if the whole house is backed up

If you notice that your 下水道 are slow or clogged through the whole house, you have a clog in the main drain line. This shows up as clogged toilets, bathtubs, sinks, and even a backed-up washing machine. 迈克 says that the best choice in this situation is to 打电话给专业人士 修理堵塞的下水道.

的 底线是 that most drain issues can easily be avoided. 清理头发和杂物 你可以在浴缸和水槽里. Don’t pour grease 浪费掉 and be careful not to put food down the garbage disposal. 这一点尤其重要 around the holidays when drain problems are most likely to happen. 如果你想 like to get your 下水道 checked out and ready for the holidays, call TLC today 在505-761-9644或 在线服务请求.

有 关于排水管的问题? 问 今天的职业!

拉尔夫·古铁雷斯

拉尔夫管理我们的排水部门. He has been with TLC for 9 years and is a 执照的宝博体育买球工. Him and his team focus specifically on fixing clogged 下水道 and drain problems for TLC customers.