How to clean sewer pipes in a private house or own apartment

Internal sewage pipes have a limited diameter of the internal lumen, as well as a significant number of turns and bottlenecks, so during operation, under the influence of a number of factors may be subject to clogging. In order to independently eliminate this unpleasant phenomenon, every homeowner needs to know how to clean the pipes at home, without the help of a professional plumber.

Self cleaning pipe

To help the reader deal with this issue, this article will discuss the most common ways of dealing with blockages in pipes using simple household plumbing tools.

Also here will be presented a step-by-step instruction, which describes in detail all the stages of the independent performance of this simple work.

Causes of blockages

Choosing the right way to clean sewage pipes depends largely on the nature of the blockage and the reasons that caused it.

Speaking about how to clean the pipe in the bath, in the toilet or in the kitchen, first of all, you need to understand the mechanics of the formation of blockages.

1. The accumulation of limescale and fatty deposits over time leads to a significant decrease in the diameter of the internal lumen of the pipe, and at some point may cause its complete blockage. In this case, the time for draining water from sanitary appliances gradually increases, and with large volumes of wastewater, the use of a bath or sink becomes difficult.
2. Coarse debris, solid food residues and other foreign objects get into the sewage system, causing a sharp, full or partial overlap of the internal lumen, as a result of which it is impossible to drain.
3. Siphon clogging can occur as a result of food debris, hair, sand and other small debris getting into the drain hole of plumbing fixtures.. This type of blockage is characterized by the disruption of the work of one specific sanitary device, and not the entire sewer system as a whole.

Tip! It is recommended to perform the prophylactic cleaning of the siphons of all sanitary appliances in the house (including the washing machine and the dishwasher) at least once in 6 months.

Use of a plunger

All familiar plunger is the simplest sanitary device, which is a sealed hemispherical shell of elastic material, for ease of use, equipped with a wooden or plastic handle.

Its action is based on the creation in the closed system of an elevated pressure area, due to which the accumulated debris is pushed through with a small force of hydraulic impact.

1. In order to clean the pipe in the bathroom, it must be filled with water to such a level that its surface is several centimeters above the level of the drain hole.
2. After filling with water, open the stopper and install the plunger in the center of the drain hole, firmly pressing its base to the surface of the bath.
3. A short sharp pressing on the handle to perform several reciprocating movements, without tearing the bowl of the plunger from the surface of the bath.
4. With a sharp jerky movement, remove the plunger from the drain hole and check the flow of the collected water. A positive result of cleaning is the complete removal of water from the bath at a normal rate of discharge.

If in this way, it is not possible to get rid of the blockage even with a few tricks, you should think about how to clean the sewer pipe with a cable with interchangeable nozzles to extract large debris.

Note! The absence of a funnel with a right-handed rotation of the whirlpool when draining water from a filled bath, in accordance with Bernoulli’s law, may indicate a decrease in the throughput capacity of the sewage system.

Plumbing cable

The use of flexible sanitary cable is the most radical, but at the same time the most effective way to eliminate serious blockages. This device is a flexible steel cable in a special twisted sheath, thanks to which it has the necessary rigidity and elasticity.

On the one side of the cable there is a rotary handle for the message of rotational movement to it, and on the other side there is a holder for interchangeable nozzles designed to extract and push through various types of garbage.

1. Before using the cable to clean the pipes, you need to shut off the water supply in the whole apartment, establish the approximate location of the blockage and disconnect the sanitary appliances nearest to it.

1. Insert the end of the cable into the pipe and rotate it evenly forward with a rotational-progressive motion, being careful when passing bends and narrow spaces.
2. If you feel when the tip of the cable rests on the expected accumulation of debris, you need to try to push it forward in the direction of the inspection hatch or the common vertical riser.
3. If you can not push forward, you need to try to hook it with a hook or wind it on a spiral, depending on the nature of the blockage and the type of tip installed.
4. After removing the blockage, pull out the cable, assemble the sewage system and carry out the test, ensuring its short-term maximum load.

Tip! Owners of private houses who do not know how to clean a chimney pipe from foreign objects accidentally got into it can also use a flexible plumbing cable with interchangeable tips.

Chemical cleaning agents

One of the most common types of blockages is contamination of the kitchen sewage system with food debris, so many housewives are interested in the question: how to clean the sewer pipe from grease, food debris and other organic debris without any help?

To do this, there are special cleaners based on caustic alkali, which, penetrating into all corners of the sewer, completely splits biological waste.

In addition to high efficiency, these tools have another very important advantage: thanks to ease of use, any housewife with their own hands can easily cope with the blockage in the sewage system.

1. Observing precautions, pour 150-200 ml of chemical detergent into the drain hole of the sink and leave for 1.5-2 hours.
2. The process of splitting organic matter may be accompanied by the release of an unpleasant odor, so during cleaning it is recommended to provide high-quality ventilation of the room.
3. After the specified time, it is necessary to flush the sewage system with plenty of cold water.

Tip! Chemical cleaning products are available in bottles of various sizes, and you should be aware that the price of several small packages will be much more expensive than buying one large bottle.

Conclusion

After reading this article, it becomes clear that the independent cleaning of home sewage, while possessing certain knowledge is available not only to experienced apartment owners, but also to ordinary housewives.