What To Do When You Have A Clogged Drain

Many Oakland County Plumbing residents ask us, “How do I unclog a drain?” Even

more Macomb County Plumbing residents in historic neighborhoods ask “Do I need a

plumber to fix a clogged drain?” While sometimes a quick plunger is all you need to

loosen a clog, there’s a few reasons you might just need to call the Go-To Pro Plumbing

team.

If your pipes are leaking or clogging up a lot, you are hearing noises in your plumbing, or your water pressure keeps getting lower, it’s a pretty good sign that you may be approaching the time to replace your pipes. Contact Go-To Pro Plumbing today to assess the life of your plumbing system.

Let’s start with what not to do:

They promise quick clog busting and sure, it might seem like a fast and cheap solution to drop in some of the well-advertised drain clog busters, but it could be a big (and expensive!) mistake that ends up with replacing your pipes. The problem with these cleaners is that they are corrosive and could eat away at your pipes, especially if they end up sitting in the bend of a pipe because of a clog further down the line. 

Maybe you can just poke away the clog.  Or maybe you can stick something in there and grab it.  More likely, you’re going to push the clog deeper or possibly bust a pipe. Don’t try this at home.  And if you do, here’s our number when it goes wrong - (586) 250-2881.

You can’t rent a snake from the local hardware store. You can also rent a backhoe, but you don’t know how to use that either.  Just like the homemade tools, you could do more damage. The difference is that the professional tool can do even more damage and lead to even more costly repairs.

So what can you do?

Unplug the disposal first, for safety. Check to see if there is something that clogged the disposal, preventing the drain from functioning properly. Remove any obstructions, plug it back in and then run it. 

Boil a small pot of water, less than would fill the sink, and pour it into the drain. This will often warm obstructions and lubricate the pipes enough to move them along. 

Fill the sink enough to allow for a tight seal around the plunger head. Place over the drain and give a few strong plunges. If the plug clears, run warm water to flush the drain.

We are experienced with unclogging drains. We’ve even got a funny list of things we’ve seen in clogged drains. Give us a call, we’re ready to help.