5 Drain Maintenance Tasks to Get Ready for Winter
Winter is coming! It is never too late to prepare the home and the plumbing for the freezing cold weather to come. It’s a good idea to get your plumbing out of the way before winter comes because no one wants to do work during the coziest season of the year! The drain is one of the highest maintenance parts of your house’s plumbing, always requiring cleaning, draining, or fixing. With that being said, we have provided a list of the 5 drain maintenance tasks to get ready for winter so you don’t have to deal with it during the holiday season. It’s never too early to get ready for winter:
- Unclog All the Drains in the House
To prepare for winter, you want to go around to every drain in the house and make sure they are not clogged. Once you have checked each drain you need to remove any hair or dirt that is currently in there now, because once winter comes it will have a greater chance of being clogged. Remove what you can, for now, so you won’t have to deal with it during the winter. This can result in paying unnecessary emergency plumbing charges, as noted by Kwiatowski Plumbing who deals with harsh Pittsburgh winters.
If you find any clogged drains, don’t wait on fixing them! Unclog any clogged areas, because the longer you wait the worse it gets. It just takes a few minutes for each drain to be unclogged of any hair or dirt. The best way to unclog your drains is by using baking soda and vinegar, boiling water, or the using a drain snake.
- Clean Your Drains
Going around to all your drains and cleaning them will further prevent them from being clogged during the winter. Nobody wants to clean our drains during the time of year you need to prepare for guests, bake your favorite foods, or want to cozy up by a fire and not move. By using baking soda and vinegar you will be able to effectively clear your drains. In fact, if you repeat this once a month, it will significantly reduce the frequency of clogs.
*Tip: Take one-half cup of baking soda and pour it into the drain followed by an equal amount of vinegar. Plug your drains with bathroom stoppers or sink plugs and let it sit overnight. The next day pours boiling water over each drain.
- Ensure All Sinks and Showers Are Draining Properly
It is always a good idea to make sure all your showers, sinks, and even your toilets are draining properly. Just because your drain is cleaned or unclogged does not mean it drains properly. In fact, a lot of drainage issues come from the pipes and not the drain itself. If you find that water is building up and not draining properly after you’ve cleaned it out, you need to contact your local plumber.
- Perform Hot Water Flushing
If you do not have time to clean drains with cleaner, or if you already have but you want to ensure they are in perfect condition for winter, simply pour boiling hot water over every drain. You can repeat this weekly.
- Use Cold Water
Use cold water in the kitchen sink. It will keep oils and grease in a solid state so the garbage disposal will break it up. If you use hot water, it will cause grease and oils to coat your drain.
