3 Valuable Plumbing Tools If You Get Frequent Grease Clogs In Your Pipes
Grease is one of the most common causes of kitchen pipe clogs. When the clog is near the surface, the problem can be fixed by simply taking apart the pipes under the sink and scraping or forcing out the grease clog. Deeper grease clogs can prove more difficult to remove.
Augers and snakes don't always work the best with grease clogs since there isn't really any solid matter for the tool to latch into in order to break it or pull it free. But there are a few valuable tools in the plumbing supplies aisle that might help if you get frequent grease clogs in your pipes. You might want to also consider calling in a professional plumber to make sure your pipes don't have some sort of structural problem that is helping the grease clogs form.
Drain Bladder
A drain bladder is shaped somewhat like a more flexible version of the float balloon in your toilet tank. The drain bladder is designed to go down into your drain pipes. But first you hook a hose to the end closest to you to supply the water pressure that the bladder will then target straight at the grease clog.
The pressurized blast of water can knock out tough grease clogs with the sheer force of the water. This is also, unfortunately, a bad way to find out you have some loosely connected pipes that will now rupture apart. So you should really only use a drain bladder if you are confident in your plumbing system.
You also want to stand clear of the drain while the bladder is in action. In rare cases, the bladder can prematurely deflate and send the pressurized water up rather than down.
Boiling Water Plus a Snake or Auger
No, a snake or auger alone won't help out much to get rid of a grease clog. But the tools can still come in handy if you pour some boiling water down the drain first. The boiling water will soften the grease up and potentially wash away a good chunk of the grease in the process. You can then follow up with a snake or auger to try and get the remaining bits, which should stick to the tool while warm and softened.
Make sure you pour the boiling water in carefully if you don't know how deep down the clog is located. You don't want your sink backing up with boiling water, which would make the snaking or auger process dangerous.
Snakes and augers work on similar principles. You feed in a narrow but specially shaped end and turn a crank to keep it going until it reaches the clog. You then can alternate pushing and pulling to try and get the grease loose before cranking the tool back up to you.
Still can't get the grease out of the drain? Call a company like A Absolute Plumbing & Heating.