Have a Slow Draining Floor Drain?
The floor drain in your basement, mudroom or laundry room is an essential plumbing feature that prevents flooding and slippery floors. Old pipes lined with gunk, grease and residue can lead to a slow-flowing drain. Floor drains that flow too slowly or become completely clogged can cause flooding. If water is rising coming up the floor drain, rather than just not going down, you may be dealing with a much larger issue. Before you call a local plumber near you in Utah, check out the DIY steps we have listed below for unclogging your floor drain.
Flooding is hazardous to health and can cause significant property damage. If your floor drain issue has caused significant flooding, we recommend you contact the Any Hour plumbing company for emergency service. We can safely unclog your drain and help you prevent if from clogging again.
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DIY Tips for a Slow Draining Floor Drain
Check the Drain Strainer
Floor drains are covered with a mesh or metal strainer to prevent hair, dirt and other debris from clogging the pipe. It's not unusual for a mess of hair, dirt and other debris to get caught here and slow down draining. If you spot some gunk stuck on top of the drain, grab a pair of gloves and remove it. If you see gunk just under the strainer, you will first have to unscrew the strainer (be careful not to drop the screws down the drain!).
Drain Snake or Wire Hanger
If no visible gunk or debris is clogging the strainer, the blockage may be further down the drain. To remove deeper blockages, you will need a drain snake or auger. Don't have one? Create one from a wire hanger! Take your tool of choice and feed the line into the length of the pipe until you feel resistance. Spin it around and push down into the blockage to break it up. Once you have broken through, pull the snake (or hanger) out and wipe it down, repeating a few times as necessary.
Plunger
If the clog is too deep for a snake or wire hanger to reach, you'll need a plunger. Place the plunger over the drain and quickly pump it up and down to create a suction force. After about ten or 15 plunges, you should feel less resistance. Once you have dislodged the blockage, pour some water down the drain to check if it is flowing properly again.
Baking Soda and Vinegar
If nothing above is working, your issue is most likely due to dirty pipes instead of a single blockage. Professional pipe cleaning is ideal here, but a baking soda and vinegar solution may work in a jiffy. Unscrew the drain strainer and pour half a cup of baking soda followed by half a cup of vinegar down the drain. The solution should foam and bubble; wait about ten minutes then flush the drain with boiling water. Your drain should now flow normally (and probably smell much nicer!).
Call a Professional
If you have tried all the steps above and your drain is still flowing slowly, you should reach out to a professional drain expert plumber in Utah. Slow flowing drains are more often related to old, grimey pipes than blockages and this requires professional drain cleaning. The Any Hour team has the tools, techniques and technology necessary to expertly clean any drain. With hydro jetting, pipe augers and excavation options, we can have your pipes flowing like brand new in no time.
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Our trustworthy professionals promise to take the time to inspect your pipes to get to the bottom of the problem. We can show you live footage of the inside of some of your pipes with our drain camera technology so you can see the problem yourself. Before beginning any work, we will explain the process to you and answer any questions. We promise you will be impressed with our fair pricing and incredibly friendly customer service. Contact us today to request an appointment for floor drain cleaning!