Throughout the year, the drain pipe from your kitchen sink tends to clog up from all the vegetable peels, food scraps, and used cooking oil that gets dumped down the drain. Your bathroom sinks and shower drains suffer the same fate from hair and soap scum. And do we even need to talk about the toilets?

Your home’s drains and sewer lines need deep cleaning and routine maintenance just like all the other areas of your house. So, as you create your family spring cleaning checklist this year, be sure to include these four budget-friendly drain cleaning tasks.

1. Avoid Harsh Chemical Drain Cleaners

When it comes to drain cleaning, most homeowners instinctively reach for those bottles of chemical drain cleaners sold at every big-box hardware store. While those products are effective at clearing some drain clogs, they can be harmful to your plumbing or septic system. And if some splashes up into your face or gets on your skin and clothes, it can do permanent damage. So, we don’t generally recommend these products.

2. Try Cheap DIY Drain Cleaning Using Common Household Items

Instead of harsh chemicals, try using safer DIY drain cleaning products. A tried-and-true combo that you should use several times a year is vinegar, baking soda, and boiling hot water.

Pour a half cup of baking soda down into the drain. Then, pour a half cup of vinegar down the drain. Plug the drain to keep the foaming action down in the pipes to work its magic. Let the mixture sit for about an hour, and then follow up by pouring a pot of boiling hot water down the drain to flush it all down.

3. Install Drain Screens and Guards

Another quick and cheap – yet very effective – drain cleaning method is to put simple drain covers on your sink and shower drains in the kitchen and bathroom. These will catch all that gunk mentioned above and keep it from entering your drains in the first place.

Shower drain plates can be screwed down permanently. Or you can place removable screens that simply rest in or on top of the tub and sink drains.

4. Schedule Professional Drain Cleaning Annually

The simple low-cost drain cleaning tips above are great to do all year and will go a long way toward keeping your drains clear and preventing clogs down in your sewer lines. But if you already have slow drains and stubborn clogs that aren’t helped by these methods, it’s time to call in the pros.

Our professional plumbers will use advanced mechanical methods like drain snaking to reach stubborn clogs deep down inside your drain pipes. And if the problem runs even deeper into your main sewer line, a video camera inspection can pinpoint the exact location and cause of the clog.

If you live in Albuquerque, NM and need professional drain cleaning services, contact All-Out Plumbing and Mechanical today to set up an appointment.