Why Can’t I Use Chemicals to Clean My Drains?

Television commercials that feature clog removal with an over-the-counter drain cleaner make the process seem so simple: pour the liquid down the drain, wait a little bit, and poof! Your drain is clear. Unfortunately, this is not really how these types of cleaners work. The best way to ensure that you truly remove a clog safely and effectively is to call for a professional plumber. Professional plumbers, like the ones at Bell Plumbing and Heating, have the training, the tools and the expertise to clean or unclog your drains, so call us today.

How Chemical Cleaners Work

Chemical drain cleaners are highly caustic, which means that the chemicals in the cleaner actually generate heat. The way these types of cleaners remove items in your drains is to dissolve them away; in a way, they chemical burn or oxidize the materials causing the clog. One of the major problems with this approach is that these chemicals can be so caustic that they also burn your piping. Plastic plumbing piping can actually melt from these kinds of drain cleaners and metal can corrode because the chemicals eat it. You may be wondering how this kind of damage can happen so quickly, which leads us to the second problem: these types of cleaners hang around in your plumbing for weeks or even months. Chemical drain cleaners are either thick liquids or gels that are designed to cling to your pipes in order to clean them, giving them the ability to hang around and work on your piping.

Chemical Drain Cleaners and Toilets

Chemical drain cleaners can be so adverse to your toilet that there are usually warnings on the bottles not to use them on a toilet clog. Here’s why: as mentioned above, the chemical cleaner is made to cling. As such, it will cling to your toilet’s bowl and eat away at the porcelain and the plumbing. Porcelain is fairly fragile and the caustic nature of the drain cleaner can cause cracking; additionally, the chemicals will also eat away at your toilet’s plumbing.

The bottom line: don’t use chemical drain cleaners to fix slow drains, clogged ones or handle toilet clogs. Instead, call Bell Plumbing and Heating and schedule drain cleaning for your home in Sheridan.