Clearing the Clogs (Clear Clogged Plumbing)

 By Matt Weber

 Solving common household drain problems.

Everybody knows that plumbing can be a messy, smelly and altogether nasty job. Nobody wants to do it except plumbers, who make good money doing the work nobody else wants to undertake. The best way to handle a plumbing problem is to avoid it completely, but once the pipes are clogged you can usually solve the problem by following the guidelines detailed here.

Go with the Flow

Let’s start with the basics of a drain system: Water is carried away from sinks and appliances and out of the home by gravity, which forces the water through pipes ranging in size from 1-1/4 to 4 inches in diameter. The size of the pipe depends on the size of the fixture. The larger the plumbing fixture, the larger the drainpipe. Kitchen and bath sinks typically drain into 1-1/4- or 1-1/2-inch waste pipe. Two-inch pipes are common for laundry drains, and 3-inch pipes are used for most residential toilets.

However, don’t think that the bigger the pipe, the better the drainage. On the contrary, the extra space within the pipe actually dissipates the pressure built by the water’s gravitational flow. As a result, a smaller pipe maintains greater pressure and transports water more efficiently.

Each fixture has a drain equipped with a trap, made from curved sections of drainpipe. Traps hold a small amount of water that seals the pipe to keep sewage gasses from backing up into the house. They’re also handy for catching wayward objects that disappear down sink drains, such as toothbrushes, hair clasps, etc., which can be rescued by using a wrench to unscrew the trap.