There are some home maintenance tasks that tend to slip off of the radar, and drain cleaning is one of them. As NYC plumbers, one of the questions we often hear – usually when we’re responding to a situation where a clogged drain has caused a real mess for the homeowner – is how often is drain cleaning really necessary?
Drains in and of themselves are not particularly complicated. They’re simply pipes that carry water and waste material away from your home. You’ve got drains coming from your sinks, shower, bathtub, washing machine, and any appliance that involves running water, such as a dishwasher. You’ve also got drains coming from your toilet: these are known as sewer drain pipes.
Every time water and waste material passes through a drain, some particulate matter accumulates on the sides of the pipe. You know how soap scum can build up inside the shower? It can do the same thing in your pipes – and so can grease, hair, dirt, grime, and lots of other things that commonly make their way down drains. Over the course of time, this materials accumulate to the point where they block the passage of water. Clogged pipes cause water and waste material to back up into the living space – a very unpleasant situation.
As a good best practice, having your drains cleared once every year or two will prevent most clogs. Busier, active families that do a lot of cooking and cleaning up tend to need the drains cleaned more often than people who live alone.
The best time to have your drains cleaned is before you they clog up! Honestly there’s no nastier, more unpleasant smelling mess than what you get when your drainage pipes back up. And as you can imagine sewer drain pipe clogs are the worst of the worst. To spare yourself the stress, mess, and aggravation, it’s a good idea to have drain cleaning in NYC performed once every 18 months – 2 years.
