INDIANAPOLIS — Thanksgiving is just more than a week away. That means guests bringing extra traffic to your house and extra stress on your plumbing.
To make sure your pipes and drains are ready to receive, Pat from Sullivan Hardware and Garden shared some easy and economical preparations you can do now to save you from stopping down from enjoying your turkey because your uncle stopped up something else.
Several drain-clearing products that come in powder or liquid can help dissolve built-up organic matter in your sink drains that slow flow and begin to smell. You may need more frequent applications to start, but once a month is a good maintenance interval after that.
Tree roots can penetrate older sewer lines over time, creating clogs. But flushing a teaspoon of root killer down the toilet regularly will kill any new growth before it becomes a bigger - and more expensive - problem.
Physical tools like a plunger and toilet auger will come in handy if your stool gets clogged above the sewer line. Pat recommends a plunger molded with a flange.
An auger consists of a short hollow pole with a hand crank that sends a coiled metal snake down the drain to physically push or pull an obstruction until it is no longer clogging your pipe.
For sinks, augers are too big and cumbersome, so Pat recommends a "hair snake" to clear debris that accumulates in your drain. They sell for a few dollars and fish out hair and other gunk that tends to build up between the sink drain and pipe trap under your sink.
Watch Pat's full segment from 13Sunrise in the video player.