Plumbers can instruct you how to do all types of plumbing repairs, they can even teach you to clean your drain. Homeowners who video chat with a plumber before they attempt to do a plumbing repair themselves are more likely to do it correctly. This is the secret to doing plumbing yourself and actually saving money and time.

Drain Cleaning Tips from a Plumber via Video Chat

Your home's drain waste and vent system was installed by plumbers when the home was being built. There are various plumbing drain pipes located under the floor in the foundation, in walls up to the attic, through the attic to the roof, and out through a pipe with a roof flashing to open air. The movement of the wastewater through the pipes causes air to be pushed and pulled throughout the drainage system. The air is pulled from the vent through your home's roof and pushed out through another vent along the way as the wastewater travels through the pipe. There are combination drain and vent systems where the drainage pipe is larger and the displaced air actually travels above the wastewater flowing in the pipe. The most common reasons for drain problems are listed below and can be fixed by you when you ask a plumber how.

Clean Sink Drain with a Hand Held Auger

Repair open sink drains that are missing strainers or that are missing the pop-up drain stopper. Sink drains that are missing the stoppers are subject to allowing foreign objects to fall into them from around the sink drain and become lodged, causing a drain blockage.

Clean Grease from the Kitchen Sink Drain Pipes

Many plumbers advise against pouring grease down the kitchen drain because the pipes will become clogged over time without proper maintenance. Grease combined with food scraps from the garbage disposal build up and can clog the kitchen drain or even the sewer pipe further down the line.

Plumbers Clean Powdered Laundry Soap from Washer Drains

Powdered washing detergents and or powdered dishwasher soap do not completely break down in today's water-saving machines and appliances causing the powdered soap to pass through into the drain pipe. This soap that does not dissolve builds up in the drainpipe over time. In some cases, it mixes with the grease further down the line causing rock-hard sewer blockages that require expensive equipment and skilled drain-cleaning contractors to clear.

Plumbers Find Broken Drain Pipes as They Clean Drains

When drain pipes break in the foundation drain problems will show themselves rather quickly. The pipe breaks or separates from a fitting below the foundation causing waste matter to become clogged as it passes through the break or separation. Some homes experience sewer pipe breaks in the yard and even at the sewer tap or the septic tank drain pipe connection.

Plumbers Find Dips and Bellies in Sewer Pipe

A dip or belly in a sewer pipe is caused when the fill dirt below the pipe settles allowing the drainpipe to sag. This causes the wastewater to sit in the drainage pipe instead of flowing through to the sewer system. In some cases, this happens when the original plumber bows a drainage pipe close to where the drain pipe stubs up through the foundation into the wall. This causes the drainpipe to have a belly and over time your home will begin to experience drain failure.

Poorly Flushing Toilets Can Cause Toilet Drains to Clog

When wastewater enters the drainage system from a poorly flushing toilet the solid waste carried by the water stops in the middle of the drainage pipe causing the next two or three solids to back up. This combined with any defective workmanship provided by the original plumber will cause your home to require the drain cleaned and a new toilet installation.