Clogged up pipes and drains 

At Glasgow Plumbing Services, we deal with clogged up pipes and drains every single day so here are our top tips in getting you up and running at home before having to call for a professional plumber.

The best solution here is to be careful what goes down the sink in the first place. Hair and soap scum clogging up bathroom sinks/showers/baths and fats and foodstuff blocking the kitchen sink are the most common problems. The symptoms of this are when water is slow to drain away or in severe cases, will not drain away at all (a complete blockage).  

 Should the situation arise where there is a partial blockage to your sink, pipe or drain then try the following tips:- 

-Simply try passing very hot/boiling water through the system to melt any fats and use the force of the water to pass the blockage out of the pipes. 

-Manually try to unblock anything with your fingers that is at the surface such as hair caught in a sink filter or sand caught in a drain. 

-Use baking soda and vinegar to  break up any unwanted clogs.  This causes a chemical reaction which acts to dissolve the blockage. Since we want the the reaction to take place at the blocked area, first pour in a cup of the baking soda then pour in a cup of the vinegar then leave for at least half an hour for the reaction to have effect. You can increase the measurements for a larger blocked area. Then wash away with boiling water and test if it has unblocked your pipe or drain. (Always use caution when using any chemicals- home made or shop bought – wear gloves and avoid contact with your skin and face, especially your eyes). Pouring in the hot water from an elevated height increases the force which can help to break up the blockage. Just be careful; if you are pouring water from too high then it will splash back and possibly burn you in the process. If you pour from too low then not enough force gets to the blocked area. If none of these tips work then it’s time to move onto the trusty plunger. A plumbers friend indeed.

-Use your plunger to force air pressure through the system to dislodge a clog. However, its effectiveness depends on the severity and location of the blockage. If the plunger is not sufficient, try a plumbers snake which is a long flexible rod designed to go round the bends in pipes and push this in as far as it will go and hopefully it will reach the blockage and have enough force to break through the clogged up area.

-If you feel confident in doing so, then you can remove the P-Trap and/or U-Bend to try and locate the blockage and then use the methods from above to try and remove the clogging in the pipe.

If this still doesn’t work then it’s time to call in the Drain Cleaning Experts in Glasgow on 0141-530-1315

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