Why Using Store Bought Drain Cleaners Could Damage Your Plumbing and also comes with a warning!
For a lot of people, drain pipes are the last thing they think about until something happens to signal that there is a problem requiring drain cleaners. The most common signal is a clogged sink that obviously tells the homeowner that there is something somewhere in the drain pipes that is blocking the flow of water. At the first sign of a clogged drain, most homeowners would try to de-clog the drain by poking wire hangers into the sink. Others would run to the nearest grocery store to get a liquid cleaner that promises to de-clog the drain in minutes. Only a few would be sensible enough to call emergency plumbers to have the problem checked.
Unfortunately, poking the drain with wire hangers and pouring a good amount of store bought cleaners are not enough to solve the problem. The truth is, only a licensed plumber can truly solve clogged drain problems. Wire hangers can only reach as far as it can. It might be able to get some dirt out of the drain but this is only temporary relief especially if the cause of the drain problem is located deep into the drain pipes. Meanwhile, a store bought drain cleaner may solve the problem but like poking wire hangers into the sink in an effort to de-clog the drain, it also serves as a temporary relief. It might solve the problem for awhile but what homeowners don’t know is that it could cause more problems to them, their furniture and even the environment.
Store bought cleaners are made of toxic chemicals and therefore they pose a threat to one’s health as well as the environment. Chemicals such as sulfuric acid, caustic soda, and sodium hydroxide are found in store bought drain cleaners. The main function of these chemicals is to melt or “eat away” at whatever it is causing the blockage in the drain such as hair, dirt, grease and soap. Just as it “eats away” at the materials causing the blockage, it can also eat away at the health of the person using it. Direct contact on the skin could cause serious burns and if it gets into the eyes it can cause blindness. Inhaling the fumes from the drain cleaner could burn the esophagus according to some scientists. Aside from one’s health, the chemicals in drain cleaners can cause damage to home furniture if the liquid comes in contact with the furniture. When this happens there is a possibility that the fumes would spread throughout the house and could cause health dangers especially to children.
As mentioned, the chemicals in drain cleaners are not only hazardous to one’s health it is also hazardous to the environment. When the chemicals are washed down the drain pipes, it can go to the water treatment plants and these could pose a great danger not only to the homeowner but also to other people who are getting their water source from the water treatment plants. While it is true that the water treatment plants are equipped to filter dangerous substances they are not designed to filter chemicals such as those found in drain cleaners.
It is for the above reasons that it is best that when homeowners experience problems in their drain pipes, they should hire emergency plumbers to solve the problem for them. The cost of hiring professionals might be more compared to getting a bottle of drain cleaners from the grocery store, but the drain cleaners do not give permanent relief and could cause more harm than good.
