If you own your own home or even rent, you understand how urgent certain home plumbing repairs can be. When you have a plumbing emergency in your home, it is helpful to have a fast and reliable plumber you can call, but it’s also handy to have the skills and knowledge to make your own minor repairs. One of the most common reasons for plumbers to make house calls is a clogged drain. In many cases, you can save yourself some time and money by clearing the drain yourself, but don’t hesitate to call a good plumber in Gig Harbor WA if you get in over your head.
What You’ll Need
There are three basic tools every homeowner or renter should keep on hand for clearing minor stoppages in your plumbing system. You will want both a flange plunger and a cup plunger, each specifically designed for clearing stoppages in toilets and flat drains such as sinks and bath or shower drains. In case a plunger doesn’t do the trick (although most of the time it will), you should have a sink auger on hand, as many plumbers do, to clear stoppages deeper in the waste system.
Flange Plunger
A flange plunger is specifically designed for use in toilets due to the shape of a toilet bowl. The special shape of the flange plunger provides a seal to the opening in the bottom of a toilet bowl which maintains the vacuum pressure required for the plunging action to be effective. If you have a stopped toilet, don’t flush. Just grab your flange plunger and gently set it against your toilet bowl drain, allowing it to fill with water. Once it’s seated, carefully plunge until the water starts to recede, and then remove the plunger and flush.
Cup Plunger
A cup plunger is designed for use in sinks, showers, and bathtubs. Its design uses a simple suction cup to form a seal between the flat surface of a sink, shower, or tub. To use a cup plunger in a sink (showers and tubs are similar), first, make sure that there is no debris in the bottom of the sink near the drain, and then gently push the plunger into the sink and allow the cup to fill with water. Once you have firmly placed the cup over the drain, plunge by rapidly pushing the handle up and down until the clog is broken and the water level begins to drop. Then flush the sink with hot water to completely clear the stoppage.
Sink Auger
A sink auger is a spool of spring steel cable wound on a rotating drum. It has an auger bit attached to the loose end, which is designed to be inserted into a drain and rotated to break up stoppages in the plumbing. A sink auger is an indispensable tool to plumbers in Gig Harbor WA. To use a sink auger for stubborn stoppages, remove the drain basket or stopper from the sink or tub and slowly feed the auger into the drain until you feel resistance. Then lock the auger cable to the drum and rotate it using the hand crank while continuing to feed the cable into the drain until the water starts to drain. The Wind up the auger, flush the drain with hot water, and you’re done.
