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When you’re washing dishes or taking a shower the last thing, you want to see is the water refusing to run down the drain. A clogged drain can cause a lot of problems for your plumbing and while you could certainly invest in short-term solutions like a drain snake from the hardware store or a big bottle of drain cleaning chemicals, the best way to get your drains clean and make sure there aren’t any serious issues that caused the clog in the first place is to hire a drain cleaning service.

Clogged drains aren’t just caused by debris from the kitchen sink or hair in your shower drain. Older homes can suffer drain clogs from things like tree roots growing into older pipes. This is why using harmful chemicals isn’t the best way to handle a clogged drain – these chemicals can further erode old pipes which will eventually cause leaking pipes and costly repairs.

A drain cleaning should be considered a regular home-owners expense by most homeowners. It’s something you should plan to have done regularly – not just when an emergency arises. A good drain cleaning service company in Fort Worth, TX will be able to provide much more than snaking and chemicals. By considering drain cleaning a part of regular home maintenance you can be prepared for your plumber to provide a drain cleaning service at the same time every year and know what to expect in the case of an emergency.

By preparing your Fort Worth, TX home for regular drain cleanings there are some basic steps you should take. The first is to make sure that the pathway from your front door to your drain access point is kept clear. Most plumbing companies will ask that there is a least three feet of space near the drain access point so they can easily get all their equipment into place and be able to effectively and efficiently clean your drains. You’ll want to keep this area clear all year round as well because if an plumbing emergency arises with your drains you won’t want to be running around trying to make space to get to the access point!

In the same vein you’ll want to be sure you remove any fixtures or personal items that could be blocking the access point and make sure that any fixtures that may be disguising it can be easily and quickly removed in the case of an emergency. Again, you don’t want to be stuck essentially remodeling your bathroom because you can’t get to your drain access easily!

Do you use a septic system? Homeowners with septic systems should also make sure that septic services are regularly performed before scheduling a drain cleaning service. If your drain access point is hidden by your septic your plumber won’t be able to look at the problem much less perform any sort of drain cleaning.

When you schedule your regular drain cleaning service in Fort Worth, TX, you’ll want to be sure you have a list of any questions you want to ask your plumber before they begin. You want to know what they’ll be doing and how. If your drains are being cleaned because of an emergency, however, expect that the plumber will be asking most of the questions. In order to properly diagnose and treat the clog causing issue they will need to know things like whether you’ve had similar problems before and what those problems were. Things like weather and the age of your plumbing can lead to different reasons for a clogged drain.

Before they begin, a good drain cleaning service will lay out for you what they will do and what to expect. This is especially important during an emergency – if the cause of the clog is unknown a drain cleaning service may do a camera diagnostic so they can look into your pipes and see what the problem is. IF they feel the problem cannot be cleared or is outside the sewage line they will discuss what options you have before continuing. Additional diagnostic checks, such as testing the flow and fixtures, can help to solve the question of what is causing the clog, then your plumber will likely run their drain cleaning machine. During this time the lines will be cleared and if there’s nothing else wrong with your pipes then a final camera inspection will show that everything is in good shape. If the camera inspection shows broken or damaged sewer lines when the drain cleaning service is through, your plumber will be able to discuss with you at that time their recommendations for how to repair or replace the line.

An average drain cleaning takes between one and two hours to complete and will improve the longevity of your plumbing system. You should avoid trying to perform a drain cleaning service at home by yourself because of the damage home products can cause to your pipes – much like putting small objects in your ear to clean it out, forcing things down your drain just packs things in, it rarely cleans things out. Plumbers that offer drain cleaning services have been trained in the most effective and best quality solutions for keeping your homes drains clean and free of debris. They can quickly identify the cause of clogs and are trained to handle most of them as quickly and efficiently as possible so that your home isn’t without water and sewer for days at a time.

So, when you see your sink start to drain slower than normal don’t hesitate – call Benjamin Franklin Plumbing and schedule a service to have your drains professionally cleaned before a small inconvenience becomes a big problem in your home.