Do You Really Need a Licensed Plumber When Dealing With Blocked Drains?

There are quite a few plumbing issues that we can DIY–among them are blocked drains. With boiling water or the vinegar and baking soda solution, we can unclog the sink and go back to our usual business. Well, that happens most of the time, but not always.

Sometimes, what causes our sinks to clog are huge debris or chunks of wastes that can’t be dissolved by boiling water or natural cleansers.

There are chemical ones, but you’ll want to avoid them as much as possible. For one, they are extremely dangerous and can actually poison you if you inhale it, plus it can also destroy your pipe lines. Either way, it’s better to call a licensed plumber than risk your health or pay thousands more for pipe replacement.

But when do you actually call a professional plumber?

How to Know You Need a Professional Plumber

Plumbers in Australia offer a variety of services from repairing busted pipe leaks to helping unclog blocked drains. Here are the times when you should accept defeat and call a plumber instead of taking on the matter in your own hands.

When you don’t have the proper tools

You might have tried pouring boiling water on your drain to no avail. So, you might have gone ahead and tried the vinegar and baking soda solution, which might have helped, but is not enough. Where do you go from there?

Typically, the next step is to use tools to unclog the drain. One of these is a hand plunger. You should choose cup-shaped ones and can either go with small, hand-held types or full-length ones. If plungers don’t work, you can move on to small “snakes” or hand-held augers that experts use to put in the sink and “catch” whatever is blocking the drain.

While these tools can be bought in most plumbing or hardware supply stores, not everyone has access to one or can’t get them.

It’s unwise to leave clogged drains. Not only is it frustrating to drain the water, it may also damage your pipeline, which is then another issue in itself. So, your best solution is to find a team of licensed plumbing experts located near you, such as emergency blocked drain Canberra plumbers. They have the right tools to do the job without compromising your plumbing system’s condition.

When your only tool doesn’t work

Not many of us have augers, but what if we do have a plunger we can use at home?

Plungers are rather easy to use, so if the clog is more stubborn than what you anticipated or is caused by an actual, solid object like a toy or a rock, then you can use your plunger to tackle the problem.

Again, you should use a cup-shaped plunger, which is specifically made for sinks. This type of plunger has a flat bottom rim with a shallow dome, allowing it to seal the drain hole.

Remove the metal stopper of your drain and then fill the sink halfway with water. Then, put the mouth of the plunger on the sink basin around the drain and then pump. Make sure to use fast and sharp plunges and check every now and then if it’s draining.

Unfortunately, the plunger may not be enough to unclog bigger blockage, so it might be time to call a plumber.

When there are multiple clogged drains

If your kitchen or bathroom sink can’t drain water, it’s best to check all the sinks in your home and see if they are working properly. If everything else works fine, then the blocked drain may be isolated and you can try to unclog it on your own.

However, if the other drains around your house are not working properly and you also can’t use the faucet, you’ve got a plumbing problem that you can’t solve without proper tools, knowledge, and skills. That means you should call a plumbing company.

The drain might be somewhere deeper in your plumbing system or the obstruction might be too big, or the new or replaced pipe might have been installed incorrectly. You might even be dealing with a busted pipe. You’ll never really know the issue and fix it without a professional to do it for you. The important thing is to never leave blocked drains, hoping they would unclog on their own.