logo

505-859-4329
Serving Albuquerque, NM, Rio Rancho, NM and surrounding areas

First Rate Plumbing Heating and Cooling Inc Blog

How Chemical Cleaners Damage Your Pipes

Mar 6, 2023

plumber-snaking-a-drain-to-remove-a-clog

The commercial comes on TV for a simple little bottle that you pour down the drain, and it washes all your troubles away. An end-all solution to clogs. Sounds good too good to be true, right?

That’s because it is. Even chemical cleaners who are “safe” for your pipes can still cause problems that you don’t encounter with drain cleaning in Albuquerque, NM.

An $8 purchase from your local store is more attractive than investing money in drain cleaning, which is exactly how they get you. We’ll explain how these chemicals can cause long-term damage, and what they really do to your pipes.

We know–a plumbing company telling you that a competing option for drain cleaning isn’t the best choice. Everything we’re about to show you is accessible through numerous sources for you to look up at your leisure. Let’s get into it.

 

Long-Term Corrosion

Using a chemical unclogger once doesn’t mean your pipes are going to start sprouting leaks. It causes corrosion, which leads to leaks and breakdowns, but it’s not immediate.

If you’re likely to use a chemical unclogger once, then what’s stopping you from using it again? After all, it provides a short-term solution and you don’t have to shell out money for a plumber.

But then it becomes a habit, and corrosion becomes an ever-growing problem from there on out. As chemicals start to break down a clog, a reaction occurs that heats up.and eats away at your pipes.

Metal, plastic, copper–it doesn’t matter. Chemical cleaners will damage all kinds of pipes.

They Push Clogs Further Down

One clog is broken up just enough to be knocked loose, then what? It’s not going to dissolve it into nothing. That obstruction will travel further down your pipes.

This leads to the potential problem of a clogged sewer line, which is one of the last plumbing problems you ever want to encounter in your home.

At that point, you may need a plumber anyway. Hydro-jetting your pipes could send the clog through your sewer line, or the solution might be more invasive depending on the severity of the clog.

Chemicals Are a Band-Aid, Not a Solution

While a chemical cleaner can break up a clog in a pipe, once it finds a way to leak through, it does. Then it stops “working” on that clog.

Instead of removing a clog entirely, it essentially eats through a small area of it to create a narrow passage. Then debris catches onto the remaining clog and turns into a blockage once again.

Professional drain cleaning uses hydro jetting and snakes to really grab the clog (and anything else in your pipes that shouldn’t be there) and clear it all out.

The Damage Isn’t Worth the Convenience

It’s convenient to dump a bottle down the drain and wait thirty minutes, but it’s not effective and it causes long-term damage. You know what the better solution is.

Professional drain cleaning services provide you with non-chemical solutions that actually unclog your pipes. Band-aid solutions aren’t a wise investment in your home–drain cleaning services are.

Contact First Rate Plumbing Heating and Cooling Inc today to schedule your next drain cleaning. Quality work, exuberant service.

Categories: Plumbing

Search