5 Reasons You Should Not Use Chemical Drain Cleaners

It is a common human trait to go for quick fixes most of the time, and nowhere is that trait more apparent when we experience clogged drains at home. At the slightest sign of a clogged drain, the first thing that most of us immediately do is to buy the strongest chemical drain cleaner we can find, and pour it down there.

While they have become a popular way of unblocking clogged drains, there are a number of reasons why you should not use chemical drain cleaners every single time your drains get clogged. Here are five of them.

1. Chemical Drain Cleaners are Hazardous to your health

That instant drain cleaner you usually buy at the nearest hardware store typically contains chemicals with known carcinogens, as usually indicated on their warning labels. These chemical drain cleaners, when used, also produce poisonous and obnoxious fumes that could cause respiratory problems when inhaled. The fumes from these chemical drain cleaners can also irritate your eyes, skin, ear, nose, mouth, and throat.

2. Household Drain-Cleaning products can damage Pipes and Fixtures

Hydrochloric acid is a common ingredient in household drain-cleaning products, and it’s strong enough to burn through pipes and brass traps and cause leaks. The enamel-based finishes of bathtubs and sinks can also be damaged by hydrochloric acid.

3. Chemical Drain Cleaners are not Environmentally Friendly

After they vanish down your drains, chemical drain cleaners then make their way to the local municipal waste plant, treated with sewage and released into the water supply, where most of its ingredients remain toxic. When you throw its containers away, they make it to the landfill, where residuals of the chemicals go into the ground.

4. Household Drain-Cleaning Products can get Explosive

There have been numerous reports of chemical drain cleaners just exploding, particularly when it comes into contact with other chemicals in the drain. The explosive reaction is powerful enough to rip through a bathtub or a sink and injure anyone in close proximity.

5. Chemical Drain Cleaners do not always Work

Sure, chemical drain cleaners are advertised to dissolve hair or garbage trapped in the drain, but hair and are garbage are not the only possible causes of clogged drains. For all you know, the blocked drain is caused by tree roots, which certainly would take more than just chemical drain cleaners to remove. Even then, chemical drain cleaners do not really instantly dissolve or break up the things that clog up the pipes instantly, contrary to what the ads say.

You can actually make your own drain cleaner using baking soda, vinegar, and boiling water, but it would not be as effective at unblocking your drain as getting a professional to do it for you. As mentioned above, there are many other possible reasons for your blocked drains. The only way to find out for sure is to hire plumbers who have the skills, experience, and tools necessary to clear your blocked drains efficiently and quickly. Call us at Beez Neez plumbing if you have clogged drains, and we’ll certainly send over someone who can deal with it in no time.