There’s good reason why Seattle, WA is called the “Emerald City.” With its abundance of greenery and tall, reflective buildings, it often has a bright, greenish hue when viewed from a distance. The clean air and visually stunning landscape of this heavily treed location come paired with residential drain and sewer pipe issues. While you might love the beautiful foliage that flourishes in your yard, tree and weed roots pose a significant danger to your home’s wastewater system. For this and many other reasons, regular drain cleaning should be a top priority for locals.
What Is Drain Cleaning?
Drain cleaning is an important part of home plumbing maintenance. If you own a home, you should have its drains cleaned at least once each year.
During drain cleaning, plumbers use retractable, mechanized tools to slough off or flush out trapped debris. Drain cleaning removes tough buildups of:
- Soap scum
- Hair
- Grease
- Body oils
- Biofilm
It opens the interior of wastewater pipes to prevent problems like drain clogs, slow-moving drains, and foul drain odors.
Drain Cleaning for Potential Drain Clogs
In addition to annual drain maintenance, you should schedule drain cleaning when you notice the signs of potential drain clogs:
- Frequent overflows
- Standing water around plumbing fixtures
- Rank sewer gas odors
- Gurgling or bubbling sounds
Blocked and slow-moving drains often leave heavy buildups of soap scum and other residual waste in shower pans, sinks, and tubs.
Support Water-Efficient Plumbing Fixtures
Many homeowners in Western Washington have upgraded to water-efficient plumbing fixtures. These fixtures use less water than their alternatives, which makes them perfect for both budget-conscious and eco-conscious consumers. However, if you have low-flow toilets in your home, you’ll also experience fewer toilet clogs when you have clean drains.
Drain Cleaning Protects Your Sewer Pipe
Drain cleaning and sewer line cleaning aren’t the same. While you should have your drains cleaned at least once annually, you should have your sewer pipe cleaned every 18 to 24 months. However, drain cleaning is still an effective prevention for sewer line problems, including whole-house backups.
Flush Out Built-Up Debris Before It Stagnates in Your Sewer Pipe
All the drains in your home converge onto your sewer line. Thus, the waste that builds up in your drains can eventually make its way into your sewer pipe. Having heavy deposits of hard water sediment, biofilm, and general drain slime enter your sewer line can undermine this pipe’s integrity and create tiny access points for underground roots.
Identify and Address Sewer Line Problems Early On
Drain cleaning also gives plumbers the chance to detect and mitigate whole-house backups caused by clogged sewer lines before they occur. If you have a single dirty drain in a high-use area, this isn’t a big deal. However, if your plumber notices that all your drains are dirty, malodorous, and slow-moving at once, you’ll need an emergency intervention. Spotting an impending backup during annual drain maintenance will prevent waste and wastewater from backing up into your home.
Limit Your Risk of Indoor Mold With Drain Cleaning
Western Washington is home to many temperate rainforest ecosystems. With heavy rains and lots of trees nearby, Seattle offers ideal conditions for both indoor and outdoor mold. Having dirty, slow-moving drains inside your home will add even more moisture to your indoor air. As it evaporates, the trapped water in blocked or slow-moving drains could leave your bathrooms and kitchens feeling muggy and oppressive.
Keep Your Home Odor-Free and Protect Your IAQ
Slow-moving drains are rife with harmful bacteria. In addition to setting the stage for mold infestation, dirty drains can also fill your home with pungent, unpleasant aromas. Drain cleaning flushes out foul-smelling biofilm, food debris, and other organic waste.
Maintain Pristine Plumbing Fixtures
Dirty, slow-moving drains can leave your costly plumbing fixtures looking dingy and stained. Slow-moving wastewater can also increase the likelihood and severity of hard water buildups. Although Seattle has relatively soft water compared to other locations, homes with aging pipes can still experience ongoing problems with hard water sediment.
Preserve the Value of Your Property
By limiting your risk of mold, preventing problems with humidity, and helping plumbers catch and correct impending backups, annual drain cleaning can preserve the value of your property. In Seattle and the surrounding areas, regular drain cleaning also eliminates stagnant water and potential food sources for rodents and other common household pests.
Drain cleaning creates a clean and healthy environment for everyone in your home. Our residential plumbing services pros offer top-notch drain and sewer line cleaning services. We also provide expert drain replacement. For help keeping the drains in your Seattle home clean, get in touch with us at Rush Plumbing Inc today.
