What is your first instinct when your sink or bathtub has a clog? Perhaps it is to grab a plunger. If that doesn’t work though, you’re likely to try store-bought chemical drain cleaner. After all, it’s a quick and inexpensive way to remove a clog, right? While we agree that these cleaners work quickly and inexpensively, we do not recommend using them.
The reason for this is because the chemical makeup of these cleaners has an adverse effect on plumbing systems—which defeats the purpose! Keep reading to learn more about why we do not encourage the use of these cleaners, and why “quick and inexpensive” is not always the better choice.
Store-Bought Drain Cleaners are a Temporary Fix
Drain clogs such as hair buildup or soap scum buildup do seem to dissipate when you use these cleaners, so what’s the problem? That hair and/or soap is still left behind—for one. Though it’s been thinned out and lets water flow freely for a while, these clogs can and do quickly build back up, leaving you with the same problem that you had before and potentially impacting other drains in your home.
Toxicity
Store-bought drain cleaners are composed of ingredients which can be damaging to your plumbing. Lye and sulfuric acid are frequently found in these products, and stay in your drains long after you’ve rinsed the cleaner out. Eventually this causes corrosion and begins to break your pipes down. Additionally, these ingredients are harmful to people and pets—even just the fumes can make a healthy person ill.
This toxicity is also terrible for the environment. Because of the consistency of drain cleaners, there is still some left in the bottle when you throw it away. So when these bottles make it to a landfill, the acidic ingredients inside them begin seeping into the ground-contaminating the soil and groundwater.
For truly thorough drain cleaning in Millcreek, UT, contact the team that inspires our customers to say, “I love my Design Comfort!”
