How to Fix a Clogged Drain: When Should You Call a Plumber

Clogs are never expected. They occur suddenly, most likely when you least expect them; at the worst possible time, like a Sunday evening or when you have guests over, and there you are, with an accumulation of dirty water inside your kitchen basin, trying to understand where you went wrong. 

If you have done enough clogged drain repairs in Toronto, you would certainly know how to detect a clog and why it happens. In most cases, aging of plumbing pipes, hard water, cold weather, and kitchen activity can all combine to form clogs that might go undetected by you until it becomes a serious issue. The point is that not all clogs need immediate assistance from an expert plumber. Some might be serious, but some might just be an indication of something more serious below your house.

What Usually Causes a Clogged Drain

Hair and soap scum collect gradually in bathroom sink and bathtub drains, and trust me, you don’t realize it until you find water accumulating at your feet level. Kitchen sink drains clog primarily due to grease and food debris washed down carelessly, and when this grease cools down in the drain pipe, it solidifies and traps any other waste coming through. 

The neighbourhoods in Toronto have mature trees with roots getting into old sewer lines, which is a much bigger problem than most people think for houses constructed many years back. The hard water creates mineral deposits in the pipes and gradually narrows the diameter of the piping system, and sometimes, a clog occurs for a silly reason, such as flushing a child’s toy. Toronto has a number of houses which are 100 years old, especially in the old areas of the city.

When You Should Actually Call a Plumber

An uncured obstruction can become an entire pipe repair job that will be much more expensive than it needs to be. This is the point where you should cease with trial-and-error solutions and contact a plumber from Toronto. 

• The obstruction recurs several days after clearing it yourself
• Several drains in your house run slowly or have backups simultaneously
• Using the toilet makes the water level rise in your bathtub or shower
• There is a sewage smell in the basement or around a floor drain
• Neither plunging nor snaking has solved the issue

Is It a Small Clog or Something Bigger

First of all, observe how the water flows down the drain. If it is a little slower than usual, you most likely have some small problem. In case there is no flow or the water is almost motionless, the issue lies elsewhere. Another indicator is the gurgling sound.

It indicates that there is some air trapped where it shouldn’t be. It usually means that you have an old blockage. Odour is another sign of blockage that you should pay attention to. If there is a smell of sewage coming from your drain, chances are the problem is quite serious. You should check more than one fixture.

DIY Fixes Worth Trying First

If the clog appears minor, then there is every possibility that you can solve the problem by yourself without even having to call any plumber. The following things will work, as they are tried in the sequence that most plumbers would recommend.

• Hot water: Use it in the process in a gradual manner, by pouring it in two or three stages, leaving an interval of one minute between pours. It is useful in handling problems arising from grease clogs in the kitchen because heat will break up the clog.
• Plunging: The right device must be used for this task, which means using a plunger having a flat bottom in the case of the sink and bathtub, making sure there is enough water in the basin to produce a vacuum.
• Sodium Bicarbonate & Vinegar: Pour half a cup of sodium bicarbonate into the drain and then a cup of vinegar. Fizzing is the normal reaction here, and in fifteen minutes’ time, use hot water to flush it. It is not magic, but it softens up the light build-up.
• Drain Snake or Wire Hanger: Gently put it in the drain until there is some resistance; twist it to capture the clog, which is usually hair. Do not push more because the clog will be pushed further down the pipe.
• P-trap Clean-Up: This is the curved part of the sink under the sink where the debris accumulates. Put a bucket under the part and unscrew it by hand or with pliers.

Why You Should Be Careful With Chemical Drain Cleaners

Many individuals turn to the drain cleaner solution first, even though it might appear like the easiest route to take, but not necessarily the most intelligent one. They have been known to wear out pipes over time, particularly the cast iron pipes used extensively in houses constructed before the sixties in Toronto.

However, in most cases, they manage to clear a part of the blocked drain while the rest remains intact, making the problem crop up again after only a couple of days. Also, if cutting into the pipe becomes necessary, it becomes tough for the plumber owing to the chemicals left behind by the process.

Drain Cleaning Versus Drain Repair

People mix these two up all the time, so here is the simple breakdown.

	Drain Cleaning Toronto	Drain Repair Toronto
What it fixes	Routine buildup like hair, grease, soap scum, and general blockages	Actual physical damage to the pipe itself
When you need it	Water is slow or blocked, but the pipe underneath is fine	Cracked sections, collapsed pipe, or roots that have broken through the line
Tools used	Motorized snake, hydro jetting	Camera inspection, excavation, pipe relining
Type of work	Routine maintenance	Structural fix
How often it happens	Every year or two for most homes, more often for older pipes	Only when there is real damage, not a regular occurrence
Typical cost range	Lower, since no digging is involved	Higher, since it may involve opening up the yard or lining the pipe

This is important because you wouldn’t want to spend money fixing something that should have just been cleaned, nor would you want to be paying for multiple cleanings of an issue that really should have been fixed to begin with.

Final Thoughts

While a blocked drain may be annoying, it surely is not such a big problem. You can try the simple solutions first, take note of the warning signs and don’t delay getting help if you see that nothing changes. If the methods of clearing a drain in your household are not working anymore, you’d better call the plumbing pros in Toronto.

In case you have to deal with a clogged drain that Toronto homeowners commonly experience, especially in the old property, the experts from Toronto Plumbing and Sewer will be able to check the situation and solve all your problems. We have been helping people in Toronto and its area with clogged drains and sewer system repairs for many years now. The specialists of our company can handle such plumbing tasks as drain unblocking, drain cleaning, drain jetting, camera drain inspections, and drain repair of the drains.