Plumbing Tips and Tricks From Roto-Rooter

This is my second post as a Roto-Rooter Ambassador. I love to do DIY things around my home. I try and come up with tips and tricks to make things easier. One of the things I like to do is come up with my own plumbing hacks. Several years ago, I had a clogged drain. I knew it was just below the drain grate. I knew it was because I had such long hair. I was unable to get to the store and I really needed to get it unclogged because of the standing water. My two cats I had would have climbed up and possibly fell in the tub. Noah was also young and I didn't want him to climb in or worse fall in. I started brainstorming after trying to manually empty out the tub with a bucket. That was taking forever. Then it dawned on me. A wire clothes hanger would work in a pinch. I carefully undid the hanger and started removing the hair clog from the grate. I knew it wouldn't work on a clog inside the pipe. I would need to get some Roto-Rooter to help that. So once I was able to remove the hair and the water went down, I immediately put it on my shopping list.  You can also use a metal skewer if you don't have a metal coat hanger.

Hangers can also work in a pinch for toilet clogs. Noah has been pretty good about not flushing things down the toilet that don't belong. He did use a lot of toilet paper when he was younger. He clogged the toilet a few times. He has also occasionally flushed wipes too. I was able to pull the extra toilet paper and wipes out of the toilet using a metal coat hanger.  One time it was so clogged after using flushable wipes that the toilet ha to be removed and the toilet broke some tools. Thankfully we lived in an apartment and didn't have to deal with it. I stopped buying flushable wipes that day. 

You will want to wash off the coat hanger and save it for your next clog. It is really hard to find metal hangers.

Sometimes when your having toilet trouble and you have the water off, someone forgets and uses that bathroom. One year the leprechauns that visit on St. Patrick's day decided to use that toilet. They were up to their old tricks! You can manually flush the toilet by pouring water in the bowl. Be careful not to overflow the toilet. You might have to repeat depending on what is in there.

Using a plunger can be tricky if you don't know how to use one. It's a good idea to get one with a raised section. It seems to help create a better seal. The seal is really important to push down the clog. It is possible to do it with a traditional plunger you just have to make sure the seal is correct. Once you have the seal, get in to a rhythm. Pick a song with a beat or sing along.

Check out the Roto-Rooter plumbing line for your hard clogs and to help protect your septic tank.

As a Roto-Rooter Ambassador, I  received complimentary product. All thoughts and opinions are my own.