Imagine you go to brush your teeth, but when you turn on the water, you notice it’s draining slowly. It’s inconvenient, and all you want is to get it fixed immediately. So what do you do?

If you’re dealing with a clog in one of your Ballwin home’s drains, you may be tempted to resort to commercially available drain cleaners, like Drano^® or Liquid-Plumr^®. At Chesterfield Service, we recommend avoiding these popular over-the-counter drain cleaners as a remedy and contacting us instead.

Calling in a licensed and insured professional plumber to handle the clog is a wiser decision all the way around. Though the do-it-yourself (DIY) plan may appear faster and simpler, you could do some irreparable damage in the process—and still not end up with a clear drain at the end.

Reasons to Avoid Over-the-Counter Drain Clog Removers

Commercially available drain cleaners may be enticing to use to quickly unclog or address a problem with your Missouri home’s drain. But using these products, in particular over and over again, can result in some negative consequences, including:

• Damage to pipes. These over-the-counter drain cleaning products use harsh chemicals to break up clogs. Continued use could corrode drains and potentially damage your pipes.

• Chemical reactions. Unless you’re a chemist by trade, mixing chemicals can be a dangerous, and even deadly, business. If there are unknown residue chemicals already in your drain or pipes, adding more chemicals can lead to a toxic situation. According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), chemicals can get into the body by inhalation, skin and eye contact, and ingestion. The effects can vary from minor to severe, being either acute or chronic.

• Elimination of good plumbing bacteria. Drain systems typically contain good bacteria. Their purpose is to break down organic material over time within your plumbing. When you utilize commercially available drain cleaners to break down clogs, their chemicals kill the good bacteria along with the bad. Additionally, these chemicals make their way to your septic system or the Ballwin public water system and can cause damage there as well.

• Toilet complications. Since these over-the-counter drain cleaners are intended for sink clogs, not toilet obstructions, this most likely will not resolve your problem. Instead, using these drain cleaners in your toilet could leave you with the chemicals in the drain and bowl longer than intended, which can create damaging ramifications.

• Environment contamination. Toxic drain cleaner chemicals are unhealthy for the environment and can cause long-term lasting negative effects as they make their way through the larger water system.

Why Turn to Our Chesterfield Service Plumbing Professionals for a Clog

When you turn to our Chesterfield Service professionals, you will receive expert help. We never use products that could be harmful to your health or your Missouri home, and we always get the job done in a safe and efficient manner. Seeking help from our experienced and knowledgeable team of plumbing professionals ensures your problem is resolved the correct way.

Some advantages of seeking professional plumbing service in place of using commercially available drain cleaners are:

• Confidence in knowing your clog or plumbing issue is being addressed properly.
• Safety measures for your health and the health of others in your Ballwin household will be taken.
• Saves you more money over time since professionals resolve the issue without causing any new problems, whereas continuous use of over-the-counter drain cleaners could result in costly damage.
• Chesterfield Service comprises professionals who believe in honesty and integrity, so you receive service you can depend on, or we’ll make it right.

Importance of Plumbing Maintenance

Not only should you be seeking professional plumbing service from Chesterfield Service when you have a clog or plumbing problem, but you should also opt for routine plumbing maintenance.

If you are one to skip on your annual drain cleaning, don’t! The best way to prevent problems is by having professional maintenance so your drains remain in good condition. We can address any potential issues early.

As a preventative maintenance measure to help keep your drains working properly, our Chesterfield Service plumbers recommend using organic enzyme drain cleaning products to get rid of any bad bacteria possibly lingering in your drain.

Enzyme cleaners are also great for removing odors and acting as an aid for clogs. While over-the-counter drain cleaners may damage your drains and pipes, enzyme drain cleaners are safe and can be effective. As always, you should reach out to our expert plumbers to handle clogs and plumbing issues.