Plumbing vents are a part of every building structure. No matter if you live in a house, or an apartment, these drains are used to remove the excess water, dirt, debris, and to prevent gas and bad odor to build up in your house. In addition to this, this system controls the air pressure and it keeps your home safe. Just like every other product, they will wear in time, and depending on what you put down the drain, they may become clogged. It is said that every homeowner should regularly inspect, maintain and clean the plumbing vents in their home if they want everything to work properly, and if they don’t want to risk spending thousands of dollars on replacing the whole system.
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Since these systems are found both inside and out of the house, they can get clogged because of many things. It is said that the most common reasons why they stop working properly are small toys, including tennis balls, birds’ nests, small animal carcasses, as well as trash, and other types of debris. If you notice any strong sewage smells, if you can hear the drains and toilets gurgle, or if you notice that the water takes too much time to go down the drain, it is probably a sign that your plumbing vents need to be cleaned. In this article, we are going to tell you more about the ways you can clear and clean these systems, and we will give you some tips on how to do that with ease. Note that it is better to act as soon as you notice some of these issues because if you wait for a bigger sign to appear, you risk damaging not only the pipelines and the drains but also the inside of your home.
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Cleaning the system from the outside
To clean the system outside of your home, you need to first access your roof. For you to finish this task successfully, there should be another person inside your home that will be able to flush the toilet when you need them to. First, tell them to flush the toilet as you put your hand above the main vent, and check to see if you can feel the suction. If you cannot feel it, it means that the drain is clogged.
Take a fish tape, or a plumber’s snake and put it down the drain to extract the things that are obstructing the pipes. Note that you should not use too much force so you don’t damage the unit itself. In case you cannot successfully remove it, then you should try to use a water hose to flush the blockage. Once you’ve done these things, tell the person inside your home to flush the toilet again. Keep your hand on the pipe and check for suction. If you can feel it, congrats, you are done with the job. If not, you may try again.
Note that if you cannot get on the roof safely, or if you cannot remove the obstacles even on your second try, you should call a professional service, and have them get the job done without you risking falling down or damaging the pipes.
Cleaning the system from the inside
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The easiest way to clean the pipes from inside your home is to go to your indoor roof space or above your kitchen or bathroom. You should look for the white PVC pipe and know that the main one is usually larger than the other ones. These units are rarely made from stronger materials like iron, and they should be easy to cut a hole into.
Use a hacksaw, or anything similar to make a large enough hole in the pipe, and use the proper equipment to run it up or down the unit. Depending on your location, and where your rooms are located, you need to follow the direction of the system, and run the equipment until you find the blockage. Once you are done, and the vent is clear, you should use rubber or polyvinyl chloride to replace the part that you removed.
If you are unsure if you can do this correctly, lpgs.com.au suggests that a professional service can help you get things done, remove any debris and clear the vent without causing any damage to the original system.
How to prevent clogging?
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To prevent clogging, you need to maintain the vents regularly. This means that you will need to check them from time to time and try to avoid these issues instead of battling them. Experts suggest that the best way to do that is to pay attention to debris and fallen leaves that may come from the outside of the house, and at the same time, be extremely careful about what you put down the drains and what you try to flush in the toilet.
Make sure you always read the labels of the products, and never throw things that are more likely to get stuck in the vent. Note that even things like grease can damage and clog the drains, so you should always get rid of them in the proper way.
When it comes to the outside of your home, as we mentioned earlier, small animals and rodents can easily get stuck in the pipes, so if possible, try to use a vent cap. There are a lot of different types and sizes available on the market, and they are pretty inexpensive. With a proper vent cap, you won’t have to worry about bigger debris, fallen leaves, branches, and animals. Note that when the pipes are too small, that could lead to clogging as well. Install the right size of pipes and drains in your home, and know that this way, even larger things will be easily flushed and removed.
Always be extremely careful when getting these things done on your own. Use the right equipment that you can purchase in almost any store that sells DIY home equipment. Take one step at a time, have patience, and never use too much force to remove the debris. In case you cannot do these things on your own, don’t hesitate to call a professional service that will not only remove the blockage, but they will also tell you more about your piping system, and give you some tips on how you can prevent blockages.
