The Plumber or Drano: Which is Best?

You head to the bathroom to find your sink or shower has backed up again. What is the best thing to do? Should you reach for the phone and call your local Fontana plumber or head for the bottle of Drano under the sink?

These backups always seem to happen at the worst time, and you may be tempted to just go for the "fast" and easy approach to solving the problem, but it may not be the best fix. Dranos and other liquid drain cleaners can certainly work sometimes, but the real issue is what they may do to your overall plumbing system, and how they can hurt you down the road.

Think of Drano as a temporary band-aid, not a permanent fix to the problem.

If your toilet backs up and a plunger doesn't work, you might think it's easy to just pour in some Drano and let it handle the clog. The problem is toilets don't have the same draining system as your tub or sink. The toilet bowl fills with water and reciculates, so anything you put in will stay in the bowl for awhile. These harsh chemicals can settle into the porcelain and cause cracks, or even a mini explosion which forces you to replace not only the toilet but nearby fixtures.

Pouring Drano into a sink or tub can also cause serious damage, as these chemicals will actually eat away at not only the clog but your plumbing. Drano will eat through plastic piping as well as metal piping, although it takes a bit longer in the case of metal.

The next time your sink, tub or toilet isn't working properly, remember the possible downsides to using a chemical drain cleaner. Baking soda and white vinegar can be used together to sometimes eliminate clogs without the use of harsh and potentially damaging chemicals, although stubborn clogs may require the use of professional Fontana drain cleaning service to get you back in service.