Are you tempted to try a chemical drain cleaner? If you are experiencing problems with a drain, you might be looking for a quick-fix solution. Naturally, you will have noticed drain cleaners in shops and even cheap online. It can be inviting and intriguing. After all, they are usually cheap and easy to get your hands on.
However, we want to stop you right there. If you are shopping online, take the chemical drain cleaner out of your basket. If you are about to head to the store, put down your car keys. Chemical drain cleaners can cause you a bunch of problems. Here are five reasons you should stay clear of them.
They Can Lead to Cracks
No homeowners want to hear that they have a crack in their pipes. This is an expensive repair that has to be done. It can lead to spending a lot of money and cause havoc if they have to be ripped out and replaced. The reason that this can happen is because chemicals can create heat in pipes. This rise in temperature causes degradation, which leads to cracking. PVC pipes are not designed to withstand this level of heat.
Thus, this is when one of the reasons why you should avoid using chemical drain cleaners. They can do a lot of damage, leading to expensive repairs. What you thought was a cheap and easy solution can turn out to be a nightmare. One that will cost you a lot of money and could have been avoided.
Leads to Weakness
Over time, all pipes are going to suffer from wear and tear. But, they are designed to withstand pressure for a long time. You should not have to think about replacing them anytime soon. But, the problem exists when you are using chemical drain cleaners. Strong chemicals have the ability to break down materials faster than they should. Therefore, this can lead to unwanted weakness, jeopardizing your drainage system.
Unfortunately, drain cleaners can end up sitting in the pipes when they do not work on a blockage. This is what can lead to weakness. Instead, hiring a professional drainage company to solve your blockage problem is better. They use safer methods that are not going to weaken pipes. If you live in West London, head to https://fsdrainage.com/drain-unblocking-services/north-west-london/. FS Drainage offers an expert service that uses drain rods and high-pressure water equipment to blast away blockages safely. This is without having to use any corrosive chemicals.
Corrodes Metal Fittings and Caulk
Strong chemicals are just not necessary to clean pipes. They can cause more issues than you realize. Often, it is too late to see the type of damage they cause. For instance, the chemicals are corrosive in nature, which means that they can destroy metal fittings. When this happens, it creates weakness and the metal fittings can break off. Of course, these fittings are there for a reason. Without them, it can affect your whole drainage system and its integrity.
What’s more, chemicals can eat away at caulk. This can be an important part of your drainage system, ensuring no gaps and cracks. So, when this is destroyed, it can cause these issues, which you do not want. A suppose cheap and quick method of cleaning the drains can soon turn into a nightmare.
Causes Harm to the Environment
Everyone needs to make adjustments to their lifestyle in order to help the environment. This might be something you are already doing, and you want to continue acting this way. If this is the case, you will want to stay clear of chemical drain cleaners. As you would imagine, several strong chemicals will be used in the products. After all, they are designed to burn away debris and anything that could be blocking your drain. They have the ability to harm the environment.
If any of these products end up in the soil, they can kill plants. What’s more, it will be
Unsure what effect they will have on wildlife. If the bottle has warnings for humans, then it is likely to be dangerous for animals too. For example, say you are using an unblocker and it damages the pipes. The leaks mean that the chemicals will enter the soil and cause problems.
There are Health Hazards
If you look at the list of chemicals used on a drain unblocker bottle, you are going to see an endless number. Plus, they will have names you do not recognize. Know that this is not a good thing. Instead, these are substances that you are not familiar with, and you do not know what they are capable of. There can even be a warning on the bottle that some of these chemicals are hazardous.
This is one of the big reasons why you should avoid chemical drain cleaners. They could have negative effects on your health. This could include being dangerous to breathe in the fumes. They might burn your skin and cause irritation to exposed areas of the body. These are huge risks that you do not want to take.