Drain Cleaning in Midvale, UT

In the bustling communities of Midvale, Utah, keeping your drains clear and efficient is essential for both homeowners and businesses. Let's Fix Plumbing specializes in residential and commercial drain cleaning services, helping ensure your Midvale, Utah, 84047 property remains free of blockages and water damage.

When you need reliable drain cleaning in Midvale, turn to Let's Fix Plumbing. Contact us through our website to learn more or schedule a service. We’re dedicated to keeping your plumbing systems running smoothly and efficiently.

Risks of DIY Drain Cleaning

When you’re faced with a slow or blocked drain, the urge to find a quick, inexpensive fix is understandable. The shelves of hardware stores are lined with products promising instant results. However, attempting a do-it-yourself drain cleaning often leads to bigger, more expensive problems down the road. Before you take matters into your own hands, it’s crucial to understand the significant risks to your Utah home’s plumbing system.

The Hidden Damage from Chemical Cleaners

Liquid drain cleaners seem like a magic potion, but their powerful, caustic nature is indiscriminate. They don't just dissolve the clog; they can also inflict serious harm on the pipes themselves, leading to costly and disruptive repairs.

• Corrosion and Warping: The chemical reaction created by these cleaners generates significant heat, which can soften or warp PVC pipes and damage their rubber seals. For homes with older metal plumbing, the harsh acids and lye can rapidly corrode cast iron or galvanized steel, thinning the pipe walls and creating weak spots that are prone to leaks.
• Environmental and Septic Harm: What you pour down the drain eventually ends up in Utah’s water systems or, if you have one, your septic tank. These harsh chemicals are toxic to the environment and can destroy the beneficial bacteria in your septic system that are essential for breaking down waste, leading to septic failure.

The Mechanical Dangers of Amateur Snaking

Renting a drain auger (a snake) might seem like a safer, more professional approach, but without proper training, it can be just as destructive as chemicals. These are powerful tools that can easily cause damage when used improperly.

• Pipe Punctures and Scratches: It's very easy to be too aggressive with a mechanical snake. Forcing it through a blockage can scratch, crack, or even puncture the pipe wall, turning a simple clog into a major leak inside your walls or under your foundation. You can also easily scratch and ruin the porcelain finish on sinks and toilets.
• Worsening the Blockage: An inexperienced user might simply push the clog deeper into the plumbing system, potentially moving it from a small branch line into the main sewer line. This makes the problem far more difficult and expensive to resolve. In some cases, the snake head itself can get tangled in the clog or break off in the pipe, creating an even bigger obstruction.

Ultimately, the safest and most effective way to clear a clog is to call a professional. At Let's Fix Plumbing, we have the experience and professional-grade equipment to accurately diagnose the problem and remove the blockage completely without risking damage to your home.

The Drains You Forget: A Guide to Your Home's Floor, Laundry, and Utility Drains

When you think of a clogged drain, your mind probably goes straight to the kitchen sink or the bathroom shower. While these are common trouble spots, your home relies on a network of other, often-overlooked drains that work tirelessly behind the scenes. Your floor, laundry, and utility drains handle some of the toughest debris in your home.

Because they are out of sight and out of mind, these drains are often neglected until they cause a major backup or flood. The team at Let's Fix Plumbing is here to shine a light on these unsung heroes of your plumbing system.

The Laundry Room Drain: Your Defense Against Lint and Sludge

Your washing machine expels a high volume of water with every cycle, and that water is filled with more than just soap. The laundry drain is tasked with handling lint, fabric fibers, shed dirt, grime, and thick detergent or fabric softener residue. Over time, this combination creates a dense, sludgy clog that can cause water to back up all over your laundry room floor. A simple mesh lint trap on your washer's discharge hose can help, but periodic professional cleaning is the best way to keep this critical drain flowing freely.

The Utility Sink: The Grimy Workhorse

Often located in a basement, workshop, or mudroom, the utility sink is the workhorse designed for the dirtiest jobs—washing paintbrushes, cleaning tools, or rinsing muddy boots. As a result, it’s subjected to materials that would never go down a kitchen sink, including grease, paint, soil, and small debris. It's crucial to avoid washing down materials that can harden, like plaster or cement, and to be mindful of the debris you rinse away.

The Floor Drain: Your Guardian Against Flooding

This is perhaps the most important drain you never think about. Located in basements, garages, and sometimes laundry rooms, the floor drain's sole purpose is to prevent flooding from a leaking water heater, washing machine overflow, or melting snow from your car (a common issue in Utah). Its biggest problem is neglect. It can get clogged with dust and debris, rendering it useless in an emergency. It can also dry out, breaking the water seal in the P-trap and allowing foul sewer gas to seep into your home. Periodically pouring a gallon of water down your floor drain keeps the trap full and ensures it's ready for an emergency.

If you've never had these drains inspected or cleaned, you could be at risk for a messy surprise. Contact Let's Fix Plumbing today to schedule a whole-home drain checkup and ensure every part of your system is in top condition.

Why Choose Let's Fix Plumbing

• Locally Owned & Operated
• 24/7 Emergency Services
• Licensed & Uniformed Technicians
• 5-Star Google and Yelp Reviews
• Upfront Estimates
• Easy Online Appointments

The "Do Not Flush" List: 10 Items That Will Wreck Your Plumbing

Your toilet is an amazing piece of engineering, but it’s designed for a very specific purpose: to dispose of human waste and toilet paper. All too often, it’s treated like a magic trash can that can make anything disappear. Unfortunately, flushing the wrong items can lead to stubborn clogs, messy backups, and expensive emergency calls to your plumber.

To protect your Utah home’s plumbing system, our team at Let's Fix Plumbing has compiled the ultimate "Do Not Flush" list. Avoiding these items will save you from future headaches and costly repairs.

Common Culprits That Cause Clogs

These items are the most frequent causes of residential drain clogs. They do not break down in water and are guaranteed to cause a problem sooner or later.

1. "Flushable" Wipes: This is the #1 offender. Despite the name, these wipes do not disintegrate like toilet paper. They are stronger, more durable, and are the primary cause of massive clogs in home pipes and city sewer systems alike.
2. Paper Towels & Tissues: Unlike toilet paper, paper towels and facial tissues are designed to be strong and absorbent. They don't break down easily when wet and can create a thick, paper-mâché-like blockage in your drain.
3. Feminine Hygiene Products: Tampons, pads, and applicators are designed to absorb liquid and expand. When flushed, they do exactly that inside your pipes, creating a near-instant and very stubborn clog.
4. Cotton Balls, Rounds & Swabs: These products are made of cotton, which does not dissolve. Instead, they clump together in the pipes, snagging other debris and forming a dense blockage over time.
5. Dental Floss: It might seem small and harmless, but dental floss is like a net. It wraps around other items in the drain, creating a strong, fibrous ball that can be incredibly difficult to remove.

Hazardous Materials & Non-Degradable Items

This group includes items that are either hazardous to the environment or simply will not break down, leading to serious blockages.

6. Diapers: This should be obvious, but it happens. Diapers are made with super-absorbent materials that swell to many times their original size, causing an immediate and catastrophic blockage.
7. Fats, Oils & Grease (F.O.G.): While more common in kitchen sinks, some people pour cooking grease down the toilet. Just like in a kitchen drain, the grease cools, solidifies, and coats the inside of your pipes, catching everything else that comes down.
8. Cat Litter: Clumping cat litter is designed to turn into a hard, solid mass when it gets wet. Flushing it is like pouring wet cement directly into your plumbing system.
9. Medication: While pills won't clog your pipes, they create a different hazard. Flushing old medications contaminates groundwater and our Utah water supply, as treatment plants are not equipped to filter them out.
10. Hair: Hair shed during a bath or shower should never be flushed. Like dental floss, it creates a net that catches other debris and is a leading cause of slow drains and clogs.

If a mistake has already been made and you're facing a stubborn clog, don't worry. The team at Let's Fix Plumbing has the professional tools to clear your lines safely and effectively. Call us today!

Contact Let's Fix Plumbing Today!

Let's Fix Plumbing is a fully licensed and insured plumbing business servicing the Midvale area. We offer a broad range of drain cleaning services in Utah. Give us a call today at (801) 346-9896 to schedule service.