Why Don’t Plumbers Recommend or Use Chemical Drain Cleaning Products?

Posted: Sep 25, 2012
Author: Minyard Plumbing, Inc.

Chemical drain cleaning products are not recommended or used by professional plumbers. Why – what’s so bad about them? Some people even think that plumbers have ulterior motives for not recommending these products, but in fact, your plumber is actually doing you a favor by advising you not to. Here’s why:

Drainage

When it comes to your plumbing, chemical drain cleaning products can do more harm than good. While they readily dissolve food stuck in the pipes, they also erode the pipes. This can cause breakage and holes in the plumbing – even after one application. Continued use can cause even greater damage.

Effectiveness

Chemical drain cleaning products are not that effective. To some extent, they do dissolve grease and hair, but their efficacy is limited when it comes to more serious clogs – even pipes that are heavily clogged with grease or hair. A professional plumber knows that the only long-term solution is to use an industrial drain cleaning machine.

Contamination

Chemical drain cleaning products harm the environment. Pouring a chemical cleaner down a drain can be compared to pouring paint thinner down a drain – you wouldn’t do that, would you? Apart from not making environmental sense, a chemical product can also be dangerous to your plumber when he/she comes to clean the same drain that the chemicals didn’t.

Cost

The cost of drain cleaning by a plumber is negligible in comparison to the expense of repairing pipes that have been damaged by chemicals. Remember, your plumber is not trying to cheat you out of money – he/she is trying to save you money.