You might be using hot water—indeed, boiling hot water—to clear your drains and keep them clear. However, some plumbers say that you shouldn’t use hot water alone, all the time, to clear your drains. Here are the reasons why.
Boiling Water as Opposed to Hot Water
While water that isn’t hot enough to scald might be poured down the drain, you should avoid boiling water. Modern drainpipes aren’t made to handle boiling hot water. Indeed, they may not be made to handle water that’s merely hot. Drainpipes are often made of PVC, or polyvinyl chloride. They can only handle water that’s no hotter than 140 degrees Fahrenheit. On the other hand, CPVC, or chlorinated polyvinyl chloride, pipes that bring fresh water to your fixtures can handle water as hot as 200 degrees F. This means that even CPVC pipes can’t deal well with boiling water.
What Happens When the Water Is Too Hot
Hot water can cause your PVC drainpipes to soften or even melt. When this happens, they’re likely to come apart from their fittings. This leads to leaks. Even if drainpipes don’t disconnect from fittings, they can sag. Drainpipes are installed at a certain slope that allows water to flow at the right rate into the sewer pipe. When drainpipes sag, this is interrupted and can lead to clogs.
Don’t Use Boiling Water to Thaw Out Pipes, Either
It seems to be intuitive to pour a pot of boiling water down a frozen drain, but this is also a bad idea. The pipe can undergo what’s called thermal shock and can burst or even melt. Even a metal pipe can explode. Fittings and seals can come undone, and the pipe can leak. Not only this, the boiling water might not even reach the area of the ice clog before it destroys your pipe.
What Can Be Done
You can use a snake to help remove a clog. Some people recommend the old vinegar and baking soda flushed with hot water trick. Others claim it’s just as bad as boiling water, as it can corrode your pipes if they’re old. Vinegar and baking soda might not be strong enough to handle a clog anyway. Some claim that enzyme-based cleaners are the best solutions for bad clogs. Another simple solution is to put sink strainers over the drains. If you have a really bad clog that seems immovable no matter what you do, get in touch with a plumber.
Call Our Plumbers for Drain Cleaning
Using boiling hot water to clear your drainpipes all the time isn’t really good for them. If you have a clog that just won’t budge no matter what you do, call Gordon AC & Plumbing of Monroe, LA for drain cleaning.
