Keepe's Hot Topic 9/4

Sophie Stahura -

Popular Job of The Week

Keepe has still been getting many jobs for clogged drains! In the short term, drains can become blocked by an excessive amount of waste or grease that settles in the trap.  The first time you have to deal with a clogged drain can be daunting, but it does not always have to be a mess and a hassle.The best way to keep the drains clog-free in your home is to do regular routine maintenance. It doesn’t take much time or much money to perform this regular maintenance and it can save you from the cost of a severely clogged drain.

Over the long term, clogging can be caused by biofilm or fungal growth in piping, the settling of particulate matter and the buildup of materials such as food and hair. But there are many measures you can take to prevent or fix drain-system problems.

Tips for Showers and Baths!

  • Try to avoid letting hair go down the drain, this is the number one cause of clogged shower drains
  • Treat the drain regularly with baking soda and vinegar
  • Use a drain plunger for shower drains
  • If you don’t have a drain snake, try using a coat hanger as a last minute solution (although you should probably invest in a drain snake)
  • If using chemicals:
  • Don't look down the drain after pouring a chemical. The solution often boils up and gives off toxic fumes
  • Don't mix chemicals or follow one brand with another brand without checking for compatibility. Mixing cleaners can cause an explosion.
  • Never use a plunger if a chemical cleaner is present in the drain; you risk splashing the chemical on yourself

Tips for Sinks!

  • Things you should never put down the drain:
  • Eggshells, because their edges catch on other items and grow into larger clogs.
  • Coffee grounds, because they stick to pipe walls and build into a paste when crammed into small areas.
  • Unused medications, because they could leach into water reservoirs.
  • Grease, buildups can cause clogs easily
  • Try pouring hot water down clogged drains to melt away waste
  • Use cup plungers work on the small clogs, and snakes on the bigger ones
  • Always follow waste with water to flush the drain
  • Once a week, fill the sink with water and then release it to flush your piping
  • Run is down the garbage disposal to sharpen the blades easily and dislodge any food remnants that may have become attached to the blades

Odd Job of The Week

This week, Keepe got a job request in the Portland area for what seemed to be a leaking washing machine. The tenant reported that “Last night as I was washing clothes, water started pooling up on the floor from underneath the washing machine." Initially, the tenant believed that a pipe might have been dislodged from underneath the machine, causing a leak. When one of our workers came to check out the issue, he determined that nothing underneath the washing machine was broken or malfunctioning. At further inspection he realized that the leak had come from the door gasket, most likely due to moisture and debris. After finding and fixing the leak, the handyman explained how to clean the gasket and recommended using less soap.