Drains and their contents tend to be out-of-sight and out-of-mind, at least until they get on the nose. What many people don’t realise though, is that once you notice the smell, you already have a problem.
Bad odours in drains are generally caused by grease, oil, dirt and organic waste building up. This build-up can quickly lead to blockages.
On top of this, Australia has strict laws about wastewater and can impose hefty fines. That means you need to be thinking about drains long before you notice them. Getting down and dirty with your wastewater now could save you a lot in the long run.
To make sure your drains aren’t about to cost you a lot of time and money, take these simple steps to clean your drain.
Step 1: Clear your drain
All kitchen drains will generally flow into a grease trap. While toilets, bathroom sinks and the like flow to sanitary sewer drain lines, an entirely separate system. This waste is discharged into municipal sewer lines.
Over time grease, oil, dirt and organic waste accumulates in drain lines and sewer pipes. To clear your drain, you need to break these down.
Traditional treatments flush the system with harsh chemicals, which can wreak havoc at the other end, causing environmental damage.
For shower and sink drains, choose a product that dissolves soap scum and hair, like Rescue Drain, which also has a nice lemon scent.
If you need to dissolve grease, fats, oils, hair and other organic matter, including stoppages further down the line, you can use heat to break down particles. Unfortunately pouring boiling water down the drain won’t cut it as the heat dissipates too quickly. A powdered treatment like ND66creates heat when added to cold water, up to 85 degrees Celsius in five minutes. Make sure and heat treatments you use are non-flammable and non-explosive. That could lead to a situation you don’t even want to imagine.
Step 2. Make sure your wastewater is compliant to avoid fines.
Australia has strict laws about wastewater and the levels of fats, oils and grease (known as FOG), biological oxygen demand (BOD) and total suspended solids (TSS) emitted by businesses into municipal sewers.
Bacterial treatments literally digest the FOGs, turning it into water and CO2, however it can take some time for the bacteria to become active, by which time the treatment has washed away. That’s why NCH developed Freeflow liquid concentrate, the latest in bacterial liquid technology that delivers billions of live bacteria right to the places it is needed most.
When disinfectants, acids or boiling water are common, a bacterial solution will be ineffective. In this instance look for a liquefying agent such as
