Do not pour boiling water down your drain to unblock it.
If you've ever dealt with a blocked drain before, your first port of call might be to boil the kettle and pour scalding hot water into the sink in the hopes that it will melt or break down any fatty substances lodged in your pipes. But according to one plumber, you should never do that - as you could be causing damage to your plumbing system without realising it.
According to the tradie, pouring boiling water down the sink is fine if your pipes are clear and the water can flow out, but if you've got a blockage, having hot water sitting in place can melt or warp your plastic pipes. He also said you should avoid drain-unblocking products such as Buster, or the US product Drano.
On a Reddit forum discussing tips on how to unclog a drain, one plumber declared: "Plumber here. A few things I've learned in my experience. Do not use Drano. Ever. As mentioned, it's toxic, expensive and most importantly it doesn't work and it eats at seals that prevent leaks. More importantly, DO NOT POUR BOILING WATER DOWN THE DRAIN in an attempt to unclog the drain. It's okay if the pipe is clear, but if boiling water fails to clear a clog (which is likely) it could melt PVC plastic."
And the plumber's comments have been backed up by others too, with experts at WP Plumbing stating that if you use boiling water on its own to clear a blocked drain, you'll likely have to use so much of it that you'll damage your pipes before you clear any blockages.
They wrote on their website: "Pouring very hot water down the kitchen sink is not the best way to clear blockages. It has long-term implications, and you will require gallons of boiling water for the purpose. As such, you will damage your pipeline before loosening the clogs."
Experts at Balkan Plumbing also urged people to move away from using boiling water, stating the same reasons as the Reddit plumber - but noting that the danger only applies if you have PVC drain pipes. They explained: "In modern houses, some of the drain pipes are PVC plastic, and usually the boiling water will just flow through it without causing any damage.
"But if it goes through the pipe slowly the PVC could deform. But if you don't have PVC drain pipes, you could pour boiling water right down that drain and it will never harm the plumbing in any way whatsoever. There's actually a lot of conflict on the internet and amongst professionals about the boiling water in PVC pipe issue and answer."
So what should you use to unblock your drain? According to the plumber on Reddit, the safest way to unclog a drain is to use a tool known as a drain snake, which is a long piece of coiled metal wire attached to a flexible metal cable. The cable is then attached to a crank, and you turn the crank to rotate the wire and loosen whatever's blocking your drain.
You can buy a two-pack of drain snakes from B&Q for just £4.99.
Do you have a story to sell? Get in touch with us at yourmirror@trinitymirror.com.