Salmon Plumbing Guarantee to ARRIVE ON TIME to your scheduled appointment.
In the rare instance that your plumber has been delayed due to unforeseen circumstances beyond our control, we promise to give you a MINIMUM 30-minutes notice of ANY change in arrival time and will offer to reschedule, if that’s more convenient for you
If we don’t give you at least 30 minutes notice in advance, we will happily give you a FREE Hour of Service on your plumbing job.
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Deposits
Deposits are not refundable however partial or total refunds of deposits may be made at the sole discretion of Salmon Plumbing.
Cancellations
Salmon Plumbing reserve the right to charge for lost time as a result of cancellations and or postponement made less than 2 business days from the scheduled appointment time.
Warranties
Salmon Plumbing offers a 6 and half year warranty as per the Queensland Building & Construction Commission (QBCC).
Updated 2024 by John Salmon. When winter rolls around, bring on the hot chips and gravy. Bring on all the carb-rich comfort foods like roasts, soups and casseroles. Anything to keep your belly full and hands warm while embracing all the comforts winter draws us to. Unfortunately, these foods can also cause blocked drains. A kitchen sink blockage caused by congealed fat needs to be dealt with urgently as it will likely trap additional debris and get out of hand fast. It’s not just winter, kitchen sink blockages can happen at any time, but the grossest one? Let’s talk Fatbergs.
Common kitchen sink blockage
Oils and fats rinsed down the kitchen sink drain are notorious for causing kitchen sink blockages. It can happen all year round but in winter, as your pipes are cold, the fats congeal and form solid clumps, or as Queensland Urban Utilities likes to call them Fatbergs. These solid masses of fat will block your drains and grab passing debris to create all kinds of problems, in your kitchen sink, your pipes and eventually in sewers.
How to avoid kitchen sink blockages caused by fatbergs
It’s sacrilege to leave gravy on a plate, but some people are just heathens. If you’ve got oil, fats, or gravy to dispose of, don’t wash them down the sink. Here’s a few good habits to avoid a fatberg kitchen sink blockage:
Allow the fats to cool and solidify then scrape them into the bin.
When rinsing roasting trays or plates with oil slicks or excess sauces and gravy, immediately turn the hot water tap on to ‘flush’ away the oils from the trap.
For extra measure, boil the kettle and pour boiling hot water down the kitchen sink to ensure the breakdown of the fats and oils.
A small squirt of dishwashing liquid down the drain and a full bowl of water drained down the sink will disperse the oils in the pipes, which will prevent blockage.
Oil is just the tip of the Fatberg
Not going to lie, I like saying fatberg. For are we not all fatbergs in winter to some extent? Grease is just one cause of a blocked kitchen sink. And it can just be the start of a much bigger problem. Once a fatberg forms, it can catch other “stuff” causing a bigger problem, fast. What else could be causing a kitchen sink blockage?
Soap Scum. A build up of dried soap scum, usually from hand soap can cause kitchen sink blockages. Run hot water down your sink regularly to avoid material drying in the pipes.
Food Scraps and Coffee Grounds. Yes, we’ve all been guilty of flushing a few coffee grounds down the sink. It’s hard to make good choices before you’ve had coffee. Fit a “waste trap” in the sink’s drain to catch all those bits and pieces that can cause blockages.
Dishwasher and Garbage Disposal Problems. If your dishwasher is draining food matter into the kitchen sink drain, or you’re overlading your garbage disposal, you could be inadvertently causing blockages. Regularly clean your dishwasher, make sure the food trap is in place. Keep your garbage disposal system well maintained and avoid overloading it as it will let larger particles into the drain pipe.
Children. Look, it seems a bit mean to say but the number of times we’ve been called out to a kitchen sink blockage caused by…. nerf bullets, Barbie doll parts, those little balls that swell up in water (WHY) – first step in a sudden and unexpected kitchen sink blockage is to ask the little darlings if they’ve been up to no good!
Flash flooding or backed up pipes. Sometimes a blockage isn’t a blockage. When your drainage system is overwhelmed from another source, it may appear that your kitchen sink has a blockage when actually there’s just nowhere for the water to go. If you notice a bad smell, gurgling or slow drainage in your kitchen sink, that comes on suddenly, during a weather incident – you may need an emergency plumber.
DIY tricks on clearing your blocked sink
There are a few DIY tricks that can break
up a blocked kitchen sink.
Sprinkle bi-carb soda and pour hot vinegar (microwave for 1 minute) down the drain.
Use a household plunger to loosen the blockage
Undo the sink trap and pour the water into the sink with the plugin. Ensure the trap is free of food blockages.
Pour a household drain cleaner down the sink. These are readily available from your local hardware or grocery store. Do try the natural remedies before going down the chemical aisle.
If none of these remedies removes the blockage, it’s time to call your local Brisbane plumber. A drain cleaning machine or an electric eel may need to be used to blast away the kitchen sink blockage. Salmon Plumbing is experienced in types of blockages. Contact the team to get your kitchen sink unblocked today.
One of the most common – and most unpleasant – home repairs everyone will endure at one time or another is a clogged drain. When left unattended, a clogged drain can cause nasty odours and even flood your home. The good news is that in many instances you can unblock the drain yourself and at little to no expense. One of the first and easiest solutions is to use hot water.
1. The Boiling Water Method
One of the simplest methods of unblocking drains, this method works best for light or small blocks, and it should only be used on metal pipes (if you have PVC pipes, the hot water may melt or soften the joints in your pipes, resulting in unwanted leaks).
The best way to do this is to take a kettle of boiling water and pour it down the sink. Give it a moment or two and then run water from the tap to see if the clog has been removed.
2. The Vinegar and Bicarb Soda Method
The next easiest method of unblocking drains is using something to dissolve the clog. Before buying a commercial drain cleaning product, try making your own with vinegar and bicarb soda.
Take half a cup of bicarb soda and dump it directly into the drain and as far down as you can. Then add half a cup of vinegar to the mix. This will result in a fizzing effect which will help eradicate any grease that may be blocking your drain.
3. The Plunging Method
For this solution, you’ll need a cup plunger and, depending on where the clog is, some duct tape.
If the clog is in the sink or bathtub, take a strip of duct tape and stick it over top of the overflow drain (this prevents the air or water from escaping and sends it instead towards the unwanted clog). Fill the sink with a bit of water and then use the cup plunger to apply steady pulses until you think the clog is removed or when you feel the pressure changing inside of the pipe.
When To Call a Plumber
There is a wide selection of chemical products on the market which are supposed to help unblock drains. But they may be unfriendly to the environment, and can be hazardous to use. They can even make your clogged drain issue even worse.
If none of the above methods helps you remove the clog, it’s a good idea to call the Salmon Plumbing team in Brisbane. Our team of fully qualified and insured plumbers have the equipment necessary to assess the issue and to take care of the clog for you as quickly as possible.
