A plunger can remedy a minor sink or toilet clog, however for more stubborn and recurring clogs or main drain congestion, a more aggressive approach in the hands of a professional is your best option. Call Pennex! Our professional technicians will recommend the best course of action to clear a blockage anywhere in your home. Whether a drain needs an Auger or Jetter service for more stubborn clogs. Pennex will get that blockage cleared!

For main drain clogs, a Camera scope to find the clog and check the integrity of your main drain and sewage line is beneficial. We have insights to help you keep your drains healthy ; such as regular maintenance and avoiding behaviours that cause clogs in the first place.

We recommend avoiding chemical drain cleaning products. These are corrosive and can cause the interior of a pipe to corrode which can build up creating a new or contribute to an existing clog. These products also pose the risk of chemical burns.

Main Drain Backups

Main drain backups can be catastrophic to your property and pocketbook. Sewage backing up and overflowing in the basement is a health hazard and a mess! Pennex has the tools and expertise to assist in resolving a Main drain back up. We can perform a camera inspection of the sewer line to locate a clog or to determine if the line is compromised and then take action to resolve it for you. There are many things that can cause a main drain back up; lint from the washing machine accumulating, tree roots invading the main line, improper disposal of products in toilets.

Jetter Service

Hydro-jetting is an effective and environmentally sound option for drain cleaning using high pressure water streams to dislodge and push blockages. The pressure of the jetting also scours the inside of the pipes flushing debris downstream and out of the system restoring optimal flow in your plumbing. Pennex professionals use hydro jetting for the most stubborn drain clogs in your home.

Camera scope

A camera inspection of the sewer line is a revealing and informative tool to help find the location of blockages, reveal tree root infiltration and assess the integrity and material of the Sewer line.

Camera inspections reveal the location of access points, pipe material and pipe condition and illuminate any compromise to the line which can cause environmental hazards and sewage backups into your home. Early detection of issues with the Mainline can help homeowners avoid unexpected and costly repairs in the future. Regular camera inspections are an excellent way to protect your home and satisfy insurance requirements by documenting the history and condition of the mail line. As a part of regular maintenance, main drain inspections assist you in tracking the condition of the line and assist in making informed decisions in the future.

In Ottawa, Customers interested in accessing the Residential Preventative Plumbing Program (RPPP) require a Camera scope. Pennex can help you through the City of Ottawa process.

Keeping your drains healthy

One of the best and most cost effective ways to promote the healthy drains is to use drain strainers. Drain strainers are easily available at grocery, hardware and even dollar stores. These are designed to sit in the drain openings of sinks, tubs and showers to stop debris from going down the drain. When looking to purchase a strainer, look for one that is easy to clean, a mesh, silicone or metal design that can be tossed in the dishwasher.

Performing monthly cleaning of your sink and tub/shower drains takes only minutes. Enzyme-based drain cleaners come in liquid and sold form and help to prevent clogs by breaking down organic matter. These environmentally friendly products are safe for regular use and unlike chemical based drain cleaners, don’t cause corrosion so don’t harm the lining of the pipes.

Performing Regular Maintenance

Regularly cleaning the drains in your home will move budding clogs downstream and help avoid major blockages that can be costly to property.

Behaviours that cause clogs

Drain maintenance also involves avoiding things that contribute to clogs in the first place. Grease, fats, hair, foreign objects, food waste and toothpaste residue are all insidious culprits! These are a few of the things that go down our drains daily, gradually and subtly contributing to congesting the plumbing and eventually becoming clogs.

Kitchen sink drains , Grease and cooking oils solidify in pipes and cause the common kitchen sink clog. Once a kitchen sink clog has begun, everything going down the drain becomes a contributor to the blockage. Kitchen drain clogs always involve food waste and that is very attractive to pests like house and fruit flies. This also makes kitchen drain clogs smelly even foul. Scraping food scraps, coffee grounds, and other food waste into the compost instead of the sink helps prevent clogs in kitchen drains and will keep your drains healthy!

Bathroom sink, tub and shower drains, mortal enemies are HAIR and its trusty sidekick Soap Scum. Hair swirls down the drain with water, twisting and knotting and accumulating until a clog develops. Soap scum mingles with hair adding a sticky paste to the hair which solidifies in the bathroom drains building up on the walls of the pipes and attracting other debris, creating a clog.

Drain strainers, are easy to find at grocery, hardware and even dollar stores are affordable and are your best first line of defence in slowing the accumulation
of hair in bathroom drains.

Preventing a toilet clog is all about avoiding things that cause a blockage. Many toilet clogs are caused by flushing products that do not break down like toilet paper does. Things like sanitary products, paper towels, baby and adult wipes are a few of the offenders. Because these things don’t break down like toilet paper, they can accumulate, snag or get caught on the walls of pipes initiating the creation of a clog. These are also the things that can cause sewer line clogs which can contribute to main drain backups.