The health of a commercial enterprise depends on how clean and healthy its drainage system is. For a business dealing with food services like a restaurant or a hotel, or concerns like bakery, a clinic, a factory or an automobile cleaning center, or places where public toilets or urinals are used very often due to a high footfall, a smoothly flowing sewer and drainage system is a foremost requirement. Toilets and urinals at one’s business outlet need to have a proper system of waste outlet. Leaking or flooding of water or overflowing of wastewater, if not addressed timely, may cause serious damage to the concerned property and the adjoining ones too.
There may be several reasons behind a sick drainage or sewer system. For example, clogged pipes, corroded pipes, cracked or collapsed pipes, blockages due to garbage or debris dumping, or tree root infiltration, are some of the most common causes.
Commercial plumbing systems can come within the grips of the following issues.
- Damaged sewer lines
Owners of commercial buildings are responsible for the maintenance of the sewer lines that connect their property to the sewer mains of the city. Any damage to the pipes or drains of such buildings, if not taken care of, could be hazardous, causing overflowing drains which flood the main roads and streets. This could also possibly contaminate the groundwater, making it unfit for consumption.
- Grease Trap cleaning
In a layman’s term, grease trap is a receptacle designed for commercial kitchens to hold or trap the grease before the kitchen wastewater gets mingled with the main sanitary sewer lines. A system of mess is used inside the grease interceptor to trap or separate the oils and grease from the wastewater.
When the grease accumulation exceeds a certain level, the trap needs cleaning or the excessive grease deposition may float over to mix with the main sewer lines and cause further blockage.
- Sewer drain cleaning
An excess of grease and mineral deposition, shifting soil, disposal of dirt and debris could typically block the sewer drain and cause further problems. The sedimentation of soil and dirt in the bed of sewer drains could make them shallow and cause hindrances in the flow of wastewater to the disposal site. This could also lead to emission of foul smell causing irritation to the locality.
Having discussed what issues need to be tended to, we now look at the methods to resolve such problematic situations.
- Water jetting: One of the most effective and the strongest methods of Commercial drain cleaning, water jetting is done through highly sophisticated equipments directing high pressure flow of water through clogged drains to clear away all deposited dirt and debris. It has proved extremely efficient in removing not only debris and mud, but also sludge and tree roots. The number of times this method needs to be used varies from a couple of times a year to quarterly or even monthly.
- Drain cleaner solution or powder: It is the most commonly used drain cleaner which is a chemical based product, either alkaline or acidic. Whereas the alkaline drain cleaners are available in both solid and liquid forms, the acidic cleaners are typically found in a liquid state. Sodium hydrochloride, commonly called bleach, and sodium or potassium hydroxide, are the commonly available alkaline cleaners, while sulfuric acid is acidic cleaner found easily in the market. A precaution needs to be taken while using the acidic cleaner as it may cause corrosion of the pipes made of fiber or plastic thereby leading to leakage of wastewater.
- Handled augers: These are devices specially engineered to clean the initial opening of the drain by mechanically forcing a cable into the drain. These augers also prove handy in Commercial drain cleaning.
- Drain rods: Quite similar to the handled augers, a drain rod can also be used for clearing away straight pipes and drains. Since it is relatively much cheaper, easier to handle and available readily, it wins over the handled augers.
- Electric cleaners: With advantages like ability to clean long sections of drains and removal of solid obstruction, the electric cleaners, also known as plumber’s snake, use mechanical pressure of an electric motor to clean a clogged drain. The mechanically generated force passes through a flexible cable rotating it in the clockwise direction and driving it into a pipe and enables it to clean as far as 75 to 80 meters.
But despite such advantages, the electric cleaners have their own share of demerits too. They are relatively costlier and heavier than other similar devices, making it difficult to be manually operated.
- Hydro-mechanical cleaners: These cleaners run on hydro-mechanics generating immense force to wash away heavy clogs into smaller particles. These cleaners prove to be highly effective in Commercial drain cleaning that is required in narrow pipes of the kitchen sink or household drains. Highly plumbing friendly, these cleaners have an advantage of being Eco friendly as most are based on water usage. But since their reach is very much limited to the external drain plumbing, one often finds it less useful to go with these cleaners. Moreover, they are useful only if a water source is easily available to act as an operating agent. The high velocity of water coming out of the cleaners can cause severe damage to skin or eyes, if contacted, making them less effective on the safety quotient.
A clean and healthy drainage system is indicative of a civilized and well planned administration of a city, state and the country as a whole. The cleaner our drains, the fewer the diseases and the fewer the diseases, the healthier we are. With the availability of all these multiple options, the onus is now ours, as sensible citizens, to take care of our drainage as a part of our responsibility to protect the environment from further degradation. And as owners of huge commercial complexes, it is the duty of the property owners to carry out regular maintenance and upgradation works to prevent the occurrence of unwanted situations.
