How To Unclog Your Garage Drain Floor- 2 Easy Ways You Can Follow

February 11, 2022
 | By 
Queen Plumbing Charlotte

Every garage serves a multitude of purposes. It can protect automobiles and other valuable elements. This is also utilized as a recreation center, a gym, a hobby center, or a workshop. Your garage floor drain is a beautiful idea to install and channel all the water or liquids flow that has a chance to spill or leak because it can serve so many uses. Of course, dirt and dust make their way into your garage floor drain, clogging it.

The hard blockage in most blocked garage floor drains may be removed. Remove the grating, clean out the debris, and rinse the garage drain with heated water to finish the job. What Causes Clogged Garage Floor Drains?

Once the floor drains have been fixed, you will want to keep them working smoothly. This demands determining the root cause of the clogged garage drain water in the first place. Nevertheless, how can you do that? Read the article for all the answers.

Why The Clogged Garage Floor Drain Pipe?

Clogged garage drain causes a messy garage to handle with dirt all around the garage

If your building's main sewage line becomes clogged, the drainage at the lowest position will spill first. A sewage obstruction is indicated by bubbling tub drainage or a gurgling toilet once you switch on a faucet.

There might be ice further down the pipeline if you noticed a clogged garage drain during cold mornings. You might have to pull the pipe up and then insulate it to protect it from freezing. This is critical because frequent melting could lead this frozen pipe to break and leak into the basement. It also provides a new entry point into the drainage system for dust and dirt.

Sugary drinks, urine, detergent, oil spills, and other fluids all leave particles behind when they drain away through a dry pipe. This causes crystallized particles to build inside the tube over time. To avoid this, you might need to hire a professional plumbing team.

What Kind Of Drain Do You Have?

The two most common drain options for drainage systems are traditional garage floors and a trench drain.

Regular Garage Floor Drain

The standard floor drainage system is used across many garages. It is generally properly installed in the middle of a sloped floor, allowing gravity to move the liquid all over a smooth surface. The advantage of this drainage system is that the overall outline is relatively easy, especially when proportioned and pitched correctly.

Trench Drainage

A trench drain, or a channel sewer, is installed around the garage's perimeter or entrance. This type is made up of large metal grates and is ideal for locations with a dusting of snow, debris, or water. Although this kind of drainage, like most gutters, is built to accommodate a considerable amount of water doesn't mean it won't get clogged.

What Causes A Clogged Garage Floor Drain?

As trench drains can handle more material and liquid, these are much less prone to becoming clogged. However, the U-shaped bell trap drains can jam for weather and poor maintenance.

Problems With Maintenance

Garbage will cause an additional blockage if you don't clean that out every couple of months, leading to discoloration and fungus if not solved. The liquid that goes down the tunnel can freeze during winter as trench garage floor drains seem more prevalent in cooler regions.

U Shaped Pipe- Square Or Round Drain

A round floor drain stops drainage channels from messing up with the garage. The problem is figuring out what kind of blockage it is, which takes considerable experimentation.

Materials & Tools To Begin With

The following components are required to clear your garage floor drain:

  • A screwdriver to unscrew the grates.
  • A chisel is required should you need to remove the grate's screws and lift a big grate, like over a trench drain.
  • A plumber's snake
  • Vacuum cleaner (wet/dry)
  • A bucket
  • Towels
  • Clean water supply (possibly a hose spigot)

While It May Not Be Needed, You May Want To Include:

  • A wrench to unscrew the clean-out plugs
  • Cleaning lubricating oil for penetrating 
  • A rubber plug 

How Do You Unclog A Standard Garage Floor Drain?

For unclogging any standard garage floor drain pipe, follow these tips:

1. Remove The Grates.

Loosen the grate using the screwdriver or maybe the chisel to look into the drainage for any apparent obstacles.

2. Recognize It!

Put the vacuum cleaner tube into the opening to remove the particles. In other cases, the dirt collected over months or even years can contain wood fragments, insects, or even bolts that have fallen through the drainage pipe.

3. Evaluate Your Work

Pour a bucket of water through the gutter to test your work and whether the vacuum pressure feels weaker than when it first started. If somehow the water drains quickly, you've solved the puzzle.

Continue to Phase Two if the pressure method fails.

Snaking Drainage

For snaking your garage drain, follow these instructions:

Remove The Clean-Out Cap First

Disconnect the clean-out cap, which would be the square-top slot next to the drain. This feed bypasses the U-shaped drainage and runs right down the middle. This cap can be a metal component that needs drilling oil with a wrench for moving, or it may be made of rubber, based on its history. Ensure that all debris is cleaned before you open it because the existing line may become clogged again.

Use The Snake

Put the snake through the drain until it reaches the clog. It has a hard bulk texture with some elasticity.

Take it away

Make the snake come out even though it will resist.

Go Over To The Washed Piping Valve Now

Repeat the technique inside the clean-out tube valve once you've finished the work here on the drainage system. The clog will fall out in pieces, so ensure that you get them all.

Flush Flush Flush

It is time to flush the drains with fresh water.

Replace The Plug

Lastly, replace the old silicone clean-out valve with a new drain, ensuring it is firmly sealed.

Maintain Communication

A garage floor overflowed because of clogged floor drains

To verify that the drain is flowing freely, flush it once more. If that's the case, the water will stay in the trap. It will act as a barrier to sewer gas passing through.

Unclogging Trench Drains

Remove any debris with a tiny hand shovel by loosening or moving the grate directly over the drainage. If you have a frozen pipeline, use a de-icing liquid to melt the ice. If the pipe is still blocked, begin with the regular drainage and continue the cycle with the vacuum. It's important to remember that trench drains typically do not have a clean-out valve.

Applying Chemical Drain Cleanser To Unclog Your Garage Floor Drain

In combination with the mechanical procedures mentioned above, liquid chemical drainage cleaning can be applied to unclog your garage floor drain. This approach benefits that you do not have to use your hand. Just pour the mixture inside and wait.

When Using These Substances, There Are Some Things To Remember:

  1. Drainage chemical agents are potentially bad for health. You would not want to apply these, then fail, and clean the drainage yourself. Your skin, lungs, and eyes will all be burned. Follow the health and safety precautions on the container!
  2. Chemicals can't dissolve metal, thick plastic, or bits of wood. Such items are typically found within the clogs of garage drains due to having autos, woodworking, and bikes in the garage. As a result, no matter how frequently you put the chemicals in, it may not work.
  3. Avoid combining mixing chemicals. It is never a good idea to mix a can of drain cleaner chemical with baking soda, vinegar, or any natural drain cleaner. You could end up with a toxic chemical combination, an adhesive material that increases the clog. The chemicals even might neutralize one another. Follow the instructions on the container and don't mix it with any other chemical unless the manufacturer suggests so. 

Point To Be Noted

Many garage trench drain systems drain through an exposed hole below your garage door or into a horizontal tube that runs through the garage wall. At this juncture, between the garage door and the garage wall, clogs are usual. To clear it up, use a pipe or broomstick to push the blockage straight into your garage from the outside wall, then move on to the next step.

Take out the de-icing liquid and dump it through the tunnel and then into the central collector for melting the ice if you face blockage during winter.

Avoid Future Garage Floor Drains

To maintain a clear drain clear, figure out what caused the problem. It may be a blocked sewer line that causes gurgling drains or overflowing toilets whenever the water is turned on, or it may be a frozen drainage line if the obstruction happens during freezing weather. If a frozen pipe causes this problem, it should be dug and protected to prevent future issues. Pipe crystallization is a problem caused by sediment from sweet drinks, urine, and soap. If that's the scenario, professional assistance is needed. 

QUEEN CHARLOTTE PLUMBING has assisted large corporations and residents in 8424 Old Statesville Rd Charlotte, NC 28269. We can meet all of the cooling, plumbing, and heating needs. Our team repairs and services all aspects of plumbing, including water heaters, sewage lines, clogged sinks, leaking faucets, and more. We are an operated company that takes pleasure in offering good service at a fair price. Get plumbing help twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, by calling 704-707-3339.

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