The Importance of Monthly Drain Maintenance
Drainage systems are essential for the function of your industrial facility. If they become clogged or damaged, it can grind your entire operations to a halt. In this blog, we’ll explore the basics of drain cleaning and monthly drain maintenance and look a how they can be used to benefit your business. Keep reading to learn more.
What Is Drain Maintenance?
If industrial drains get blocked or even dirty, they can stop functioning as intended and introduce both environmental and health risks. Thankfully, monthly drain maintenance is all it takes to prevent these problems and keep your industrial drains in good working order, so you can easily avoid clogged floor drains, kitchen sinks that drain slowly, or faulty garbage disposals.
But what exactly is drain maintenance, and how do you handle it?
The Basics of Drain Cleaning Maintenance
Your business may be required to have an Integrated Pollution Control (IPC) license from the EPA. Before you’re granted this license, the EPA will conduct an inspection to ensure that emissions and waste from your operations won’t cause significant harm to the environment. You’ll also be required to maintain high standards of operation to make sure your emissions and waste don’t create harmful effects in the future.
Drain cleaning maintenance keeps you aware of potential damage so you can identify leaks and clean out dirt and debris that might release harmful compounds into the environment.
This is a required practice if you want to remain in good standing with the EPA, but it’s also a good practice in and of itself. Clearing and flushing your drains on a regular basis will keep them working properly.
Why Monthly Drain Maintenance Is Important
Ideally, you should practice drain maintenance at least once a month. Depending on your industry and how you use your drains, more or less frequent rounds of drain maintenance may be appropriate.
In any case, monthly drain maintenance is important for several reasons:
Cleaning and Functionality
As you can imagine, industrial drains get nasty. Frequent use throughout the day with minimal cleaning will eventually cause a massive buildup of grime, dirt, and foreign bodies. If you don’t take the time to regularly clean your drains, they aren’t going to drain properly. In extreme cases, they may become completely blocked, rendering them useless. It’s much better to practice monthly drain maintenance and tackle relatively light cleaning jobs than respond to a major blockage.
Environmental Protection
The EPA issues guidance on monthly drain maintenance and drain cleaning for the purpose of environmental protection. If you don’t maintain your drains, your waste may pollute the environment. In some cases, poorly maintained drains can also pose health risks to your employees.
Regulatory Compliance
For many business owners, the top concern is regulatory compliance. It’s important for your organization to remain in good standing with the EPA and other regulatory bodies. Practicing monthly drain maintenance is a requirement if you want to avoid legal trouble.
Cost Savings
Drain maintenance can be expensive, especially if you have massive drain networks. But in the long run, maintenance can lead to cost savings. You’ll be able to catch issues before they become worse, and you’ll spend less time and money on cleaning overall.
Issue Detection
Drain maintenance isn’t just about maintaining regulatory compliance; it’s also a form of prevention. If there’s a leak or other problem with your pipes, you’ll notice it right away. For example, frequently clogged sewer drains may be an indication of a deeper problem within your plumbing system.
Struggling with clogged drains and sewer lines? Explore our blog to learn about their causes.
Commercial Drain Cleaning Services
A commercial drain cleaner can take care of all your drain cleaning and maintenance needs, making this job effortless on your part.
Most drain cleaners go through the following process:
Drain Cleaning
First, the industrial drain must be thoroughly cleaned. Hydro jetting is the most common method of commercial drain cleaning. Highly pressurized water is used to remove debris and bacteria. If the water stream is powerful enough, it can even break up tree roots. For kitchen sinks and smaller drains, you can also use hot water, baking soda, and vinegar. These will clean your drain naturally.
Drain Testing
Next, the maintenance team will perform drain testing, inspecting the system for any points of damage or poor function. For example, in hydrostatic testing, pros can section off specific pipelines to measure leakage rates and detect worrisome changes in water pressure. Pro drain cleaners can also use CCTV surveys to more accurately gauge the condition of your drains.
Drain Rehabilitation
If there are any issues, such as an obstruction or a leak, your drain maintenance provider can restore your drain to full working order.
How to Start Monthly Drain Maintenance
It’s technically possible to conduct drain maintenance and cleaning on your own, but most businesses prefer to work with an expert. Professional drain maintenance offers:
- Skill and experience: With an expert, you don’t have to worry about the job being done correctly. The team you hire will have all the skills and experience necessary to properly maintain your drain.
- Health and safety: When the job is done, you should have no worries about the health and safety of your staff or the environment.
- Thorough records: Because you’ll have a paper trail documenting exactly who you hired, when you hired them, and what kind of work they did, there won’t be any question about your regulatory compliance.
- Peace of mind: You can rest easy knowing that your drains are clean and fully operational.
Maintain Your Drain With A&G Services
Ready to begin a monthly drain maintenance program or want to learn more about A&G Services’ commercial drain cleaning services? Contact us today!