If you own a busy commercial property, you need to ensure that your drains are working properly often. A bad clog resulting in a major leak or drain inaccessibility is a big problem for residential properties, but it could mean many thousands of dollars worth of damage for a commercial property.
Types of commercial properties that could be especially affected
- Restaurants. Businesses that rely on food preparation are the most affected by drain problems. Clogs and plumbing issues are very common, as food particles and grease can be improperly disposed of down the drains. Also, with constant customer traffic comes constant trips to the bathroom. If someone flushes the wrong items down the toilet, major issues can occur.
- Professional office space. In large offices with many tenants, there are ample opportunities for disaster. There could be kitchen-type areas in the office, and if there are a significant number of employees, the bathrooms will be in use all day, every day.
Common problems
- Clogs. These are the most common of all drain problems. They could be caused by the improper disposal of grease, food, toilet paper and other kinds of trash.
- Leaks or burst pipes. Leaks and burst pipes can have many causes. These range from large, untreated clogs or the use of improper drain-cleaning chemicals, to simple old age.
If you notice any of these problems, you should have it inspected by a qualified plumber as soon as possible. Time is money, both in lost business opportunity and potential property damage. These are expenses you can avoid and prevent.
Plumbing professionals have tools at their disposal that can quickly take care of problems, such as plumbing snakes, pipe water jetting, high-pressure cleanings and industrial cleaning solutions that won’t damage the pipes.
Preventative care
If you can prevent issues rather than having to deal with them after they pop up, you’ll save yourself a lot of stress. Consider the following preventative measures:
- Proper waste removal training. If you’re the owner of a restaurant, make sure that all of your employees are trained to not put any solid food waste or grease down the drains. Have grease containers handy at all times. Have workers scrape dishes clean before washing. If you’re the owner of office space, post up informational sheets in the bathrooms and kitchenettes going over what can and cannot be put down the drains or flushed down the toilets. Obviously, this can’t completely prevent all people from doing the wrong thing, but it can certainly make a difference.
- Provide the correct materials. Since many drain chemicals will damage pipes and cause more problems than they solve, ensure that your property has the correct degreasing solutions readily available (ask a plumber if you have any questions about this). Also, provide things such as screens to be installed over kitchen drains so that even if an employee attempts to let food particles go down the drain, they’ll be caught.
- Occasional hydro jetting. Hydro jetting is a service we offer that will completely clean out your pipes. We use high-pressure water to clear out clogs, grease or other materials that have built up on the walls of your plumbing. This is especially helpful for businesses such as restaurants, where pipes are much more susceptible to gunk buildup.
- Camera inspections. If you notice a potential issue with your pipes, consider having a camera inspection A high-definition camera will be snaked through the plumbing, and any problems can be quickly diagnosed and dealt with without having to dig up anything. This saves money and can get issues fixed before they turn into major headaches.
If you’re ever in a tough spot, or just need some help assessing your commercial property’s plumbing needs, contact the professionals at Bieg Plumbing today. We have served the St. Louis area for over 60 years and have the expertise to diagnose issues and provide immediate solutions.
When you’re out of luck, call in the red truck!
