A reminder from Plant Services regarding campus drains
If you have a slow or clogged drain, please do not pour any chemicals into the drains (e.g. Draino, Liquid Plumr, Rid-X, etc). Call the plant services office instead at 503-554-2010.
It is better to remove clogs from drains than to try to dissolve them with harsh chemicals. These chemicals are bad for you, bad for the drain pipes and bad for the environment. Also, if you’ve poured harsh chemicals into the drain and it still does not work (which is fairly typical), this creates a bad situation for our campus plumbing staff. The plumber will need to open that pipe and clear the drain – now filled with caustic chemicals that cause burns and create toxic fumes.
There are steps you can do to prevent clogged drains:
- Don’t dump food or grease into the drains. Put food and coffee grounds in the trash. Let grease cool in the pan, then scrape the grease into a lined trash can or a disposable container and throw away.
- Keep sink strainers in place and clean them frequently (dumping the contents into the trash).
- Don’t flush any paper products other than toilet paper. Facial tissues, paper towels, “disposable†wipes and other personal products should be thrown into the trash.
- Once a week, pour hot water down your drains to help dissolve soap scum and other buildup before they clog the pipes.
Thank you for helping us!
– Plant Services