Over the years, our customer service staff has collected tips to avoid various problems, tricks to get you out of jams, hints on the right tool for the right job, and so on. This Ask the Drain Brains blog is a selection of some of those hints and tips. You can search by category, for instance, Drain Cleaning, Sewer Cameras, Water Jetters, Cool Plumbing Tools and more.
Feel free to ask a question or to add a new tip or idea. Just click on the Contact button below.
– The Drain Brains
By Dave Dunbar, National Sales Manager at General Pipe Cleaners Misconception #1 – You should always wear rubber gloves when operating a snake style drain cleaning machine to protect yourself from the health risks of sewage. While it is true that plumbers and drain cleaners should always be aware that they and their equipment are potentially in…
By Dave Dunbar, National Sales Manager at General Pipe Cleaners Roots are your sewer pipes’ worst nightmare! Tree roots are constantly in a state of hunger and thirst, searching relentlessly for water and nutrients. Both are abundantly available inside the drainpipes that lead from our homes to the septic systems or municipal sewage treatment plants…
When social media was in its dinosaur days, the technology’s potential seemingly capped out at reconnecting with old friends and posting updates about your day. Few would’ve predicted that social media would become not just a helpful, but an essential tool for plumbing and drain cleaning contractors to connect with their customers in ways that…
Drain cleaning is a billion-dollar industry and a very rewarding and lucrative career path. It will keep you busy, not matter the season, or the economy. In fact, every plumbing contractor we’ve talked to is as busy as they’ve ever been. And they are looking for help. Trade schools and apprentice programs are a low…
Drain cleaning professionals ignore new technology at their peril. As in most industries, if your competition has equipment that is better, faster, safer, and more professional, it puts you at a serious disadvantage. One need only look at the history of our industry in the past 30 years to see the truth in these statements. What…
Drain cleaning machines of all types are made up of many components that vary in their ability to perform work and hold up to the rigorous demands of our profession. This fact frees us to be flexible; to mix and match the parts that make up our equipment to find the best combination for us…
“The society that scorns excellence in plumbing because plumbing is a humble activity and tolerates shoddiness in philosophy because it is an exalted activity will have neither good plumbing nor good philosophy. Neither its pipes nor its theories will hold water.” –John Gardner Back in the idyllic days that we now refer to as BC (Before COVID), I did a lot of traveling for my job.…
In 1967, a handful of plumbers from the southside of Pittsburgh got together to form the Associated Master Plumbers of Allegheny County (AMPAC) with the modest goal of creating a space for local plumbers to share ideas and experiences from the field. More than 50 years later, AMPAC has grown to become Pennsylvania’s largest school…
Last year, General Pipe Cleaners celebrated 90 years in business. We’ve had a lot of fun reflecting on the great product innovations that have led to where we are today, but we thought it was just as important to remember some of the people who’ve helped fuel General’s success. One person that comes to mind…
Although this might seem like a trick question to many drain cleaners and contractors, there are two trends developing in the plumbing world that could change your answer AND your perspective on water jetters! First, more and more contractors are telling me that most of the grease that is gumming up the plumbing in today’s…
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