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Pros and Cons of Biological Commercial Drain Cleaners
Sunday, March 31, 2024
drain care
Pros and Cons of Biological Commercial Drain Cleaners
Eco-friendly drain cleaners are the natural choice when you want to prevent clogs but also be mindful of your impact on the environment. However, choosing a biological drain cleaner can bring concerns along with it. You may be thinking, How do they work? What’s the difference from other drain cleaners? Will they be effective in my facility? All these questions are natural and justified as you prepare to make a purchase, but they leave one to wonder, Where do I even start?
At State Chemical, we manufacture and distribute chemical solutions for various purposes, including biological drain care. When you’re looking for a drain solution, there are many different products to scope out, and it’s not always easy to get straight answers.
To help you choose the right product for your facility, we’ve taken the time to weigh the pros and cons of biological drain cleaners. After reading, you’ll know whether eco-friendly drain cleaners are the right choice for you.
What Makes a Commercial Drain Cleaner Eco-Friendly?
Most drain cleaners can be classified as “eco-friendly” as long as they’re made of natural ingredients. Because of this, certain harsh products like acids can fall under this umbrella. Therefore, for the purpose of this article, we will be referring to bacterial products that cause no harm to the user, their environment, or drain lines when we say “eco-friendly drain cleaners.”
Biological drain cleaners work by releasing “good” bacteria into your drain. After the activation period (which can vary from seconds to 24 hours depending on your product), the bacteria consume fat, oil, and grease (FOG) buildup in your drains, and they digest it into water and air that easily passes through the pipes with the water.
From here, the bacteria build a colony that survives off of the FOGs in your pipes. The FOGs keep the bacteria satiated, and the bacteria stop your drains from clogging. As long as conditions remain livable (meaning that there must be a food source, temperatures of at least 40° F and no more than 120° F, and a pH of 6–9), the bacteria will continue this cycle.
Bacterial strains used in drain cleaners can vary, which means products vary as well. However, based on bacterial drain cleaners’ general functionality, they have both pros and cons depending on your situation.
Pro: Eco-Friendly Commercial Drain Cleaners Pose Little-to-No Harm to the User or Environment
The most obvious benefit of biological commercial drain cleaners is that you can use them without fear of causing bodily harm when used according to label directions. If accidentally spilled, eco-friendly drain cleaners should be safer for the user, animals, and the environment.
Additionally, pipes won’t be negatively affected by biological drain cleaners. Since these products are made up of live bacteria, they digest fats, oils, and greases (FOGs) to naturally clear drains—the pipes themselves are unaffected.
On the other hand, harsh acidic products disintegrate buildup, meaning they can cause damage to pipes over time.
Additionally, emulsifying products, while they shouldn’t harm pipes, can cause issues further down the drain line. While they liquefy buildup to help it pass through the pipes, this buildup can re-congeal later on in the system. This can mean hard-to-reach clogs for you and possibly the larger city sewer system.
For this reason, emulsifiers are banned in many municipalities. Meanwhile, biological drain cleaners do not face these same restrictions.
Con: Biological Commercial Drain Cleaners are Less Effective in Major Problem Areas
Because eco-friendly drain cleaners are less harsh, they can also be less effective in severe situations.
Imagine you’re the manager of a fast-food restaurant. Every time the fryer oil needs to be changed, the overwhelmed employees tend to dump it down the drain rather than in a grease disposal container. So, every few days, large amounts of oil flood the sink, congealing on their way down.
In this situation, just after the bacteria make a sizeable dent in one batch of oil, a new one is poured down and builds up. Bacteria alone won’t be enough to break down this excessive FOG intake.
Pro: Eco-Friendly Commercial Drain Cleaners are Preferred by Many Municipal Sewage Treatment Facilities
When you put anything harmful down your drain, it’s recorded by your municipal sewage treatment facility. This means that you could be fined for offenses like dumping too much grease or using damaging chemicals.
With biological drain cleaners, there’s no harm to the sewage treatment facility, and you’re preventing the harm that FOGs could cause. Many facilities also prefer these products since they help the larger system by safely clearing buildup on their way down.
Con: Biological Commercial Drain Cleaners Cannot be Used in Drains that Employ Disinfectants or Sanitizers
An important note is that bacteria-based drain cleaners cannot be used in environments that frequently employ disinfectants or sanitizers.
A good example of this is in a three-compartment sink. Bacteria-based drain cleaners will fare just fine in the washing and rinsing compartments, but that won’t be the case in the sanitizing compartment. The bacteria in these products are alive, and putting bacteria in chlorinated or disinfectant sanitizer will kill them, rendering your drain cleaner useless. Do not use bacteria in these kinds of drains.
If you’re looking for a drain cleaner for an environment that frequently uses disinfectants or sanitizers, we recommend a non-bacterial drain cleaner, such as an emulsifier.
Your current drain cleaner already controls the amount of FOG buildup you’re experiencing. As long as this buildup is not extensive, changing to eco-friendly should be a smooth process.
Meanwhile, if you’re not currently using a commercial drain cleaner, you should notice improvements within several days depending on the amount of buildup you’re experiencing.
Learn About How Ecolution® Drain Line Maintainer Can Treat Your Drains
You’ve decided to invest in preventative maintenance for your drains, and you want to be eco-friendly if possible. Now, you understand the pros and cons of biological drain maintainers and are prepared to explore specific products. Watch the video below to learn about how Ecolution® Drain Line Maintainer can treat your drain buildup.
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