How to Unclog and Clean a Urinal

As a business owner, you should have a commercial plumbing services provider maintain your urinals and other plumbing on a routine basis to prevent clogging and backup. If your urinal is clogged and you have time to clear it up, follow the steps before.

Unclogging a Urinal

Materials

• Filled bucket of water
• Gloves
• Screwdriver
• Plunger (for shallow clogs)
• Urinal Auger (for deep clogs)

In some ways, urinals are easier to maintain than standard toilets, which often requires more finesse. However, there are several differences between the two that require a different approach to unclogging and cleaning.

Steps

1. Put on your gloves and remove debris from the top of the drain covering.
2. Use the screwdriver to unscrew the drain covering from the inside of the urinal.
3. Pour a few inches of water inside the clogged urinal.
4. Place a plunger over the drain and give several strong thrusts. This will remove shallow clogs that are close to the drain. If the bucket water flows through, flush the urinal to make sure it’s truly unclogged. If so, proceed to the cleaning steps.
5. If the plunger doesn’t work, get your urinal auger and slowly crank its cable into the urinal’s pipe.
6. Stop cranking once you feel the auger hit something solid. Then crank a little more to break the auger through the clog and attach to the clog.
7. Crank the auger in the opposite way to withdraw the cable and the clog, then flush the urinal to confirm the urinal is completely unclogged.

If you weren’t able to find the clog, or you removed the clog and the urinal still didn’t flush smoothly, contact commercial plumbers for rooter service. The clog could be deeper in the plumbing system and might only be accessed through removal of the urinal and professional plumbing methods, such as hydro jetting.

Cleaning an unclogged urinal

After the urinal is unclogged, all that’s left is to clean it.

Materials

• Gloves
• Filled bucket of water
• All-Purpose Cleaner
• Soft-Bristle Brush
• Soft Cloth
• Air Freshener (Optional)

Steps

1. With the drain covering still removed, pour all-purpose cleaner down the drain. Follow the cleaner directions, but you typically want to let it sit for a few minutes.
2. After the cleaner is flushed through, clean the urinal with a soft bristle brush dipped into the water bucket.
3. Wipe down the urinal with a soft cloth.
4. Optional: Sprizz the restroom with air freshener to mask lingering smells

Your Local Providers of Commercial Plumbing Services

Ehret Co. Plumbing & Heating has provided quality plumbing services across the Bay Area since 1910. Contact us today to discuss our commercial plumbing services for urinals. As a fully licensed and insured company, we are open 365 days a year to work on everything from major emergency repairs to simple fixes.