There are situations in which it is essential to have a plumber unblock the drain in your home, rather than trying to unblock it yourself. Here are two such situations.

1. You are pregnant

If you are pregnant, it is not advisable to take the DIY approach to fixing your blocked drain. Instead, you should have a plumber handle this task. The reason for this is that the chemicals that are used to dissolve the materials that block up drains are very potent and toxic. If you buy a bottle of drain-unblocking liquid and pour it down the affected drain in your home, the chemicals will need to be left sitting in the pipe for several hours, in order to break apart the materials that have caused the obstruction.

During this time, the fumes that they produce will emerge from the drain, and both you and other people in your home will inhale them. Whilst this might not cause anything more than some mild eye and lung irritation for other household members, it could have far more serious repercussions for you and your baby. This is because inhaling the type of toxic chemicals that are used to dissolve blockages could potentially affect the rate at which your baby grows or even increase the risk of a miscarriage occurring. As such, in this situation, it is best to have the blockage removed manually by a plumber who has the tools and the skills needed to do this.

2. You think there might be a dead rodent stuck in the drain

If you saw a mouse or a rat climb into your drain and the drain in question is now blocked and emitting an awful smell, then you should definitely seek out the help of one of the nearest plumber. The reason for this is that removing a dead rodent from a drain is a difficult and potentially hazardous process. For example, the person performing this task must be equipped with thick protective gloves (rather than standard household ones) and safety goggles to ensure that they do not end up being exposed to the pathogens that are likely to be on the rodent's body when they remove it. Rodents carry a wide range of pathogens, including the potentially deadly leptospirosis. If you don't own these items and you try to extract the rodent, you could end up becoming seriously ill.

Secondly, the part of the plumbing system where the rodent is located will need to be dismantled and then reassembled. If you're unused to performing this type of work, you could end up either damaging the pipe when you dismantle it or failing to reassemble it correctly. The former could result in you having to get the pipe replaced, whilst the latter could lead to a major leak.

For more information and assistance, contact your local plumbers.