WHAT’S CLOGGING YOUR DRAIN?
A clogged drain is not just annoying, it can be dangerous for your homes plumbing. These clogs can come from a variety of places around your house and around your body. Let’s take a deeper look at where your drain clogs are coming from, and how you can avoid the clogs in the future.
In the bathroom sink
A clog in your bathroom sink can go unnoticed, but that unnoticed clog creates a pungent odor in the bathroom. Clogs can come from everywhere, bathroom sinks are victims of food falling from brushing your teeth. Not to mention the built up toothpaste that accumulates within the pipes and drains. Finally, the hair from shaving or brushing can also create dangerous clogs.
Waiting too long to fix your drain problem can lead to serious problems requiring a more heavy duty solution. The heavy duty solutions include removing parts of the pipe, and even calling a plumber. Luckily, each of these clogs as annoying as they are,can be prevented. Ensuring that there is enough warm running water headed down the drain at the same time is a great way to prevent build ups. That means that the water stays running even after the items have made their way down the sink. In addition, cleaning the sink weekly is yet another way to prevent long term buildups from reaching your pipes and creating blockages.
In the bathroom shower
Bathtubs and showers pose an even larger problem. If these clogs aren’t prevented, fixing the problem will require a plumber which can cost you your shower along with some money too, that’s the last thing you want in your house.
Let’s take a look at the biggest problems impacting your pipes in the shower. First and foremost hair. Hair naturally gets tangled within the pipes and cannot break down. With the average person long around 100 hairs a day, that’s a lot that can end up in your shower drain. This will then generate problems with draining and eventually your home plumbing. Preventing the drainage of hair in the shower can be a tall task. The best way we have found to prevent this is to invest in a drain cover that catches the hair before it escapes down the drain. The second issue is dirt; dirt is why we shower in the first place! But all that dirt can cause major problems if not addressed. One of the best ways to deal with dirt is to flush it out while showering. Don’t skimp on the water you use to clean yourself, that water can be used to flush the dirt from your pies as well. Next, try to avoid large chunks of dirt entering your shower drain, where possible rinse off large dirt deposits outside.
In the toilet
When it comes to the porcelain throne clogs can lead to an overflowing toilet bowl soiling your entire bathroom floor. These clogs come from a variety of different sources. Large waste deposits, toilet paper, food, and feminine hygiene products all contribute to clogs in your toilet pipes. There are solutions to each of these before they even occur. Do not flush feminine hygiene products down the toilet. They do not break down in the toilet and instead can create a blockage in your pipes. When it comes to food, waste and toilet paper, flushing often is a good idea. Rather than using a large amount of toilet tissue then flushing, try breaking up your flushes after wipes with more than a few sheets. The same goes for bigger waste deposits, flush often even if you haven’t finished your “business”. When it comes to food, don’t use the toilet as a garbage bin, throw out old food in a garbage bag or in a green bin. Items like soup can be a little different, but beware, any food waste can still damage the pipes.
If you run into a clog, the toilet plunger might be a good option to solve that, if it still wont flush, a plumber may need to be called.
In the kitchen
Kitchen clogs have two main culprits: food and grease. When washing dishes, leftover food from rinsing dishes can get stuck in the drain and pipes and generate an extremely bad smell over time. This can be prevented by scraping plates into the garbage before rinsing them, an easy fix for a potentially catastrophic problem. Foods like eggshells can wreak havoc on your pipes too, these calcium shells do not fare well in the small home pipes. When it comes to greases and oils, the problem can get more complex. It might seem easy to just pour your hot pan oil and grease down the sink; however, the grease may harden onto the inner portion of the pipe and be a real pain to take care of. Instead of pouring this down the drain collect the grease in a separate cup and dispose of the grease once cooled into the regular garbage.
Non Specific Pipe Clogs
There are other factors and issues that can affect your homes pipes. These things all require a plumber’s assistance. Things like tree and plant roots, disintegrating pipes, slope, pipe size and scale, as well as leaks all have the potential to cause clogs in your pipes. Should you have any concerns with these, calling a plumber will save you time, effort, and money when it comes to fixing and maintaining your pipes. The Rooter team is always more than happy to give you a free estimate and take a look at your pipes. Don’t hesitate to fill out a form today and get your free quote.
Now that you know all the things in your home that could be causing pipe clogs, it is up to you to take action and prevent further damage. HERE are a few solutions you can try at home before you call a plumber. Keep in mind, that many bad clogs do require a plumber’s help and trying these yourself can further the damage done, or even worse create a new problem.
