4 Top Causes of Blocked Drains in Your Home
An important part of preserving your plumbing system is preventing blocked drains and toilets. The only way to do this is to know the things that cause blocked drains and keep them away from your sinks and drains. Applying preventive care will protect you from emergency blockages, flooded homes, and the potential health dangers of sewer water. If you notice that you have a slow-moving or blocked drain, waste no time in calling a plumber to rectify the situation. Until then, continue reading for the top causes of blocked drains.
Scraps of Food
This is one of the most notorious causes of blocked drains. When in the kitchen, it's advisable to remove the bits of food and dispose of them in the right way. Cleaning your kitchenware directly without removing these scraps will drop bits and pieces of food into your drain. While they may seem inconsequential due to their small amounts and sizes, they'll eventually accumulate in the walls of your pipes and eventually cause a blocked drain.
Make use of the garbage disposal chute or a trash can to prevent slow-moving and blocked drains.
Cooking Grease
Cooking grease may seem like it'll flow right out of your drains, but it won't. Once it's inside your drain and pipes, it cools and forms layers of fat which, in effect, block your drains. They also facilitate the sticking of food particles within the pipes, eventually leaving you with a blocked drain.
The right disposal of cooking grease is putting it in a tin and then disposing of it in the trash. Ensure the container you use is sealable.
Accumulated Gunk
Even without food particles and cooking grease, your sinks and drains could start to drain slowly and eventually block. Why? With people constantly washing their hands, faces and bodies, the dirt may accumulate to form gunk, which may begin to build up inside the pipes.
One of the solutions to prevent blockages from this gunk is flushing the drains with cold water. Avoid using harsh chemicals to create bleach bombs to clean the drains since the harsh chemicals may corrode the pipes. This may cause them to thin out and eventually break. A professional plumber knows the correct product which may use natural enzymes and bacteria to remove the clog.
Hair or Fur
Showering or grooming your pet can also cause blocked drains. The hair or fur will go down the drain and eventually accumulate, causing the shower to drain slowly or to block. The solution is to ensure your shower drain has a hair trap to collect the lint, hair and fur and prevent it from going into your pipes, causing blockages.
Apply all these cautionary measures to prevent your drain from blocking. If it does, reach out to a professional to ensure your drains are unblocked in a professional manner.
To learn more about blocked drains, contact a plumber.