5 Common Causes of Blocked Drains and How to Prevent Them
Blocked drains can be a nuisance that could disrupt your everyday life. They can lead to water damage, bad smells, and even health risks. If they’re not treated promptly, blocked drains can cause serious problems in your plumbing system, leading to costly repairs or replacements.
Key Takeaways
- Drains that are blocked can interrupt your day-to-day routine and lead to water damage, bad odours and even health hazards.
- Oil, grease and fat buildup can accumulate on the pipes’ walls causing obstructions; try not to pour grease down drains or use soap and hot water to wash dishes.
- Tree roots naturally extend into the ground searching for nutrients, which could cause serious damage and completely block pipes leading to flooding; regularly maintain trees near drainage systems by pruning them.
- Disposing of non-biodegradable materials like wet wipes, sanitary towels etc. can result in nasty smells emanating around toilets/bin areas; only flush toilet paper down the toilet.
- Hair
In this article, we’ll look at five common reasons for blocked drains and ways to keep them from happening.
Cause 1. Grease, oil and fat buildup
Grease, oil and fat might appear to be harmless substances to drain down the toilet, but as time passes, they build up over the insides of pipes, which causes an obstruction. In this case it is impossible for water to flow freely through drainpipes. The best solution is to refrain from spilling grease into the drain. Alternatively, use hot water and soap during cleaning dishes as it helps break down grease-based substances.
Cause 2. Tree Roots
As time passes, tree roots naturally expand into the soil in search of nutrients, which means that they grow towards underground pipes. Once inside the pipes, trees roots can cause a lot of damage and could completely block them, leading to flooding. It’s crucial, therefore, if you are near trees to regularly monitor the growth of your trees around drainage systems, by trimming them in a regular manner.
Cause 3: Flushed items
It’s not difficult to conclude that flushing non-biodegradable items like wet towels, sanitary wipes and so on. shouldn’t cause a lot of problems over the long haul, but when too many of these products are flushed in the toilets, they’ll accumulate pushing others aside which can cause a bad smell to be released in the vicinity of toilets or bins! Always be aware of what should be flushed away and what should not (i. e only toilet paper should be flushed away).
Cause 4: Hair
Additional Information
- Save Future Expenses with CCTV Drain Inspection for Home Buyers
- DIY Plumbing - A Step-by-Step Handbook to Clear Your Shower Drain
- Uncovering Hidden Damage with a Professional CCTV Drain Inspection
- 5 Tips to Keep Your Drains Flowing
- Do-It-Yourself Solutions for a Clogged Pipe: Tips and Tricks
- Clear Pipes Ahead: 10 Ways to Maintain Your Home Drain System Unobstructed
- Maximizing the Long-Term Benefits of Pipe Relining by Picking the Ideal Material
- How to Prevent Your Drains from Getting Blocked
- Cut Costs and Hassle with Trenchless Pipe Replacement for Condos
- The Dangers of Using Chemical Drain Unblockers
