Understanding Blocked Drains And Ways To Prevent Them

The familiar sound of gurgling from the drain and overflowing is taxing for everyone, especially for the residents. Blocked drains are frustrating plumbing problems for residents and can occur in various places including toilets, storm water lines, kitchens, and bathrooms. These blocked drains are often caused because of negligence and disposal of waste in the wrong way. However, as they say, old habits die hardly and thus it is a serious concern leading to over clogging, blockage of pipes creating havoc in your bathroom, kitchen and other areas of the house too. So, here is a guide to handle these issues.

Understanding causes of blocked drains

The little things add up to drainage issues rather than short-term problems. Here are some of the most common ones. If your answer checks the yes in most cases, then you are also the victim to this issue-

• Throwing waste right down the drain is perhaps one of the biggest issues that most people face with clogging of drains. In this case, bigger chunks of foods and other particles block your drains.

• Another common cause of these blocked drains would have to be the use of grease or animal fat that goes down the drain. These butter, oil, etc. eventually sticks to the side of the pipes. In such cases it causes other particles to stick there thus clogging the drains more.

• Last, but not the least do remember that hair particles, throwing little plastic things into your drain, etc. too leads to clogging. Another aspect here is that many people do throw sanitary napkins into the drains, which causes clogging. So beware of these.

Managing blocked drains

There are different ways to manage and care your drains. You can manage blocked drains in the following ways. Here, are some ideas that can be helpful.

Think of preventive measures

One of the best thing you can do is, try to prevent the clogging of these drains bystop throwing things into them. So as a rule of thumb, rather than disposing grease directly into the kitchen pipe, use a bin. In addition, for the bathroom use the drain covers that covers properly and allow only water to flow thus, preventing your hair and other such elements from going into the pipe and causing blocked drains.

Do regular cleaning

There is no doubt that regular maintenance is something that will improve the life of your drain and help you to ensure that your drains don’t clog that easily. So, the first step to keep in mind here is that you should opt for simple and regular cleaning methods. There are a few effective methods. Some of them are:

• Draining down hot water every night or every 2-3 days through the drain is known to prevent blocked drains. It helps in getting rid of stubborn fat and other greasy elements.

• You can also make a solution using baking soda, hot water, and vinegar and pour it down the lane. Just make sure that you don’t use the drain for the next few hours or so after doing this.

• Beside these, there are also a lot of regular drain cleaners available in the market. These are simple commercial ones available at grocery markets or departmental stores. Get one of these and use as instructed to prevent the blocked drains.

Do keep in mind that rather than calling a plumber, these measures to fix and prevent clogging of drains are more effective. Not only will you be able to save time and drainage hassles, but also prevent wastage of money, which a plumber would charge for cleaning up your drain.

Guest Contributor, Amelie Lawrence