9 Common Causes of Clogged Drains
We have been in business for a long time, and during that time we have seen it all when is comes to clogged drains, it is our business after all. It can be a stressful situation when the water in your sinks stops draining, and even more so when your basement begins backing up with contaminated water. In our experience we have served homeowners who had taken precautions with their drains and still encountered these problems. Sometimes it’s inevitable that your drain will become clogged. These are some of the most common causes of drain clogs, and some tips on how to solve, or prevent them.
Hair
Hair is the most common cause of clogged bathroom drains that we encounter.
Long hair is a frequent culprit of clogged shower and bathtub drains, as it has the potential not only to get caught in other grime and debris that may already be in your drain, but also can become tangled on the way down, creating an obstruction that can catch soap scum (more on that later.)
Preventing hair clogs in your drain is as simple as purchasing a drain cover from your local hardware store. This is an effective, inexpensive, and proactive step you can take to preventing one of the most common causes of household drain clogs.Soap Scum
Soap scum and hair are the undisputed tag team champions of bathroom drain clogs, as they work together so effectively to clog up your drains.
What came first, the hair or the soap scum? We will never know the answer to this question, but what we do know is when we clear a clogged bathroom sink or shower drain we often find both.
The likely answer however is that the soap scum came first, as soap is almost always running down your drains, and can accumulate slowly over time on the inside of your drains. This soap scum accumulation creates resistance for anything else that has to pass through your drains, easily catching long strands of hair, which then create more resistance to catch more hair and soap scum.
To prevent, or alleviate the effects of a soap scum buildup in your drains a drain cover like mentioned above can help. You may also consider pouring vinegar and boiling water down your drains to cut and flush away the residue that has already built up.Food Products
Moving on to kitchen drains, the vast majority of such drain clogs and backups can be summed up as “food products",” this includes grease, fats, and food particles that have gone down the drain.
While food particles will likely create an obstruction in your sink’s P-trap, our drain technicians have no shortage of stories of the nightmares that have been caused by grease and fat buildups in kitchen drains, especially in apartment buildings and complexes.
Much like soap scum, these soft obstructions build up over time, and acts as a magnet to further obstruction once even a small amount of buildup is present.
In severe cases, we encountered main drains that had become clogged with hard grease and fats from a kitchen line that were allowed time to dry out and solidify.
To prevent these types of drain clogs, it is important to NEVER put any grease, cooking oil or fats down your drain. In addition, large pieces of food, or excessive amounts of small food grains should also be prevented from going down your drain.
If you are concerned you already have a grease and fat buildup in your kitchen drain, you might want consider scheduling a drain hydro jetting visit to have your drains professionally cleaned of these types of blockages.Tree Roots
Nature can be a destructive force, including for your drains.
It’s never a pleasure to tell a homeowner that roots were found in their main drain, because roots growing into your drainage system is indicative of a larger problem that will only get worse over time without proper intervention.
Many homes today are still running off of their original clay pipes that were installed decades ago. Over these years, the clay pipes have broken down, allowing tree roots to grow freely through them. These tree roots are hard and stubborn, sometimes even for a drain technician’s power equipment.
The best solution to this problem is to have these problem drains excavated and replaced. This solution however can be costly, so we would also recommend pipe lining if your drains are in good enough condition. If neither a pipe lining or excavation is an option for you, we would recommend regular yearly or bi-yearly drain maintenance on the affected drain.Dirt
Floor drains are designed to provide an outlet for standing water.
Depending on the placement of these drains and the purpose of the room they are placed in, they may take in a great amount of dirt, debris, grease, or even trash, all of which can create problems for your drainage system.
It isn’t uncommon to encounter dirt that likely entered the system through a floor drain as the primary reason behind a main drain clog. It is important to remember however that in some cases dirt in a main drain can be an indicator of a shifted or damaged drain.
If you have a floor drain in your home or business in an area where there is a lot of foot traffic, it might be a good idea to flush the floor drain regularly with clean water to move any accumulated dirt out of the P-trap where it is likely to build up.Toilet Paper
“Toilet paper? But we’re supposed to flush that!” I can already hear you saying. Don’t worry, you should definitely continue flushing your toilet paper.
In spite of its nature to break down in water, toilet paper is actually a common cause of clogged drains after it is flushed don in excessive amounts or in clumps.
Fortunately, if toilet paper obstructs regular drainage within the toilet itself, it is one of the easiest plunging fixes there is. If however an excessive amount of toilet paper makes it past the toilet and sits in your home’s main drain, this can cause issues that a plunger can’t fix.
Remember to always use a reasonable amount of toilet paper per flush, flushing twice if needed to avoid what could be a costly clogged drain.Paper Towels
Paper towels should never be flushed down your toilet.
It may seem like a reasonable assumption that paper towels are similar enough to toilet paper that they should be able to flush down your toilet. The fact is that paper towels are actually a good deal thicker and heavier than toilet paper, and not designed to break down in water like toilet paper is.
Even if the paper towel that gets flushed doesn’t create an obstruction in your toilet, there is a good chance the wet, heavy towel that doesn’t break down will struggle to move with the flow of water through your man drain.
When it comes to giving advice on flushing paper towels down your toilet, it only takes one word. Don’t.Various Minerals
Minerals such as magnesium, calcium, and potassium can often be found in a home’s water supply. Over time these minerals can build up on the inside of your drain pipes, creating a rough, uneven surface that can catch papers and other solids that are moving through the drain.
Water softeners can be installed in your home to reduce the likelihood of a scale buildup in your drains. If you are already dealing with a significant scale build up in your home’s drainage system, it may be time to call in an experienced plumber for descaling services.“Flushable” Wipes
We’ve seen our share of shocked faces when we complete a job after having pulled back handfuls of flushable bathroom wipes from a home’s main drain.
Bathroom wipes suffer from the same problem as paper towels in that they don’t break down in water like toilet paper does. Some brands have released “flushable” wipes, but in our experience they’re only flushable in that they will pass through your toilet without clogging it, however there is a great chance they will accumulate in your main drain and create a problem that requires professional assistance.
Just as with paper towels, if you want to ensure the proper functioning of your drains, we would advise against flushing these wipes until they can be developed with the capability to break down in your drains.
We Got You Covered
We are always happy to provide advice that empowers our readers to take proactive action, or to tackle the less serious drain issues themselves. More serious drainage issues will require an experienced professional, and that’s where A Alert Drain Ltd comes in. Call us today or schedule an appointment online.
