Clogged drains are one of the most common problems that can affect your plumbing system, and they are also one of the most disruptive. A drain that no longer drains can cause all sorts of problems within your home, including water damage, burst pipes, and mold growth, all of which can be expensive and complicated to fix.
Fortunately, there are a number of things that you can do to proactively reduce the risk of drains becoming clogged in the future, ensuring that worse issues don't manifest themselves.
Use a Hair Catcher
The material that is perhaps the worst culprit when it comes to drain clogs is hair. Shower and tub drains can be easily filled with balls of hair that will resist physical breaking by drain snakes and will not be easily broken apart by chemical drain cleaners either, requiring physical removal by deconstructing your plumbing in extreme cases.
In order to prevent hair from entering your drains, you should install a hair catcher, available at most hardware and grocery stores, in your drain. You can simply remove and clean this catcher as it collects hair over time, keeping your drains clear.
The same principle goes for lint that drains out of your washing machine: installing a hair catcher to collect lint and other debris can help keep your basement drains clear. Don't Dump Grease
In the kitchen, human hair may not be a prime culprit of clogged drains, but cooking grease and oils are a major concern. These materials are liquid when hot but will congeal into a gel when they cool down. Cooled grease or oil can harden within your plumbing and create physical blockages that prevent water from flowing past.
Since grease won't be caught by hair collectors or any other type of drain blocker, you'll have to make a concerted effort to pour cooking grease and oils into cans or jars, which you can then throw away. As a short-term measure, you can run hot water down your drain to melt away small amounts of built-up grease (though not an entire blockage).
In a similar vein, you should avoid putting items down your drain that could pose a threat to the health of your plumbing. Such items include floss, bathroom products, large pieces of food waste, and similar items, which should simply be thrown out.
Flush Your Drains
While using a small amount of water is good for the environment and your water bills each month, sometimes it is necessary to flush out your drains to remove any stuck-on material that may contribute to a clog in the near future.
To rinse your drains and pipes properly, you should pour a cup of vinegar down the drain and allow it to sit for up to an hour. This sitting time allows the vinegar to penetrate any organic waste that may be stuck on the sides of your pipes. Then you should run the hot water for several minutes to flush away the loosened material and clear your drains out.
Alternatively, you can purchase commercial drain cleaners, which can remove built-up debris within your drains: while chemical cleaners can cause damage to your pipes, you can make use of bacterial cleaners that will eat away at blockages just as well. Let the cleaner sit for the recommended amount of time before rinsing it out with hot water.
For any questions that you might have about your home's plumbing, please feel free to contact us at Moody Plumbing, Inc. Our team of highly trained contractors will be more than happy to help you with any plumbing related issues that you may be having to get your home back to normal again.
