5 Common Causes of Blocked Drains and How to Prevent Them

Blocked drains are an inconvenience that could disrupt your everyday life. They could cause flooding, bad odours, and even health hazards. If not dealt with promptly blocked drains can lead to severe problems for your plumbing system, which can lead to expensive repair or even replacement.

Key Takeaways

• Drains that are blocked can interrupt your routine and cause water damage, bad odours and even health hazards.
• Oil, grease and fat buildup can accumulate on the walls of pipes causing obstructions; try not to pour grease down the drain. Alternatively, make use of hot water and soap when washing dishes.
• Tree roots naturally grow into the soil to search for nutrients. This can cause massive damage, and also block the pipes completely leading to flooding; regularly maintain trees near drainage systems by pruning them.
• The flushing of non-biodegradable products like wet wipes, towels, etc. can create unpleasant smells that can be detected around bins and toilets; make sure to flush toilet paper down the drain.
• Hair

In this article, we will look at five common reasons for blocked drains and ways to prevent them from happening.

Cause 1. Grease, oil and fat buildup

Oil, grease, and fat may appear like harmless materials to dump down the drain but they can build up within the wall of the pipes, creating a blockage. In this case, water is unable to flow freely through the drainpipes. The best solution is to refrain from pouring grease down the drain. Or use hot water and soap when cleaning dishes since it can help break down grease-based substances.

Cause 2: Tree Roots

As time passes, tree roots naturally extend themselves into the ground searching for nutrients which results in them growing toward underground pipes. Once inside the pipes, tree roots can cause substantial damage and could completely stop them from flowing, causing flooding. Therefore, it is essential that if have trees around to maintain the growth of your trees around drainage systems, by trimming them on a regular basis.

Cause 3: Items that are soiled

It’s easy to think that flushing biodegradable products such as toilet paper, wet wipes and so on. will not cause any major problems in the long run However, if a large amount of these items go in the toilets, they’ll in the accumulation of other items, thereby blocking pipes – this can cause unpleasant odors to emanate around bins and toilets! Always be aware of what should be flushed and what shouldn’t (i. e only toilet paper needs to be flushed out).

Cause 4 Cause 4: Hair

Additional Information

• Mastering High Pressure Drain Cleaning Completely
• 5 Reasons Why You Should Hire Professionals for Drain Cleaning Services
• The Advantage of CCTV Drain Inspection in Detecting Root Infiltration Early
• Clearing Blockages Made Easy: The Benefits of Blocked Drain Jetting
• The Ultimate Guide to Drain Clearing Services
• The Importance of CCTV Drain Inspection in Commercial Properties
• CCTV Drain Inspection Technology: Detecting Corrosion in Sewer Pipes
• The Ultimate Checklist for a Smooth-flowing CCTV Drain Inspection Experience
• Future-Proofing Your Plumbing System with CCTV Drain Inspection
• Blockage of Drains: Plumber Tips and Solutions