Having a blocked drain is one of the most common problems that home-owners can face. It can be a costly and time consuming issue to fix, depending on the nature of the blockage and is generally an all round nuisance.
But what are the top 5 causes of drain blockage and how can we prevent our drains from becoming backed up?
1. Fat and Grease
This is one of the most common culprits of drain blockage. When cleaning kitchen utensils, the majority of people will just pour the excess fat and grease down their plughole, causing a build-up in their drainage system.
Fatty substances are known to be extremely sticky so they stick to the sides of the drain, gradually building up as more and more fat and grease are poured down the drain.
To avoid this fatty drain blockage, keep an eye on what substances you are putting down your plug hole. Find alternative ways to dispose of any fatty deposits or grease… such as scraping into a tissue and throwing in the bin.
2. Hair
You may think that hair is thin enough to get washed down the plughole without any consequences. Unfortunately, hair is pretty flexible and is easily caught on both the plug itself, as well as in the pipes. This makes way for more hair to get tangled on the existing hair, causing a nasty build up.
This can make having a shower very unpleasant, as the damp hair will also attract any products washed down the plughole, making the build up begin to smell. It also will stop water from being able to drain adequately, leaving you standing in a pool of essentially dirty water.
Regularly checking for hair in and around your plug hole helps to prevent a huge build up, as well as investing in a plug hole cover with smaller holes to try and reduce the amount of hair that gets through, while still allowing the water to drain through it.
3. Toiletries
You may think that, because you can put toilet tissue down the toilet, you can flush other toiletries down your toilet too.
Put that baby wipe down and step away from the flusher! Toilet paper has been designed to be successfully flushed down the toilet; baby wipes and other toiletries haven’t! Even excessive amounts of toilet paper can cause a blockage, so it’s important to only flush a small amount when required.
Baby wipes and beauty pads are too thick to break up in the water like toilet paper, and tampons tend to swell when in contact with liquid. These will all build up in the pipes if they get caught on anything in the pipe and cause quite a nasty blockage which can occur at any time!
4. Leaves
Outdoor drains are constantly at risk from blockage as you are unable to completely control what goes into your drain.
Leaves, especially in the autumn months, are one of the biggest causes of outdoor drain blockage. The leaves fall into the drain, collecting at the bottom. You’ve probably have already witnessed how easily wet leaves can stick to things when out walking and they stick to your shoes. These leaves all stick together and end up creating a blockage in the pipes.
They can also gather over the top of the drain covering, cutting off any drain access for water trying to seep into the drain.
5. Rubbish
Rubbish is also another cause of outdoor drain blockage. Some items of rubbish can travel into your drainage system and get stuck, causing a backlog of water and other rubbish. This is hard to combat as it isn’t a consistent cycle of rubbish being present to cause a blockage. With leaves, you can generally judge when a blockage may occur, due to the season and weather.
Placing a cover over your drain will limit the amount of rubbish that has access to your drainage system, while still allowing your drain to function properly.
Here at Inspect-A-Drain, we know how important it is to have a fully functioning drain, and just how much a drain repair can cost. Prevention is the key to cutting back on unnecessary drain blockage and expense. If you are looking for someone to combat your blocked drains Derby people call us, Inspect-A-Drain is here to help! If you would like more information on any of our services, contact us today by calling 01335 360879 and one of our dedicated team members will be happy to help you.