Plumbers - Advice For Preventing Common Drain Clogs

Barring the occasional accidentally dropped object like the engagement ring, plumbers generally see the same types of home clogs in sinks, toilets and showers. Preventing a blockage is much easier and less stressful than dealing with backed up water. Here are some examples of substances that can stop up your drains.

Plumbers most commonly find food or paper particles clogged in kitchen sinks. It is important to use a drain strainer, which can be bought at any hardware store in a variety of sizes and styles. This traps any larger bits of food to ensure they don't fall into the drain, allowing you to pick them up and throw them in with the garbage. Make sure to clean them only when the water is turned off, or you'll risk the food flushing down before you have a chance to catch it. Even with diligence, however, food can still become stuck, in which case you may need a professional rooter to fish it out.

Grease is another substance that can often clog a kitchen sink. Fat from frying pans should never be poured into the sink. After a while it can stick to the pipe walls and coagulate, creating a thick sludgy paste and narrowing the amount of space the water has to escape. Before throwing a greasy pan into the sink, pour off the fat into a disposable container, such as an old tin can, freeze it, and then throw it away once it has solidified. Some people even like to reuse old cooking fat to deep-fry some food.

If your clog is in the shower, then clumps of tangled hair are likely the problem. Many showers have inadequate drains that allow for too much loose hair to fall through and collect. If you find yourself with continually backed up showers, purchase an inexpensive hair trap from a hardware store. These work the same way kitchen strainers do. They are placed over the drain, and then should be cleaned regularly. If the problem is in the bath, hair often becomes tangled around the inside stem of the plug. Pull it up completely and cut away any hair that has become trapped. If water is still pooling in the shower or draining slowly, you may have to call in the plumbers to dissolve the clog or pull it out with a snake.

Clogged toilets can most often be attributed to excessive paper or feminine hygiene products creating a blockage. Sometimes it can be due to human waste, but this normally breaks down much more easily. Most paper products can also be loosened and dissolved with a little bit of liquid soap and hot water (beware of using chemical products as they can cause more damage than good). Feminine hygiene products, however, may be much more difficult to dislodge and will likely require a professional snaking service. If the problem is persistent, consider disposing of the products in the waste bin rather than flushing, even if it is a degradable substance. Not all pipes can handle the size.