There is nothing more frustrating than a backed-up toilet or a sink that takes an age to drain off. Even worse is when you’re trying to enjoy a shower but the water pools at your feet because the drain just isn’t pulling the water down as it usually would. You deserve to live in a home that is functional and works properly, and it’s not working properly if the drains are draining the water and you are just trying to get ready for work!
The good news is that there are plenty of common reasons your drains may not be running correctly. You can get help from the experts at Cathedral Plumbing to stop it from happening and fix the issue, of course, but it’s always a good idea to know why it happens in the first place. This will help you to avoid things going wrong again. So, with this in mind, let’s take a look at some of the top reasons the drains are blocked.
- Something is stuck in the pipe or drain. It’s easy to figure that there’s an actual blockage in the drains. Small toys, household items, bottle caps – you name it, the drain will hold onto it and that will slow the flow of water and block the drain from moving water correctly.
- Tree roots. Believe it or not, tree roots are going to disrupt the drains of your home. Tree roots thrive on the goop running through the drain pipes, as it comes with the perfect mix of nutrients, water and more that the roots don’t want to ignore. If you want to get tree roots away from and off of your pipes, the best thing that you can do is call in an expert to remove it for you.
- Build up of dirt and debris. Whenever you shower, you slough off dead skin, which makes its way down the drains. Other dirt, debris, oil and bleaches can also build up in the pipes and drains, creating a “fatberg” that blocks the flow of water and doesn’t drain things out. You don’t want to have clogs in the sink, and avoiding putting anything other than water down the drain is important.
- Soap and scum. The soapy scum that you wash off can create a thick, jelly-like layer in the sink and bath pipes. This causes so many issues and if you’re not using a friendly soap solution for washing dishes, you might find that the problem gets worse over time.
- Kitchen leftovers. Cooking oil and food make their way down the drains very easily and the only way around this is to ensure that you are draining out your oil and food properly into the trash and containers to dispose of the oil properly. Oil in the pipes is going to prevent you from draining the water down and it can be costly to keep putting it down the drains!
Now that you see how drains can block up, you know what to avoid in the future!
