How to Keep Your Drains From Getting Blocked

One of the biggest headaches a homeowner could face when it comes to plumbing issues is a blocked drain. A blocked drain stops wastewater from leaving your home, and that could have serious consequences both on your home and the health of anyone who lives in it. More often than not, blocked drains lead to flooding which could cause damage to your home. Worse, wastewater is filled with bacteria and pathogens that could make anyone in your household sick.

In many cases, a blocked drain is the result of neglect on the part of the homeowner. It can actually be prevented if only proper maintenance tasks were undertaken on a regular basis. Here are some of the things you can do to keep your drains from being blocked:

Grease Causes a Blocked Drains

Many homeowners make the mistake of pouring used oil down the drain, thinking that it’s in the liquid form anyway and should be fine. What they don’t realize is that grease will coagulate while in the drain pipes. It will eventually grow as more grease is poured down the drain, until it becomes a nasty mass of grease and other debris and cause a bad enough blocked drain that would require the expertise of a plumbing professional. To dispose of grease, you would do well to put it in an old coffee can or a milk carton and throw it with the rest of the trash.

Run Hot Water through the Sink

Even if you don’t pour grease down the drain, it cannot be avoided that grease in one form or another would make it into the drain pipes and eventually cause problems, albeit at a much slower pace. Even then, running hot water down the pipes after every use can help prevent buildup in the interior surface of the pipes.

Always keep the Drain Grate in the Sink

Some homeowners remove drain grates because they can sometimes slow the flow of water down the drain. If you don’t want stuff to go down the drain and block it, you should know better than removing the drain grate. It catches food particles, peelings and all sorts of things and stops them from getting into the drain.

Do not turn your Toilet into a Garbage Bin

It is often wondering why so many people flush all kinds of things down the toilet when a toilet could easily get blocked that way. No matter what you do, never ever flush condoms, tampons, diapers, wet wipes and other products marketed as “flushable” when they really aren’t. Also, take measures to prevent children from throwing toys and other large, solid objects into the toilet.

Use Homemade Drain Cleaners Periodically

Using drain cleaners is also a good way to keep your drains from getting blocked, but steer clear of the chemical kind, which is easily available in stores because they contain toxic ingredients. To deal with a blocked drain, we recommend using homemade drain cleaners instead. You can make homemade drain cleaners using baking soda, vinegar, and hot water.

If you can do this weekly, the better: pour a cup of baking soda into the drain, then flush it with a cup of vinegar. The chemical reaction between the baking soda and the vinegar will make it bubble. A few minutes later, pour boiling water down the drain to remove any and all blockages.

If for one reason or another, you still experience a blocked drain despite your efforts to keep your drains from getting blocked, then you have a bigger problem. It’s possible that you have damaged pipes or tree roots might have taken through them. If this is the case, you can count on the professionals of Beez Neez Plumbing to help you fix that kind of a blocked drain. Just give us a call, and our team of plumbing professionals will be there to help you out.