5 Common Causes of Blocked Drains and How to Prevent Them

Blocked drains are a hassle which can cause a disruption in your daily life. They can cause the destruction of your home’s plumbing, unpleasant smells, or even health risks. If not dealt with promptly blocked drains may cause serious problems in your plumbing system, leading to costly repairs or replacements.
Key Takeaways
- Blockages to drains can cause disruption to your day-to-day routine and cause flooding, unpleasant odours and even health hazards.
- Grease, oil and fat buildup can accumulate on the walls of pipes causing blockages; avoid pouring grease down the drain or make use of hot water and soap to wash dishes.
- Tree roots naturally extend themselves into the soil to search for nutrients which may cause significant damage to pipes and even completely block them that can lead to flooding. Regularly maintain nearby trees around drainage systems by trimming them.
- Disposing of non-biodegradable materials like wet towels, wipes and sanitary pads etc. can result in nasty smells emanating around toilets/bin areas; be sure to wash toilet papers down toilet.
- Hair
In this article, we will look at five common causes of blocked drains and ways to stop them from happening.
Cause 1: Grease, Oil and Fat Buildup
Grease, oil and fat could appear as harmless substances to flush down the drain, but over time they accumulate over the insides of the pipes causing an obstruction. As a result the water can’t flow freely through drainpipes. It is best to avoid spilling grease down the drain. Or use soap and hot water while cleaning dishes since it can help break down greasy substances.
Cause 2: Tree Roots
As time passes, tree roots naturally expand into the soil seeking nutrients. This means that they grow toward underground pipes. Once inside these pipes trees roots can cause a lot of damage and can completely stop them from flowing, causing flooding. It’s crucial, therefore, if you have trees nearby that you maintain their growth around drainage systems by pruning them in a regular manner.
Cause 3: Flushed items
It’s easy to think that flushing non-biodegradable things like wet wipes, sanitary towels and so on. shouldn’t cause a lot of problems over the long haul, However, if a large amount of these items are flushed down toilets they will resultantly in the accumulation of other items, thereby blocking pipes – this can cause a bad smell to be released in the vicinity of toilets or bins! Be aware of what needs to be flushed and which shouldn’t (i. e only toilet paper should be flushed out).
Cause 4 Cause 4: Hair
Additional Information
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