Drains tend to clog at the worst time, like when you have family visiting and you need to prepare a large meal. When you have a number of people that need to take a shower, the shower drain tends to clog. If you know ways to prevent the drain from clogging, you can minimize having embarrassing plumbing issues when guests are visiting your home. In this guide, we will look at six different tips that can help minimize drain clogs.
1. Prevent Hair From Going Down Drains
One of the biggest issues with bathroom drains is hair. Hair mixes with soap scum and becomes a thick, tangled mess that blocks the pipes. Everyone loses hair when they bathe, but one way to minimize what goes down the drain is to brush your hair before you take a shower or bath. This will help remove all of the loose hair that is on your head, and you can place it in the trash instead of allowing it to go down the drain.
No matter how short your hair is, it can cause an issue in your drains. That said, pet hair can also easily clog drains, especially when they are shedding. A large dog sheds more than enough hair during one bathing session to clog the drain easily. As plumbers, we suggest that you wash your pets outside when possible. However, if you must wash them indoors, make sure that you are using a hair catcher along with a washcloth to catch as much hair as possible.
A drain guard is one of the most effective methods of catching hair before it creates a clog. However, once the hair is in the guard, you will need to remove the stopper and clean the hair from it about once a week. This ensures that excess hair does not slip through the drain to clog the pipes.
2. Keep Food Out of Drains
Allowing food to go down the drain in your kitchen is another reason that clogs occur. Regardless of whether you have a garbage disposal or not, it is important that food does not go down the drain. Keep all food from going down a regular kitchen drain by using a drain strainer. A strainer will allow the water to go down the drain while stopping food so that you can easily dispose of it in the trash.
With a garbage disposal, there are certain foods that do not grind up as well, so they are likely to clog your system. Some of these foods include coffee grounds, eggshells, bones, banana peels, rice, and pasta. If you do happen to put food down your garbage disposal, then make sure that you have a stream of cold water going with the food to ensure that nothing gets stuck along the way.
3. Keep Oil and Grease From Going Down Drains
Oil and hot grease will slide through the pipes of your system with ease, but when they get partially through your plumbing system, you will find that the grease re-solidifies. Once the grease becomes hard again, it will stick to the inside of the pipes. It is best to dispose of grease by pouring it into a sealable container. Once it solidifies, you can easily remove the grease from the container and place it in your trash. You can also opt to use the grease again for cooking, especially bacon grease.
If hot grease does end up going down the sink drain, then make sure that hot water follows it. Be careful when pouring the hot water so that it does not splash your skin. Doing this will help to melt any grease that may be already in your plumbing system. Ideally, you should do this once a week to keep your pipes clean.
4. Minimize Soap Scum Going Down Drains
Soap scum may seem like it is harmless, but if you have hard water in your home, the soap creates a paste-like residue that will build up in the pipes, causing them to narrow. If your home has an issue with hard water, consider installing a water softener to help reduce the minerals going down your drains.
This sticky substance formed in the pipes also traps other things that go down your drains, like hair and skin cells. The buildup is an ideal space for bacteria and mold to grow, and the longer it sits in the drains, the more difficult removal becomes. Using liquid soap will help minimize the amount of soap scum going down your drains.
5. Use Appropriate Toilet Paper
Not all toilet paper is on the same standard when it comes to clogs, and if you are using something thicker than single-ply, it is likely the reason for toilet clogs. Low-flow or older toilets may not have enough water pressure to push thicker toilet paper through the pipes, so using quilted toilet paper that does not dissolve as easily should never be a habit. Also, never flush paper towels or wipes branded as flushable because they don’t break down quickly in your system.
6. Preventative Measures to Keep Drains Clear
Routine drain inspections are a great way to ensure that you find small problems before they become much larger issues deeper into the plumbing system. A plumber from our team can detect what will be the cause of drain clogs. We can let you know about excess hair, grease, soap scum, and mineral buildup before it has a chance to form a clog in the pipes.
For most homes, you should get plumbing system maintenance once a year to check the drains, detect leaks, clean out blockages, and make sure that everything is running smoothly. We will check the pipes for corrosion and cracks that could lead to leaks as well. We can also use a camera to find hidden damage or tree roots that are starting to intrude on the pipes, which could cause an issue in the future.
If your plumbing system has a lot of tough clogs, consider hydro jetting to clean out your pipes. This is a method that professional plumbers use to clean your pipes with high-pressure water. If there is a blockage in the system that a camera can pinpoint, then we send a hose with a jet nozzle extending down the pipes to push out the debris that is causing the clog. This is an eco-friendly method that also helps prevent future clogs because it thoroughly cleans the walls of the pipe.
Contact a Dependable Plumbing Company Today
If you are experiencing frequent clogs in your plumbing system and you are not sure why, give us a call. At Delta Mechanical, we have been serving the Mesa area since 1995. Our unwavering commitment to ensuring that your plumbing system is working as it should is why our customers like you commit to our services when plumbing issues come up. If you have a drain with a stubborn clog or need other help with your plumbing system, contact us today at Delta Mechanical to schedule an appointment.
