Insights
What to Do When a Drain Blocks and How to Stop It Happening Again
A blocked drain always seems to happen at the worst time. Before you reach for a bottle of caustic drain cleaner, it helps to understand what's actually causing the blockage, because the fix depends on the cause. Here's a rundown of the common culprits and how to keep your drains running.
In the kitchen, the number one cause is fat and grease. It goes down the sink warm and liquid, then cools and sets hard on the inside of the pipe, catching food scraps as it goes. Over time it builds into a solid plug. The fix is to never pour fat down the sink. Let it cool in a container and bin it, and wipe greasy pans with a paper towel before washing. A sink strainer catches scraps before they get in.
In the bathroom, hair and soap are the main offenders. Hair binds together and tangles around anything in the pipe, and soap scum builds up alongside it. A cheap drain protector over the plughole catches most of the hair before it gets down. For the toilet, the big one is wipes. Even the ones labelled flushable don't break down like toilet paper does, and they snag and build up into blockages. The rule is simple: only toilet paper goes down the loo.
For a blockage you can reach, there are a few things to try yourself. A plunger often shifts a simple clog if you get a good seal and work it firmly. For a slow sink, the trap under the basin unscrews and is a common spot for gunk to collect, though have a bucket ready underneath. We'd steer you away from harsh caustic drain cleaners as a habit, since they can damage older pipes and don't deal with the underlying cause.
Some blockages are beyond a plunger. If water is backing up across more than one fixture, or it keeps coming back no matter what you do, the problem is usually further down the main drain line. Outside, the common causes are tree roots working their way into the joints of older clay pipes, a build up of debris, or a section of pipe that's cracked or collapsed. This is where a drain camera earns its keep, because it shows exactly what and where the problem is instead of guessing.
Recurring blockages are worth taking seriously rather than just clearing again and again. If roots have got in, they'll keep coming back and can eventually break the pipe apart. Catching it early often means a smaller, cheaper repair.
The best approach is prevention. Keep fat, hair, and wipes out of the system, use strainers and drain protectors, and run hot water through the kitchen sink after washing up. If a blockage keeps returning despite all that, give us a call and we'll find the real cause rather than just clearing the symptom.