Picture this: you wake up on a lovely frosty morning, draw open the curtains expecting to see the garden dusted in white… but it’s all underwater! A blocked drain can cause havoc around your property, from foul odours to flooding, and can be expensive to fix. In this blog, the TWC team are sharing some practical, easy-to-follow tips to help you keep your drains clear and functional.
Why do Drains Get Blocked?
There are several very common causes of drain blockage — it is important to remember that your drainage system is only designed to cope with water, toilet paper, and human waste, so introducing any other materials to your pipes can have a serious impact. The typical blockage that you might see in a household drain often depends on which room it is located in.
Build-up of grease, fat, and oils in kitchen sinks
Fat, oils and grease (commonly referred to as FOG by drainage professionals) are often emptied down the kitchen sink after cooking. FOG can also build up in the pipes underneath your sink after heavily greasy pans are washed in hot water, dissolving the cooled fat accumulated during cooking. As the pipe cools down, the FOG clumps together solidly, narrowing and eventually blocking your drains.
Hair and soap scum in bathroom drains
The average human being sheds up to 100 hairs per day — for a family of four, this could mean hundreds of hairs are entering the shower drain every week! This can cause a tangled, growing blockage that leads to slow drainage, unpleasant odours, or even flooding in the bathroom. Soap scum and residue from bathroom products can also congeal and build up in the bathroom drains, making the problem even worse.
Flushing non-degradable items, like wipes and sanitary products
Some items are vital in the washroom, but catastrophic for your drains! Sanitary products like nappies and tampons are designed to be as absorbent as possible, so if they are introduced to your drains, they can swell and cause severe blockages. There are similar issues with wet wipes, even those marketed as “flushable” — there is no industry standard that these products are required to meet in order to be labelled “flushable”, and they routinely fail water treatment industry tests for dissolvability. A build-up of these products in your pipes can form a very stubborn blockage.
Top Tips to Stop Drains Getting Blocked
Be Careful What You Pour or Flush
The simplest way to avoid drain blockages is to keep the materials that commonly cause them out of your drainage system — you should only ever flush toilet paper, water, and human waste. Luckily, there are some simple, environmentally-friendly ways that you can use your leftovers instead! You can mix leftover grease with seeds or oats to make homemade bird food, which is fantastic for wildlife in the winter, or simply pour it into a sealable container and throw it away before cleaning your pans. Leftover coffee grounds also make good fertiliser for your garden. Please also make sure that wipes, cotton buds, sanitary products, and other non-biodegradable materials go into the appropriate bin.
Use Drain Covers
You can install specially designed, removable covers on your drains to catch debris like hair and leftover food. These covers are very affordable, and available in a variety of materials from stainless steel to silicone in order to suit any drain. If you clean your drain covers regularly, your drains will be protected from the vast majority of potential blockages.
Run Hot Water After Use
If you are concerned that you have introduced excess grease or oil to your kitchen sink after washing up or cooking, you can pour boiling water down the drain to help dissolve it and prevent build-up.
Dispose of Food Waste Properly
Even if you have installed drain covers, you should always scrape your plates into the bin before washing them — the drain cover can catch large debris, but scraping ensures that any smaller pieces are safely disposed of too. You can also use a compost bin for food waste wherever possible, as the material that is detrimental to your drains is often excellent for your plants.
Clean Drains Regularly
Regularly cleaning your drains ensures that any minor blockages or build-up can be removed before they become a serious issue.
You can use vinegar and baking soda as a natural solution:
- Pour one cup of baking soda into the drain, and let it sit for a minute or two.
- Then, pour one cup of vinegar into the drain — you should be able to see and hear the fizzing reaction that occurs between the acidic vinegar and alkaline baking soda!
- Let the mixture sit for 30 minutes.
- Flush the drain through with hot water, to remove the mixture and flush through any remaining debris.
If you have a minor blockage, you can try to clear it with a drain snake, or auger — see our other blogs about unblocking drains for detailed instructions on how to use one safely. Using an auger as a DIY solution should be attempted very carefully, as excessive force can damage your pipes. When in doubt, give the TWC team a call, and one of our experienced drain engineers will be happy to solve the problem for you.
Avoid Planting Trees Near Pipes
Tree roots can cause a lot of damage to underground pipes — the roots reach out to seek water, and if your pipes have any weaknesses or small leaks, they will force their way inside as they grow. This can lead to blockages, or even burst pipes and flooding. Scheduling regular maintenance with a drainage specialist can enable you to catch any infiltrating roots early and remove them using high pressure drain jetting or drain rods. When you are planting new trees, you should avoid placing them near your underground plumbing and drains wherever possible.
Schedule Routine Maintenance
How often do you look at your drains? Do you know what is going on underground in your plumbing? Scheduling routine visits from a draincare professional ensures that any early warning signs for drain blockages can be identified and dealt with — and an engineer will also be able to survey all of your pipes using CCTV technology, giving you peace of mind that both your visible and underground drains are functioning properly.
When to Call a Draincare Professional
If your drains are demonstrating concerning symptoms, such as persistently slow drainage and foul odours, or water backing up in your sinks and bathtubs, contact TWC Draincare! All of our work is 100% guaranteed, and we never charge a call-out fee, meaning that your blockage and your worries can be cleared simultaneously. We provide a quick and efficient response across Northern England, including Yorkshire, Greater Manchester, and County Durham.
Prevention is always better than cure, so we also provide regularly scheduled maintenance visits for both commercial and residential clients, ensuring that your drains are inspected with an expert eye at a frequency that suits you. Our engineers are equipped with the latest in draincare technology, including CCTV surveillance, high pressure drain jetting, and professional-grade drain rods — no blockage is too big or too small!
To talk to our team about protecting your drains from blockages, you can contact us here.
