5 Common Causes of Blocked Drains and How to Prevent Them

Blocked drains can be a nuisance that could disrupt your everyday life. They can lead to the destruction of your home’s plumbing, unpleasant smells, and even health hazards. If they are not addressed promptly, blocked drains can cause serious issues in the plumbing system, which could lead to expensive repair or even replacement.
Key Takeaways
- Blocked drains can disrupt your day-to-day routine and lead to water damage, bad smells, and even health issues.
- Fat, oil and grease accumulations can stick to the pipes’ walls, causing obstructions; try not to pour grease down the drain, or use hot water and soap while cleaning dishes.
- The roots of trees naturally expand in the ground to find nutrients that could cause severe damage, and also block the pipes completely which can cause flooding. Ensure you maintain the trees surrounding drainage systems by pruning them.
- Disposing of non-biodegradable materials like wet towels, wipes and sanitary pads and so on. can result in nasty smells emanating around toilets/bin areas; be sure to use toilet paper to flush down drain.
- Hair
In this post, we’ll examine five of the most common reasons for blocked drains and how you can prevent them from happening.
Cause 1. Grease, oil and Fat buildup
Oil, grease, and fat may appear like harmless materials to drain down the toilet, but as time passes, they build up on the walls of pipes causing the pipes to become blocked. When this occurs the water can’t flow freely through drainpipes. The best solution is to refrain from spilling grease in the drain, or make use of hot water and soap during cleaning dishes since it can help break down grease-based substances.
Cause 2. Tree Roots
Over time tree roots naturally expand into the soil seeking nutrients. This leads to them expanding toward underground pipes. Once inside the pipes, tree roots can cause substantial damage and even block them, leading to flooding. It’s important therefore if you have trees nearby to maintain their growth around drainage systems, by trimming them on a regular basis.
Cause 3: Unwanted items
It’s easy to assume that flushing non-biodegradable things like the wet wipes, sanitary towel and so on. aren’t likely to cause major issues in the end, however, if too many of these products are flushed down toilets they will resultantly pile up and push others away, in the way of pipes. This could result in nasty smells emanating around toilets/bin areas too! Make sure to remember what should be flushed, and what shouldn’t (i. e only toilet paper needs to be flushed).
Cause 4 Hair
Additional Information
- The Importance of CCTV Drain Inspections in Preventing Expensive Property Damage
- Blocked Drain Emergency? Here’s What You Need to Know About DIY vs. Professionals
- Expert Manual to Plumbing Cleaning for a Blockage-Free Home
- What You Need to Know About Blocked Drains and How to Resolve Them
- Is It Time for a CCTV Drain Inspection? Here's What You Need to Know
- The Top Causes of Blocked Drains and Their Simple Solutions
- Tips and Tricks for Unclogging a Blocked Pipe with Effortlessly
- CCTV Drain Inspection: Find Out How it Helps Pinpoint Root Infiltration in Your Pipes
- Understanding the Technical Aspects of a CCTV Drain Inspection Report
- Top Reasons to Avoid DIY Drain Unblocking