Do you experience frequent drain clogs in your home? They're not only a nuisance, but a drain clog can be sign of bigger problems deep inside your home's plumbing system. If you notice that your drains are slowing down or you're hauling out the plunger one too many times, call a plumber for help.
If the drains in your home routinely get backed up, here's what you should check for.
Bathroom Clogs
The most common cause of a drain clog in either the bathtub, shower, or sink is hair and soap residue. It's common for hair to get washed down drains when you shower or wash your face. All by itself, hair can cause problems. It gets tangled up inside the pipes and creates a stoppage that can slow down water as it moves through the pipes.
Soap residue from bars of soap, body wash, or shampoo also clings to the sides of pipes, eventually building up a layer of soap scum that can stop the flow of water. Combine soap residue with hair, and you've got a recipe for a plumbing disaster—or at the least, a nasty clog.
To clear a clog from the bathroom, you can try to remove hair from your drain if it's close to the surface. But for a comprehensive solution to the problem, hire a plumber to address the depths of the pipes and rid them of hair and residue.
Toilet Clogs
One source of toilet clogs that will make you happy—meaning, it's a simple problem—involves toilet tissue. Kids tend to wad up a bunch of toilet paper and forget to flush it. As water saturates the paper, it grows in volume, making it harder to flush. If you think this is the only source of the problem, keep working at it with the plunger. Otherwise, call a plumber to help you identify if the problem is due to one of the kids flushing something other than tissue down the toilet or if the toilet has malfunctioned.
Kitchen Clogs
In the kitchen, one of the most common drain clog problems is due to one thing: grease. Once grease, or fats, go down the drain, they solidify, creating a blockage that refuses to allow other food items and water to safely pass. Or if you routinely put foods like potatoes, celery, or egg shells down the drain—in other words, hard, stringing, or absorbent foods that the garbage disposal can't break up—the cause of the clog is probably due to food buildup in the pipes. A plumber can use a powerful plumber's snake to penetrate through the clog and clear the drain.
With professional help, you can safely combat a drain clog and clear out the plumbing.
For answers to your questions, contact the Pink Plumber today.
