Clogged drains can compromise your day-to-day life, such as making your toilet overflow and the water in the kitchen sink drain slowly. For this reason, we have listed some tips below to help you prevent and deal with backed-up drains.

Preventing Clogs in Bathroom Drains

There are numerous ways to prevent and deal with clogged drains in your bathroom sink, toilet, bathtub, and shower.

1. Clean Your Drain Stoppers and Drains at Least Once a Week

Every week, pull out the pop-up drain stoppers in your bathroom sink and bathtub and get rid of any debris there. Use a bent wire or a hair-catching brush to remove hair and other unwanted materials. Once done, clean these stoppers thoroughly before placing them back. Soap scum and hair tend to collect in stoppers, and they can slow down drainage and even lead to blockages if not removed on time.

2. Only Flush Toilet Paper

Aside from human waste, toilet paper is the only material you should flush down your toilet. Other materials, such as diapers and sanitary towels, do not dissolve; hence, they can clog your toilet’s drain. It is also important to note that while toilet paper is suitable for flushing down the toilet, using too much at once can lead to clogging, especially if it is 3-ply.

3. Bathe Pets Outdoors and Brush Your Hair Before Showering

Dogs shed a lot of hair that can easily clog shower drains, even those with hair catchers. For this reason, bathe your pet outdoors. However, if this is impossible, equip your shower or bathroom drain with a drain strainer before you start to wash your pet. You should also brush your hair before taking a shower since this removes loose hair, which may clog your drains.

Preventing Clogs in Kitchen Drains

Consider the tips below to keep your kitchen drains free of clogs.

1. Avoid Pouring Grease or Oil Down Your Kitchen Sink

Grease and oil often become stuck inside drainpipes, making them among the most common causes of kitchen drain clogs. That said, ensure you keep them away from your kitchen sink by letting them cool and then pouring them into a sealable container for easy disposal.

2. Keep Your Kitchen Drains Free of Food Scraps

Unless your kitchen sink has a garbage disposal, food scraps should not end up in your kitchen drains. If not taken care of properly, food particles can build up inside the drainpipes in your kitchen and cause a blockage. To ensure this does not happen, use a drain strainer. You should also schedule a drain inspection with a professional plumbing company to help check for the presence of food particles in drainpipes.

3. Maintain the Efficiency of Your Garbage Disposal

The best way to maintain the efficiency of your garbage disposal is to avoid putting foods in it that do not grind well. Food remnants such as banana peels, coffee grounds, potato skins, and eggshells can be problematic for your garbage disposal; therefore, you should look for other ways to dispose of them. Another way to ensure your garbage disposal is functioning efficiently is to regularly turn on your faucet and let it release a constant stream of cold water that will carry away waste material to the drainage system.

4. Pour Hot Water Into the Drainage System at Least Once a Week

Some grease or oil could still end up in your kitchen sink regardless of how effective the disposal method is. Since even a minimal amount of grease can cause a blockage, take care of it by pouring hot water into the drainage system. Do this with a kettle of hot water at least once every week to melt all the grease that may have found its way into the drainpipes. Ideally, you should pour the hot water slowly to prevent it from splashing onto your hands.

Additional Ways to Prevent and Deal With Clogs

The first is to ensure all your drains have drain screens, which are items designed to fit over the openings of kitchen and bathroom drains. Once there, drain screens ensure no food, soap scum, hair, or other gunk passes through. The second is to have a professional inspect your main sewer line regularly. During inspection, the professional will use equipment such as an inspection camera to spot clogs and a drain snake to remove them. Also, if you have a septic tank, call a professional to inspect it every two to three years.

Another way to prevent clogs is to avoid rinsing cement or grout down the drain. Cement can harden even under the water, creating a clog that is hard to remove. Sand is another material that should not end up in your drains since it is heavy and settles quickly in pipes to create stubborn clogs. Moreover, you’ll want to occasionally pour a bucket full of water into your toilet’s drains, especially if it is a low-flow toilet. While it is great at saving water, a low-flow toilet may not carry away all debris; pouring large volumes of water into the drains at once helps fix this issue.

Dealing With Clogged Drains the Crystal Blue Plumbing Way

Do not wait until it is too late; call a professional plumber the moment you spot signs of a drain starting to clog up your pipes. Some common signs of clogging are water backups, foul smells, gurgling sounds, and standing water in the showers. While it is tempting to tackle most clogs with chemical cleaners, this is never a good idea because these types of cleaners can corrode pipes, thereby shortening their life span.

Instead, look for plumbers who have the experience with tackling clogged drains. At Crystal Blue Plumbing, we have been in business since 1976; thus, we have the skills needed to conduct a thorough inspection and identify potential clogs in your drainage system. Moreover, our plumbers are properly trained and use modern tools like hydro-jets to blast away debris and residue buildup inside drainpipes.

Get in Touch With Us Today

At Crystal Blue Plumbing, we also offer other services, such as AC repair, installation, and maintenance, heating repair, installation, and maintenance, video pipe inspection, repiping, reverse osmosis systems, water treatment, trenchless technology, water leak detection, tankless water heater, auto shut off valves, and more. We are a reliable company dedicated to keeping you and your family comfortable throughout the year.

Our clients throughout the Sacramento area call us for our services because we have outstanding core values, such as workmanship, honesty and integrity, and reliability and dependability. We also focus on delivering exceptional services through our motto, “Quality Service, Satisfaction Guaranteed.”

We are so confident in the quality of our services that we back them with various guarantees, including No Surprises, In-Safe Hands, and 100% Workmanship. Call Crystal Blue Plumbing today to learn more about how to prevent and deal with clogged drains at your home. Ask us about our other plumbing services!