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Are you experiencing blocked drains in your residential or commercial property in Australia? If so, it’s essential to understand that it is one of the most common problems most property owners face. Blocked drains tend to occur unexpectedly and could cause severe damage to your property if left unresolved.
As a result, you must equip yourself with knowledge on how to prevent drain blockages and how to deal with the problem when it occurs. To deal with blocked drains on your property, the most critical thing to understand is the cause of the problem. This article examines the primary cause of clogged drains and how to prevent and solve each problem.
Major Causes of Blocked Drains and Their Solutions
Grease
Grease is one of the most common causes of blocked drains in many homes and comes from kitchen activities, such as cooking. The white residue forms around your cooking utensils after you fry any food. If you pour grease down your drains, it will stick around the drain linings. With time, the grease blocks the passage of your piping system.
An ideal way to prevent blockages caused by grease is to ensure that you do not pour grease into your drains. However, if you accidentally do so, you could flush hot water down your drains to clear it. Warm water and vinegar can also help remove the grease around your pipes.
You could also use acidic cleaners, which you pour down your drain to remove hardened and stubborn grease clogs. Allow the caustic cleaners to sit for an hour for effective removal. Afterwards, pour a mixture of dishwashing liquid and warm water to flush the grease. However, you should avoid using acidic cleaners for steel pipes because they can cause corrosion.
Fat
Fat is also a major cause of blocked drains. It is different from grease because grease is a byproduct of fat. Fat emanates from various sources in your home, including cooking oil, human waste, fat-based soap, and accumulated food residues you flush down your kitchen or toilet drains.
To prevent fat from blocking your drains, use fat-free soaps and avoid flushing food craps down your drain. You could also use a drain strainer to ensure that residues don’t enter the drains. To deal with blockages caused by fat, you should use the same methods you use to remove grease.
Hair
Most of the bathroom drain and sink blockages are caused by hair. This is the hair you drop when showering or when brushing. Hair clogs could also be caused by fur shed by your pets when bathing them in the tub.
Hair strands gather and tangle together, forming a clump that blocks your drains. The clog could get worse, mainly if the hair clump solidifies when it mixes with grime, grease, or dirt from other bathroom activities.
To prevent blockages caused by hair, you should brush your hair before going to the shower to reduce the chances of hair fall. You should also collect and dispose of the fallen hair in the trash bin. To remove hair clogs, pour about one cup of bleach down your drains.
The bleach helps in disintegrating hair that contains acidic components. You should also clean your drains using hot water at least once a month. The other option is to use a drain snake or bent wire to remove the hair.
Toiletries
Tampons, baby wipes, tissue papers, sanitary pads, and other toiletries are also significant causes of blocked drains in many residential and commercial properties in Australia.
They accumulate when flushed down the drain, forming a solid ball that can completely block your drains. To prevent toiletries from blocking your drains, throw them in a trash bin and train your kids to dispose of them correctly after use.
To effectively remove clogs caused by toiletries, you could use a plunger. Another option is to pour hot water down the drain to soften the clog and then pour dishwashing liquid to remove it. Then, you can flush hot water down the drain to ensure it’s clear of any blockage.
Tree roots
Tree root infiltration is a major cause of blocked drains in many properties. This issue mainly occurs if you have trees near your piping system. The roots grow toward your pipes in search of water.
They then penetrate your pipes and cause drain blockage. To prevent tree roots from causing blockages, you should inspect your drain regularly to ensure they are not infiltrating your drains.
To deal with blocked drains caused by tree roots, you should call your plumber to use appropriate methods, such as hydro jetting, to clear the blockage. Plumbers are also equipped with CCTV cameras that allow them to inspect the inside of your drains to accurately identify the location of clogs and remove any roots that might be causing clogs.
Twigs and leaves
Fallen twigs and leaves are also major causes of blocked stormwater drains, beginning from your gutters, flowing down through the downpipes, and accumulating in the stormwater drains and water system. They decompose into organic matter that causes blockage and fills your drains.
To prevent this issue, install a gutter guard that prevents leaves and twigs from falling directly into the gutters. Additionally, it would be best if you cleaned your gutters regularly, especially during summer when there are summer storms. You should also clean them during autumn when most trees shed leaves.
Foreign objects
Foreign objects such as washcloths, toys, dental flosses, toothbrushes, and other objects could also cause blocked drains. Consequently, you should keep such items in cabinets. Additionally, you should not allow your kids to play in your shower or tub with small toys that could easily go down your drains.
It might be hard to determine if your drain clogs result from foreign objects. In this instance, the best option is to call your plumber to perform a CCTV scan and remove the objects if they are the cause of the clogs.
Heavy rains and storms
Rainwater could overwhelm your drains, especially the sewer and roof drains that are not in perfect condition. Drain blocks mainly occur when torrential rainfall results in water backups and floods that could cause extensive water damage to your property.
To prevent blocked drains caused by heavy rains, you should check and seal all cracks in your foundation. It’s also good to have all the blocked drains repaired immediately. Before the start of winter and summer, be sure to undertake a complete stormwater and sewer drains inspection.
Broken pipes
Displaced or broken pipes caused by tree roots and ground movement could also cause blocked drains in your property. A displaced pipe features a lip or an edge that traps paper and solids flushed through your pipes.
The domino effect of solids and waste accumulation blocks the drain when the lips catch these materials. To prevent blockage caused by broken pipes, it’s prudent to conduct regular inspections of your piping system to find any broken pipes before they can escalate.
If you see green patches growing in your yard, chances are high that there are leaks in your irrigation systems or pipes. You should call your plumber to repair the broken pipes, reline them, or patch them when necessary.
Poor installation and workmanship
Poor drain installation could also result in blockages. Some issues that could clog your drains include wrong pipe sizing or a drain falling uphill. When drains are laid, they may have a belly or dip that catches solids obstructing them.
The solution to this problem is to hire a reputable plumber to do the drain installation or any other related work, such as repairs or maintenance. If you experience blocked drains due to poor workmanship, you should call the plumber who did the installation or repairs if it’s still under warranty.
Need Expert Solutions for Your Blocked Drains?
If you need help with your blocked drains, call a trustworthy plumber. Expert plumbers have the skills and knowledge to unblock and offer long-term blocked drain solutions.
They are equipped with the latest tools and apply the latest techniques to unblock the drains. With their skills, you can also rely on them to help with any other plumbing problem you might have in your commercial or residential property.
