Top Three Causes Of Clogged Drains

If you have an issue with your water or drainage, you may need to call professional plumbing services to fix it. In other cases, however, you may be better off trying to clear out the blockage yourself. So how do you know which problems to address and which require professional plumbing services? Here are the three most common reasons for a clogged drain and what you should do about them.

Why You May Need Professional Plumbing Services

Hair

This is most common in shower stalls, bathtubs, and sometimes bathroom sinks. Hair is especially tricky because it is stringy and tangled or tied up with other debris. Once it starts building up like this, it can quickly cause a slow or even completely blocked drain.

You can often fix this clog yourself with traditional tools. Plungers work well, plumbing snakes even better. You can also try drain cleaning formulas, but be careful with this. Using too much too often will damage pipes as this is essentially acid.

Food & Grease

A common cause of slow or blocked drains in kitchen sinks, food or grease, can accumulate in the pipe. Grease and oil, in particular, can solidify and gradually shrink the diameter of the drainage pipe. Once again, a plunger should be your go-to for a first attempt. Drain clearing formulas can also work, but again, exercise care. Plumbing snakes can be beneficial here as well.

Toys & Diapers

This is a problem more specific to the toilet. In homes with young families, children may discover and make a game of flushing things down the toilet. This is very easy for them to do unsupervised. Adults, feeling lazy, may also decide to dispose of diapers by flushing them down the toilet quickly.

In toilet blockages, a plunger should be tried first, but don’t be surprised if it doesn’t work. If the blockage occurs far down the pipe, professional plumbing services are the best way to fix this problem.