Clogged drains are a fairly common occurrence in a home. Often, these clogged drains result from allowing random stuff to go down your sink, toilet, or bathtub drains. Surprisingly, the stuff often found when plumbers Victoria BC unclog drains or pipes are common household items. Here are some of them:
- Hair – hair doesn’t dissolve, gets snagged in all the wrong places, and gets tangled with other objects. Is it any wonder that hair is one of the top culprits when you call a plumber to free up your pipes? Invest in a drain screen to filter hair and other particles that can block up your pipes.
- Grease and/or fat – these substances coat the insides of your pipes with a sticky sludge that traps and promotes buildup of other debris. When it hardens, not only does grease and fat harden, the resulting build up gradually reduces the diameter of the pipes.
- Coffee grounds – yep, coffee grounds. After grease, they’re one of the most common culprits in blocking your pipes. You’d argue that they’re already in small particles, so how could they possibly gum up your plumbing? Well, coffee grounds easily stick to sludge, where they build up quickly. The same holds true for eggshells. Better to use these two as compost, where they will be useful.
- Wads of paper or cotton -throwing wads of paper or cotton down the sink or drain clogs up the passages of your drainage system. The balled up waste sticks to the sludge, gets coated with the oils and fats, and adds to the blockage.
- Leftover food – bits of food down your sink will combine with the grease and fat already there, causing a buildup that will lead to a blockage.
- Hand wipes – these are worse than paper or cotton, as they are manufactured to resist tearing. Imagine what even a single wadded up sheet of this will do if it gets into your pipes.
- Cosmetic debris – cleaning up you makeup causes bits and particles to fall into your drain. Some cosmetics also contain oils, which when you wash them off combine with the grease and sludge already in your pipes. These gradually contribute to all the other buildup in your system.
- Cleaning products – contain phosphates and harmful chemicals. They may not contribute to blockages by themselves, but their sometimes corrosive nature will erode your pipes, causing leaks or ruptures.
Having seen what these seemingly innocuous household items can do to our drains and pipes, we should be more conscious of what we flush down these holes. There are common diy fixes for minor blockages, but when something major is gummed up, then a call to the plumber is necessary.
The Clear Choice Plumbing & Heating
6-3535 Calumet Ave
Victoria, BC
V8X 1V7
778-265-6446