Washing dishes, flushing toilets, and taking showers should be smooth-sailing processes that don’t cause any unnecessary stress, but when a drain starts to experience a bottleneck, it can cause major headaches for any homeowner.
Slow water drainage and clogs are frustrating at best, but it can quickly escalate into a destructive plumbing problem that can compromise your health, home, and pockets when left unchecked.
Most would blame hair as the biggest culprit behind blocked-up pipes, but there is a myriad of gunk, dander, residues, and other partial obstructions that can lead to water sewage backups, low water pressure, and even flooding damage at its worst-case scenario.
Either way, dealing with clogs can inflict heavy damages to your wallet, so knowing the usual toilet-clogging suspects behind blocked drains is one of the first things you can do to prevent the costly issue from resurfacing in the future.
Top Five Toilet Baddies that Cause Clogs
Soap Scum
Soap has always done wonders at keeping our bodies clean, but it doesn’t do an effective job at ensuring drains remain free-flowing. Keep in mind that soap is made from a mixture of oils, so any residue that goes down the drain can easily build-up and coat the lining with its bubbly scum.
The sweet-smelling soap may seem harmless at first glance, but the sticky residue gradually accumulates over time, resulting in a thick layer of soap scum that can slow your drainage system. Add the layers up with other forms of dander, and you’ve got a recipe for drainage disaster!
If you’re wondering how to mitigate your daily hygiene habits from messing up your plumbing, try switching to liqui soaps since it contains fewer oils that can result in close calls with your drainage. Of course, it’s not a solution that fits the bill for everyone.
If you don’t want to toss your favorite bar soaps, conducting regular drain cleanings should allow water to freely escape your drains.
Oil, Grease and Fats from Food
There’s no doubt that people can munch on greasy foods with no trouble, but your drainage system won’t be as happy to feed on the oils and fats from your leftover meals. Having garbage disposal doesn’t make it the right place to throw away chunks of food or dirty cooking oil, especially since they can solidify along the pipeline and turn from delicious to devastating for your drains.
Pouring hot water won’t fix the oily problem since it will only spread them into a thin layer, but it will not eliminate the coating. They’re one of the worst enemies you can introduce to your drainage, so be sure to throw them away properly when it’s time to dispose of your greasy food trimmings, either using a paper towel, compost or let it harden before chucking it out with the trash.
Tissues, Paper Towels, Kleenex, and Feminine Products
If you don’t have rolls of toilet paper and prefer using the silky smoothness of tissues from brands like Kleenex, never flush them down the drain. Keep in mind that tissues and paper towels are designed differently than toilet paper rolls, so they won’t break apart since they are made to retain their strength even when they get wet.
Any other paper products will fail to disintegrate, plus it can even absorb other harmful liquids that can harden around the tissue and cause further blockage. If you ever need to flush tissues, always opt for toilet paper since they can fall apart later on, though it’s still good practice to throw them properly in the trashcan since flushing a bunch in one go can also slow down your drainage system.
Debris, Dirt, and Other Foreign Objects
After walking down a muddy or sandy area, most people make a beeline for the bathroom to wash off any grass, weeds, mud, sand particles, and other dirt to keep the body spick-and-span. Unfortunately, washing the debris off and letting it go down the drain can result in clumps of foreign objects that can damage your pipeline in more ways than one.
Small pebbles can also wreak havoc on your entire plumbing system since these hard objects can scratch the pipe’s interiors, all of which can take a toll on your drainage after months to years of misuse. Even if it isn’t dirt, other entities like a deceased goldfish can leave one last, destructive hurrah to your drains, so only use your toilet for flushing bodily fluids and waste.
After all, you wouldn’t want to pay for hundreds of dollars worth of plumbing repair, all in the name of a classic funeral for your marine friends.
Tree Roots
Thinking about trees may be far off from your mind when digging the drain-blocking culprits, but they can cause trouble right under your nose as they search for any water source they can lap up.
This means you’ll likely run into this trouble if you have trees in your yard, making it one of the most expensive problems that can destroy your pipes altogether. Being mindful of your plumbing system and its place should make it easier to track whether your backyard trees have a risk of overlapping with your drainage system.
The Bottom Line: Spotting the Usual Suspects Behind Clogged Drains and How to Prevent Them from Compromising Your Household Plumbing
Clogged drains are a common plumbing issue that can eat away at your time and money, but it doesn’t have to be! Giving your drainage system regular cleaning and maintenance checks can make a world of difference in ensuring they perform as smoothly and efficiently as possible.
Why Choose Our Plumbing Contractors in San Diego?
Whether you need seasonal maintenance or emergency plumbing repair services for residential and commercial buildings on the West Coast, we’re one of the most top-rated commercial plumbing companies in San Diego you can trust.
Get in touch with us today at (858) 538-6025 and see what we can do to flush your problems down the drain—from leak detection and water heater installation to sewer piping and more. With our 24-hour services, dealing with any plumbing disaster has never been so easy!