Clogged Drains

What are the common causes of clogged pipes?

Yes clogged pipes are inconvenient and have the potential to cause damage to plumbing infrastructure. Pipes become clogged for a variety of reasons. When you understand the causes of clogged pipes, it can help you to take preventative measures to help you avoid clogged pipes in the future and reduce the wear and tear on your pipes also. Clogged pipes are a common plumbing issue that occur in residential and commercial buildings. It is a combination of human activity and natural long term procesess.  There are a number of reasons for clogged pipes. These items can contribute quickly or over time to create leaking pipes or substances build up in the pipes that reduce water flow over time. These instances can include:  

Items that clog pipes include: 

• Foreign Objects: Accidental flushing of foreign objects down the toilet or poured into the sink can lead to blockages.
• Hair 
• Soap residue
• Dental floss
• Small toys
• Tampons and female projects
• Diaper wipes
• Non disintegrating materials that do not break up easily in water compared to toilet paper will clog your pipes and toilet quickly
• Grease and oil: Pouring grease oil and fat down kitchen sinks is a major cause of clogged pipes in the kitchen sink. Grease and animal fat are substances that solidify quickly and coat the inner walls of the sink pipes. This traps debris and creates larger blockages over time.
•  Food waste Food particles especially food that swells larger when wet like pasta noodles, rice and bread can get stuck in the pipes and restrict water flow.
•   Water mineral buildup If you have hard water, the water mineral can build up deposits and accumulate in your plumbing pipes over time. Particularly Calcium and magnesium deposits from hard water gradually narrow the pipes diameter which lead to reduced water flow. 
• Tree roots and Shrubs Outside the shrubs and tree roots can cause significant damage to underground sewer lines. Shrub and tree roots can infiltrate plumbing pipes and cause small cracks causing sewer back up issues, pipe blockages, and large pipe damages.
•  Toilet paper You might have seen when excessive amounts of toilet paper are used, the toilet has a much harder time flushing the toilet paper down away. Non disintegrating materials like baby diaper wet wipes can block toilets quickly
• Misaligned pipes Poorly installed or old pipes can obstruct and reduce water flow. Old pipes can collapse, shift over time and cause complete pipe blockages that can lead to burst pipes. 
• Chemical reactions When different chemicals are flushed down the toilet or down pipes, it can cause a chemical reaction in the pipes. Chemical reactions can produce solid formations that reduce water flow and lead to total blockages. 

How to prevent clogged pipes? 

Let explore best practices on how to prevent clogged pipes. To maintain proper functioning plumbing systems, consider the following preventive clogged pipes options. 

• Use a proper water disposal container Educate the household members on what can and cannot be flushed down the drains and toilets. In public washroom, you may see signs to point out unacceptable items that can not be flushed down a toilet to deter drain blockages.  Have the proper waste bin in bathrooms to dispose of hygiene products, baby wipes, cotton balls, and garbage properly. 
• Grease disposal  Provide the appropriate grease and cooking oil containers to dispose in the garbage or compost. Educate users on the importance of not pouring grease down the sink. 
• Kitchen Sink Strainers Primarily kitchen sink strainers help to catch food particles to prevent food from clogging up the drain and pipes.
•  Sink Cleaning Routinely cleaning drains using a mixture of hot water, baking soda and vinegar can help clear out debris the clogged pipes. The chemical reaction between the baking soda and vinegar can help to remove caked on food and materials on internal pipes. 
•  Landscaping Maintenance Being aware of the location of major sewer lines and plumbing pipes outside your house can help you maintain larger trees and shrubs with strong roots near the pipes. Strong roots can cause problem for your pipes as they grow taller over time. 
• Annual inspections Regular plumbing inspections and maintenance can detect plumbing issues before they turn into larger problems on your property. 
• Water softener If you have hard water, be sure to do a water test to understand your water quality in more depth. You may need to install a water softener to reduce the water mineral buildup in your pipes. 

Drain cleaner recommendations

Harsh drain cleaners can sometimes cause more problems than solve the primary issue. Harmful chemicals in some drain cleaners can cause pipe damage and harm the environment. A drain snake cord can be helpful to release mild drain blockages. Call the plumber earlier rather than later to avoid a bigger drain issue problem. 

How to fix a clogged drain? 

To a fix a clogged drain, you can start gently with the plunger to try to unplug clogged pipes with the plunger pressure. Sink pipes can be more fragile than the toilet drain so do not apply too much pressure that could break off the sink. Also a drain snake can help dislodge pipe blockages to reduce the chances of a pipe bursting from the pressure. The baking soda and vinegar mixture is also a good initial step to help reduce clogged drain build up. Trying to remove the build up of food scraps can take time and effort.  These are common ways to try to unplug a clogged drain yourself. Call your local plumber is it can be resolved.

How to fix a clogged sink? 

First start with a plunger to try to unplug clogged pipes with the plunger pressure. Also a drain snake can help dislodge pipe blockages to reduce the chances of a pipe bursting from the pressure. The baking soda and vinegar mixture is also a good initial step to help reduce the clogged sink build up. Trying to remove the build up of food scraps can take time and effort. Call your local plumber is it can be resolved. 

How to fix a toilet clogged up?

The plunger is the first tool to use to fix a clogged toilet. Rapid action of pushing up and down can help to create suction and pressure to move clogged items in the toilet pipe. Generally if you try the plunger with the do it yourself option and that does not work. You will likely need to call a Vancouver plumber to assist you with more advanced plumbing tools.  A professional plumber has all the plumbing tools for advanced options for clogged pipes like the hydro jetting process to clear pipes safely.  Clogged pipes are a common plumbing problem caused by various factors including foreign objects stuck in the pipe, food waste, grease, water mineral build up, exterior landscaping roots or shifted older pipes. 

Preventive measure like a waste bin for garbage, sink strainers, regular cleaning and maintenance schedule can help deter the risk of clogged pipes and water damage in the future. Learn about common plumbing problems.