A clogged or slow drain isn’t the biggest plumbing disaster you might face in your home, but it’s definitely one of the most persistent and annoying. Many of the calls we get as a local Athens, GA plumber are to handle tough drain obstructions. We’ve seen many unusual clogging problems in our time—you won’t believe what can accidentally get down household drains—but there’s a set of common causes at the root of most clogs.
We’ll go through the most likely sources for your clogged drain. This will help you understand when you need professional plumbers as well as how to prevent clogging later.
Soap Scum
You’ll find this problem in showers and sink drains in the bathroom and the main sink in the kitchen. Soap that doesn’t completely dissolve in water will turn into this flaky and often tenacious residue. It’s more likely to occur if your house has hard water, since soap doesn’t dissolve as well in water with a high mineral count. Soap scum is hard to remove except using hydro-jetting equipment.
Organic Build-Up
This is the biggest enemy of kitchen sink drains and disposals. Too much food waste going down these drains can lead to build-up along the drain walls. The biggest problems come from fats, oils, and grease (collectively called FOG), which look harmless in their hot liquid form. When they cool down, however, they turn into waxy solids that cling to the drain walls. Not only does organic build-up cause clogs, it can also create foul odors and lead to drain flies.
Hard Water Minerals
The minerals that create hard water (magnesium, calcium, gypsum) not only lead to the creation of soap scum in water, they also leave their own limescale deposits inside pipes. Like organic build-up, limescale is tough to remove; hydro-jetting from professionals is the best way to eliminate it. To help prevent hard water problems in the future, we recommend having a water softener installed for your house.
Hair
Thie is another major problem with bathroom drains, in particular shower and tub drains. Hair often becomes stuck in the p-trap (the curved section of pipe directly under the drain) where it catches more debris and turns into a tough snarl. Hair requires powerful drain augers to remove, or hydro-jetting. To help prevent future hair clogs, place strainers into the bathroom drains and routinely clean them.
Sewer Line Problems
Some drain clogs are not due to build-up or items in the drains. They’re because of deeper problems in the sewer line, such as a line clog, tree root infiltration, or a line breach. Sewer line trouble will cause multiple drain clogs at the same time, so when this happens in your house, call for plumbers right away. You don’t want to let sewer line problems continue, or you may end up with sewage pushed into your home.
When in doubt about what’s clogging your drain, you only have to call our plumbers and a solution will soon be at hand.
At Snellville Heating, Air and Plumbing, Your Comfort Is OUR Business. Act fast when you’ve got a drain clog and call our plumbers.
