Is your sink draining slower than it used to?
Few clogged drains occur suddenly. Usually, they develop from everyday habits that clog your drains a little at a time, habits that seemed harmless when you did them. Such as:
- Rinsing greasy pans
- Flushing “flushable” wipes
- Letting hair slip down the shower drain
And before you know it, water is pooling around your feet.
Here’s the problem:
By the time you have a slow drain, the clog has probably been developing for weeks or months. Plunging will probably give you a few days of relief. It won’t solve the underlying problem within the drain.
The good news? Most clogs are 100% avoidable once you know what causes them.
Here is how to do it…
Inside this guide:
- Why Small Habits Lead To Big Clogs
- 6 Everyday Habits That Clog Your Drains
- When To Call In Professional Drain Cleaning
How Everyday Habits Build Up Into Clogged Drains
Your drains are built to handle water and waste. That’s it.
Anything else that travels down them can adhere to the pipe walls. Once it sticks, it traps the next piece of matter that comes along. Then it traps the next. Then the next…
Over time, that tiny layer turns into a full blockage.
Professional drain cleaning goes beyond what a plunger or store-bought cleaner can do. These quick fixes might get water flowing again, but they often leave behind the buildup that caused the clog in the first place. Plumbers can use drain cameras to find the blockage and hydro jetting to clear stubborn debris from the pipes. If recurring drain problems sound familiar, it’s worth getting them checked. Homeowners in Arizona’s East Valley, for instance, can look into drain cleaning in Gilbert, AZ rather than dealing with the same clog over and over.
But the best fix of all? Stopping the clog before it starts.
6 Everyday Habits That Clog Your Drains
Here are the biggest culprits… and how to fix each one.
1. Pouring Grease Down The Sink
This is the #1 drain killer.
Liquid grease can look harmless because it’s runny, but it quickly solidifies into a waxy goo once it cools in your pipes. It can also cause problems outside your pipes. According to the EPA, grease causes 47% of sewer blockages nationwide.
That’s almost half!
How to fix it: Allow grease to cool in the pan. Scrape the cooled grease into an old jar or can and throw it in the trash. Use a paper towel to wipe greasy pans before washing.
2. Flushing “Flushable” Wipes
Don’t be fooled by the label.
Wipes are engineered to be durable. Fantastic for cleaning… awful for your plumbing. They don’t dissolve in water like toilet paper. They bunch up and catch on any obstacle in the pipes.
Flushable wipes cost wastewater utilities across the United States about $441 million each year.
If it’s not toilet paper or human waste, it shouldn’t go in the toilet.
Solution: Place a small bin with a lid next to the toilet and dispose of wipes, cotton pads, etc. in there.
Wipes aren’t the only offenders. Dental floss, cotton swabs, paper towels and cat litter don’t break down in water either, so they collect in the same bends and snag the same hair and grease. If it didn’t come out of you or off a toilet paper roll, it goes in the bin.
3. Letting Hair Wash Down The Shower
Hair is the shower drain’s worst enemy.
By itself, a few strands aren’t too bad. Hair sticks to soap scum, creating a stringy web that catches everything else. In just a few months, your shower becomes a shallow tub.
How to fix it:
- Fit a cheap mesh drain catcher
- Empty it after every shower
- Brush your long hair prior to showering so you don’t shed so much in the shower
Pretty simple, right?
4. Treating The Garbage Disposal Like A Trash Can
A garbage disposal doesn’t make food disappear.
All it does is break food into small bits that still have to go down your pipes. Some foods are MUCH worse than others, like:
- Coffee grounds
- Eggshells
- Pasta and rice
- Potato peels
- Stringy veggies like celery
Pasta and rice absorb water. Coffee grounds and eggshells bond together into a thick paste that builds up at the curves of the pipe.
Solution: Scrap bowls into the garbage or compost FIRST. ONLY put tiny scraps down the disposal…and make sure you run lots of cold water while it is on.
5. Using Too Much Bar Soap
Here’s one that surprises most homeowners…
Traditional bar soap contains fat. That fat reacts with minerals in hard water, creating a crusty substance called soap scum. Soap scum builds up on your pipes and gives your hair something to cling to.
This is a real issue in places with hard water (like most of Arizona).
Solution: Use a liquid body wash or a soap-free bar instead. Pour a kettle of hot (not boiling) water down your bathroom drains once a month.
Hard water is tough to beat with habits alone. A whole-house water softener removes the calcium and magnesium that make soap scum and scale stick to pipe walls. If you’re in a hard water area and keep fighting buildup, it’s worth asking a plumber whether one makes sense for your home.
6. Reaching For Chemical Drain Cleaners
This one feels backward.
Is the bottle promising “clears clogs” the solution? Hardly. Many chemical cleaners simply clear a path through the clog. The rest of the obstruction remains and can quickly return.
Worse, repeated use of strong chemicals can damage older pipes and seals.
Solution: Begin by using a plunger or plastic drain snake. Maintain your drains by pouring baking soda, vinegar and hot water down them monthly. If the problem persists, call a plumber.
Signs Your Clogged Drain Needs Professional Drain Cleaning
Even with perfect habits, pipes still age.
Tree roots infiltrate sewer pipes. Old pipes sag and rust. Those are times when professional drain cleaning proves its worth.
Look out for these warning signs:
- Several drains are slow at the same time
- Gurgling sounds when you flush or run water
- Bad smells coming from the drains
- Water backing up in the tub when you use the toilet
- Clogs that come back again and again
Any one of these can point to a problem in your main sewer line.
A professional plumber can snake a camera down the line and know exactly what they are looking at. Some homeowners schedule professional drain cleaning every 1-2 years to prevent problems before they become urgent.
Think of it like a check-up for your plumbing.
The Bottom Line On Clog-Free Drains
Clogged drains are frustrating … but most are preventable. Here are the six habits to kick it:
- Pouring grease down the sink
- Flushing wipes
- Letting hair go down the drain
- Overloading the garbage disposal
- Using fatty bar soap
- Relying on chemical cleaners
Break these six habits that clog your drains, and your pipes will stay clear far longer. And when that hard-to-reach clog rears its ugly head, call a professional drain cleaning service right away. Nipping the problem in the bud can save you from a much larger (and MUCH more expensive) issue.
