Perhaps the most annoying plumbing failure for a homeowner is a clogged drain! Most of these clogs can actually be prevented, but once it happens, there’s not much you can do about it. The fact that they can happen so easily is the reason they are one of the most common calls we get for residential plumbing projects! With this said, we’re going to take a quick tour around the house and spot the drains that are always getting clogged. We’ll give you a few best practices to hopefully minimize them! However, we understand you can’t police the drains 24/7! No matter if you live up north in cities like Gladstone and Kansas City or down south throughout Johnson County, we’ll come to you in a hurry to get the clog all cleared up!
?Sink Clogs
Stop #1 on our journey is the sinks. You more than likely have a fair share of sinks throughout your house. Between the kitchen and bathroom sinks, we’ve seen some surprising items clogging up the drains. The most common ones are definitely various food particles and clumps of hair. To add insult to injury, these are the type of items that tend to combine and form bigger clumps in the drain. So, what may start as a slow draining process can quickly turn into a complete clog. Some other items that come up from time-to-time include q-tips, caps to the toothpaste bottles and even an assortment of different jewelry.
Our best recommendation to take care of these clogs would be sink traps. We’re not going to guarantee that this will prevent all clogs, but it is certainly your best bet to make sure you’re adequately prepared. The only other sink clogger that you should be aware of is grease. Grease is definitely a tricky customer and something that can do some serious damage! Even though you probably know that you should never pour grease down the drain, somehow it always finds a way into your plumbing. A quick pro tip is to get in the habit of pouring some hot water and about 1 to 1-1/2 teaspoons of dish soap down the drain. This seems to work wonders in limiting the dangers of grease!
?️Garbage Disposal Clogs
Unfortunately, for the emoji on this one, we had to go with a garbage can. Ironically, this signifies one of the items you should never put in a disposal. But, it’s the best we got right now when it comes to disposal emojis. ?If you’ve been following along with our weekly blog posts, you’ve most likely seen garbage disposals mentioned a handful of times. HINT HINT! Disposals get clogged all the time. Coffee grounds. Pasta. Bones. Stringy vegetables. Trash. These are all prime examples of items that will clog up your disposal. It’s important to keep in mind that disposals are meant for smaller items. While you may have bought the most powerful disposal on the shelf, trust us, it’ll meet it’s match one day! While the potentially dangerous aspect of disposals makes us always recommend calling an experienced plumber for your Gladstone or Kansas City home, some brave souls out there would prefer to make it a DIY project! Here’s a link to our complete How-To guide. In short, please remember to double check that the power is turned off to your disposal before doing anything. The last thing we want is a plumbing repair gone bad!
?Toilet Clogs
Just like garbage disposals, you should never use your toilet as another form of a trash can. Floss, paper towels, pills, trash, baby wipes and many others! This is just scraping the top of the list of items we’ve seen clogging up a toilet. Luckily, toilet clog maintenance is about as straightforward as you get. #1’s, #2’s and toilet paper. That’s it! Anything other than that and you need to find an alternative use. After all, don’t people always have trash cans in their bathrooms to prevent clogged toilets? We like to think everyone places the ultimate priority on plumbing safety!
What can a homeowner do in the case of a toilet clog? Unfortunately, there’s not too much for this clog that can be turned into a DIY project. Just give us a call and we’ll be out there in no time, especially if you’re unable to avoid having a toilet out of commission for very long! A running toilet? That’s a different story which is covered in a previous blog post! A quick browse through that post will take you around the anatomy of toilet. In no time, you’ll be conserving water and even saving a little bit on your water bill!
? Shower and Bath Tub Clogs
While sink drains tend to present themselves quickly, that is not always the case with shower and bath tub clogs. Typically, these clogs tend to build up over numerous weeks. You’ll notice the draining process getting a little bit slower each day. The most common culprits here are going to typically be hair or soap scum. If you don’t already have one, you should definitely grab a strainer for the bath tub drain. They’re generally very inexpensive at large retailers like Home Depot and Lowe’s. Even though it won’t completely prevent clogs, it will have a drastic impact in reducing them. Were a clog to occur, this would be another perfect example of something we wouldn’t recommend fixing by yourself. More often than not it requires us to snake in the drain and find the clogging item.
?More Serious Situations
All of these household clogs throughout this article can easily be quick fixes or expensive repair projects! However, there’s one serious clog that we wanted to at least mention in this article. This is sewer drain clogs. More often than not, we see this taking place in older homes. Believe it or not, tree roots can actually block your sewage system and create a costly situation. If you start noticing your internal plumbing system backing up (slow drains, bubbling toilet water, etc.), then there’s a decent chance something is off with the sewer drain. Since I’d like to give this topic the attention it deserves, stay tuned to an upcoming post. We’ll break down the many reasons as to how a sewer line can get clogged and what to do when it happens. 9 times out of 10 we recommend getting an experienced Kansas City plumbing out there ASAP to prevent more extensive damage!
?️ Clear the Clog!
Well, that pretty much covers it all when it comes to household drains. Even the most cautious Gladstone or Kansas City homeowners will one day find themselves calling their local plumber to come out and clear the clogs! Some are eliminated in a mere minutes, while others end up being a result of an underlying source deep in the pipes! We’ve seen a wide range of items stuck in drains, so don’t hesitate to give us a call at 816-348-3481, even if you have no idea what’s in there. Trust us, we won’t judge! We serve everyone up north, including those in Gladstone, Kansas City, and Riverside, as well those down south in Overland Park, Lenexa, and Olathe!