Let’s face facts: Nobody likes slow or clogged drains. They’re messy, they can lead to larger problems, and they’re a pain in the neck to fix. Whether it’s your kitchen sink or your bathtub, these plumbing headaches have three main culprits.
When Grease Doesn’t Loosen Things Up
Dumping food grease down the drain might seem harmless, but it cools as it hardens and sticks to the lining of the drainpipe. As careful as you may be about proper food disposal, small food particles will stick to your dishes and collect in the grease-lined drain until they form a strong clog that’s hard to remove.
To avoid this problem, make a habit of draining your grease, fats and cooking oils in a disposable container that you can dump in the trash. This takes time to get used to, but it’ll save you a lot of hassles in the future.
Hair Isn’t So Beautiful in Your Drains
If you have long hair, you know the struggle. Long hair can get loose all over your home, and that includes your sink traps and drains. Hair clogs are the most common clogs in the bathroom, and it doesn’t take a lot of loose hair to make one.
Here’s a preventive suggestion. When you shower or bathe, take any loose hairs you see and stick them on the wall or the side of the tub. Once they dry, you can dispose of them with paper towels in the trash. Using a drain screen for your tub or shower can also keep hair from clogging your drain.
Soap: Hair’s Closest Partner in Crime
This is more of an issue with bar soap, which is often made with fats and oils, than with liquid soap. Not only will soap scum line the drain, making hair stick to it to make a huge clog, but bars of soap break. When they break, bits and pieces will sometimes go down the drain, clogging it. These are some of the hardest clogs to get rid of.
What do you do? Switching to liquid soap is the best option, but you can also pick up broken pieces of soap bars and place them in a bag. Soap saver bags are the best for this job because they let you use every last bit of soap.
Grease and soap scum can line your pipes, hair can gather into clogs, and soap can fall into drains and sit there. If left untreated, they can slow your drains or even stop them altogether. It’s best for you to collect these obstacles before your plumbing does. If you live in Levittown, PA or a surrounding area and need drain cleaning services, make your first call to NexGen Plumbing & Drains.
