Drain Cleaning: 3 Top Causes Of Drain Clogs | Irving, TX
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Everyday people rely on their home plumbing system to provide them with water without a second thought. Every morning you wake up and take a hot shower, flush the toilet, pour hot water into your coffee cup, rinse your breakfast dishes, and run your dishwasher without a second thought. However, once a clog occurs somewhere along your plumbing system it is the only thing you think of. It doesn’t take much to disrupt the flow of water, which is why you should always have the number of a professional drain cleaning service in Irving, TX somewhere accessible.
It is amazing how quickly your morning routine and the rest of your daily activities are disrupted when your water supply is clogged. Proper drain cleaning can help you avoid that disruption, and is the number one way to help keep your system running as it should. Of course, if you already have a clogged line you are probably only thinking about how to get it running again. A drain service can handle this task, but it may be useful to learn why your drains are clogging in the first place.
Until you diagnose the real reason for the clog, it will continue to occur over and over again. The following is a quick look at the most common causes of clogs and some helpful ways to avoid clogs from recurring in the future. Some homes require routine drain cleaning, a practice that will help you avoid smelly floods, costly emergency visits, and the inconvenience of losing access to your home plumbing.
Tree Roots
Any drain cleaning service in Irving, TX will tell you the number one cause of blockages is tree roots. Older homes are more susceptible to issues with tree roots, but homes of any age can be affected if they are built near large trees. Tree roots are always looking for moisture and will grow towards any signs of moisture in the ground. Unfortunately, this means your sewer lines. The wastewater is also highly nutritious for roots, which allows them to grow at an even quicker rate once they break through.
Tree roots are small fibers and what may seem like a tiny crack can easily allow a tree root to grow in. Over time the root grows and blocks the pipe, or even worse, splitting the pipe open and creating an even larger issue. A drain cleaning service can help keep your pipes free of destructive tree roots by regularly grinding them out of your pipes. While you cannot physically prevent them from growing into the pipes, a drain service can help remove them and prevent them from growing large enough to cause permanent damage.
Hair
Next up on the list is hair. Everyone has hair, and unfortunately, everyone sheds hair as well. The shower and bathroom sinks in particular tend to get hi with a lot of hair loss. Eventually, hair forms a ball that can trap other debris until you have a full clog. If you have multiple people in your home hair loss may cause an even larger issue.
You can’t stop hair from falling out while you are in the shower, but you can put some preventive measures in place to help prevent it from getting down into your drain. The best plumbing practices involve stopping debris from ever becoming an issue in the first place within your home.
One of the easiest ways to prevent clogs from hair is the installation of small screens and/or drain catchers over your bathroom drains. Drain screens are a great way to catch hair, but you need to make sure that you clean out the hair on a regular basis so it doesn’t break. You can also help prevent clogs by simply sweeping hair out of sinks when you see it, fishing it out of drains with pliers if you notice it building up, and brushing your hair away from bathroom sinks.
Flushable Wipes
Any drain cleaning professional will tell you that flushable wipes are the worst thing ever marketed to consumers. Some cities have even tried to ban their use because of the damage they cause to the wastewater plants. They also cause an incredible amount of damage to home plumbing systems and are regularly the cause of clogs that require the aid of drain cleaning professionals. In fact, one report stated that New York City officials spent $18 million over the course of five years trying to deal with the clogs formed all over the public wastewater system as a result of flushable wipes.
While flushable wipes are marketed as safe to use, the simple truth is they are not. The only thing that should ever go down your toilet is toilet paper. Flushable wipes do not break down as easily as regular toilet paper and thus the debris is prone to bunching up and getting stuck in your sewer system. The end results are clogs that cause your toilet to overflow or your sewer line to back up and flood your basement. Both are stinky situations that usually warrant a call to a plumber.
The good news is, you can easily avoid a future clog by simply avoiding flushable wipes altogether. If you have a septic tank, this is even more important as flushable wipes can ruin a septic tank which can be an expensive repair.
Now that you know the top three causes of clogs, it is important to change your habits so that you can keep your drains clean. Depending on the situation, you may also need to set up a regular drain cleaning service to keep your drains clean. bluefrog Plumbing + Drain of North Dallas is here to help you with all your drain cleaning needs. Give our team a call and we will promptly send one of our specialists out to assess the condition of your plumbing system.
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