Drains block because we put things down them that we shouldn't!
It may seem obvious but the main cause of blocked drains is a build up of things that shouldn't be there in the first place! For example; grease and fat. The vast majority of foods contain some fat or grease, which on it's journey through your drain will attach itself to the walls of the drain, narrowing the channel and eventually blocking it. Something else that causes a lot of issues with blocked drains is wet wipes. No matter what the packaging may say no wet wipes are flush-able and they will not break down in your drains which causes them to cling to the walls of drains , this then causes the drain to block. In order to unblock the drain, you may need to have a CCTV survey carried out on your drains to identify where the blockage is, then we can unblock the drains for you.
Things down shower plugs can also cause drains to block, hair can build up in drains which begins to reduce the rate that the water can go down the plug hole and can cause showers to flood. If your shawer has an inch or two of water in it after you turn it off it's time to have a look at your plughole!
Ways of preventing blocked drains:
· Cleaning your sink pipes regularly - there are many ways that you can do this, some people just put hot water down their sink, some people use bleach and water, some people use baking soda and water. They will all do similar things, doing this will dislodge any fragments of food down pipes and minimise the risk of blockages and smelly drains.
· Removing hair from shower drain - regularly removing the hair from shower drains will help to prevent the drain from becoming blocked.
· Scraping plates - Scraping plates before washing them in the sink can help prevent your drains from becoming blocked by minimising the amount of grease that goes down your drain.
There have been many incidents where drainage engineers have come across all sorts of objects found down drains, this stretches from Coca Cola cans to leather jackets. The only thing that is meant for flushing is the 3 P's, pee, poo and (toilet) paper!
Here is what can happen if you flush the wrong thing - CLICK HERE
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