When you think of drains in your home, you probably picture what you tend to see most: the top of the drains, or to use plumbing terms, the fixture drain. When water appears to be flowing down the fixture drains freely, that surely means that there aren’t any problems further down the drain, right?
Not necessarily.
Even if everything looks fine on the surface, the pipes and fixtures in your home might be under more strain than you think due to minor clogs and build-up that has simply accumulated over time. Left unattended, these minor problems can lead to major plumbing issues. These issues are exactly what professional drain clearing helps prevent.
What Do Your Drains Do?
The drains in your home (connected to your sinks, toilets, dishwasher, washing machine, and bathtubs/showers) are part of your home’s drain pipe system, which in turn connects to the sewer lines or septic field. Wastewater and whatever else that goes down the fixture drains enter the drain pipe system to be taken away. This is an absolutely essential function of indoor plumbing.
Things That Accumulate in Drains
Kitchens
When it comes to the drains in your kitchen, try as you might, food particles, grease, fat, and cooking oils will find their way into your pipes, where they will become waxy and solidify. In addition to causing clogs, this can also lead to horrible smells from your kitchen drains that will start to attract flies, which in turn make your kitchen less hygienic.
Bathrooms
We’ve all pulled a clump of hair out of our shower drain at some point, but it’s important to note that hair, while a usual suspect, isn’t the only culprit when it comes to drain issues. While hair tends to cause clogs, soap scum causes problems below when it builds up because of how it reacts chemically inside the pipes.
You’ve probably already heard how “flushable” wipes, feminine hygiene products, and dental floss are practically guaranteed to cause plumbing problems when flushed down the toilet. However, this is something that maybe a guest or two has been unaware of or has overlooked here and there. If your home’s drain pipe system is already struggling, one unwise flush could be the tipping point that causes a smelly backup in your home.
What drain clearing Prevents
It’s important to see draining cleaning for what it is: a hygienic part of home maintenance and plumbing issue prevention. If performed on an annual basis, a professional drain clearing can prevent the following issues in your home.
- Drain Clogs. As stated above, these can occur due to any number of things blocking one or more pipes, including hair, skin, soap scum, food, fat, oil, grease, “flushable” wipes, feminine hygiene products, and dental floss. A small blockage can start out as a minor annoyance, but buildups in sewer systems can lead to overflowing toilets, and clogs in pipes can lead to pipe damage.
- Damage to Pipes and Plumbing Fixtures. When a clog is left unattended, a couple of things can happen. In the case of a severe blockage, the pipe can burst if too much pressure is applied. Alternately, blockages can result in stagnant water sitting for so long that erosion actually occurs, damaging the plumbing fixture or pipe permanently.
- Bad Odors. These smells can occur from clogs in kitchen drains or worse--the sewer. You might notice the p-traps in your home beginning to give off that sewage smell after a while, especially if you have been away on a long trip. Oftentimes a professional cleaning is the only way to eliminate that odor.
Schedule an Appointment Today!
In the long run, investing in annual drain clearing can save you money by preventing costly repairs due to plumbing damage. In addition, draining cleaning simply makes your home a more sanitary place to live and less susceptible to overflows from the sewer.
If you can’t remember the last time your home has had a drain clearing, it’s definitely time to make that appointment.
Contact EZ Flow Plumbing, LLC now to request same-day service!