Common Causes for Stoppage Problems
Common Causes for Stoppage Problems: Fort Lauderdale, Residential Plumbers
If your sink, toilet, or bathtub is backing up on you, it may be helpful for you to know some of the common causes for stoppage in your home plumbing. Awareness of what goes does the drain will help you protect your plumbing for years to come. Share your knowledge with your whole family and work as a team to maintain free-flowing water.
Different Types of Stoppages and How to Prevent Reoccurrence
Kitchen Sink
How it happens: Rinsing oil and fat down the sink is the best way to clog it up. Even if you have a garbage disposal, sitting oil eventually hardens up and coats the inside of your pipes.
How to prevent it: Take the time to wipe off food scraps (especially meat products which are among the hardest to break down) and excess oils from your plate into the garbage can before rinsing it off in the sink. Install a drain filter to catch bits of debris.
Bathroom Drains
How it happens: Showering off oils, creams, and hair clumps up in your pipes. These forms of waste are all slow to break down.
How to prevent it: Install a drain filter and make a habit of cleaning the filter out into your bathroom trashcan after every shower or bath.
Toilet
How it happens: Too much paper and other wastes not designed to flush down the toilet (i.e. wipes, sanitary pads, small toys, dead fish, etc.) will eventually cause drain stoppage.
How to prevent it: Only flush bodily waste and toilet paper. Use good judgment when you need to separate what goes in your toilet in more than one flush.
Outside Causes for Stoppage Problems
Tree Roots
Large enough tree roots may creep into your drains and, sometimes, even break them. A build up of outside contaminants (i.e. mould, dirt, twigs, leaves, etc.) can also stop up your drains.
Copper or Steel Pipes
If your pipes were made from copper or galvanized steel, these materials degrade over time. Aside from the accumulation of particles of degrading pipes, any event of overflow may create a health hazard for you and, potentially, your neighbors.
Sewer System Back Up
This is the worst! Sometimes the whole sewer system clogs up through the collective efforts from your whole neighborhood. You know you’re dealing with a sewage issue when you have multiple drain stoppages and bad odors billowing up from drain openings.
Should you use drain cleaner for your stoppage problems?
The problem with using over-the-counter drain cleaners is the effect it has on the longevity of your pipes. These cleaners are often highly caustic and they contaminate water supplies while eating away at your pipes. These cleaners are limited in their ability to break down hair build up in your bathroom tub.
For minor blockages, you may be able to use a plunger. While you may be familiar with plunger use for minor toilet clogging, plungers may also help in the sink and the bathtub. Make sure you cover the overflow hole near the ridge of your sink bowl to avoid squirting water everywhere while you plunge.
Call the Veteran plumbers in Fort Lauderdale to assist with major stoppage problems. Plumbers have the appropriate drain snakes and environmentally safe cleaners to thoroughly assess and clear your pipes.
