Many of our customers call us as a last resort after recurring blocked drains. We’re told time and time again “my outside drain keeps getting blocked”, and asked “how can I stop my kitchen or bathroom sink from draining so slowly?”. Generally, after professional drain unblocking, customers are very keen to find out how to ensure the problem doesn’t happen again. Maybe you’re in the same boat. Or maybe you’re forward-thinking and know that preventing drain blockages is much simpler than dealing with the problem after it’s already occurred. Either way, we’ve compiled our expert advice for how to prevent blocked drains.
How to prevent outside drains from getting blocked
In the autumn, we commonly see leaves blocking drains as well as other debris carried by the wind. Although you aren’t able to control the weather, it may be a good idea to purchase a drain guard, and ensure this is regularly cleaned. Regularly inspect the outside drains to ensure there aren’t big blockages going unnoticed. It’s also a good idea year-round to rinse your outside drains with a power hose, just to make sure any small pieces of debris don’t get stuck.
Preventing blocked drains in the kitchen
Kitchen drain blockages are a huge pain. There’s nothing worse than trying to wash up the dishes but not being able to drain the murky water sitting at the bottom of the sink. Kitchen sink blockages are often caused by carelessness when disposing of food items and when cleaning.
The first step to preventing blocked kitchen drains is to learn the most common causes of blockages. Food is the biggest problem in the kitchen, and rinsing large chunks of food from plates directly into the plug hole will almost definitely cause a blockage over time. Especially problematic foods are coffee grounds, tea leaves, and… fat! Fat and grease are huge problems when it comes to blocked drains, and can cause much larger problems than just kitchen sink clogs.
So, how do we make sure we prevent blocked drains in the kitchen?
The first tip is to never, ever pour grease, fat or oil down your kitchen sink. It can be tempting when in liquid form, but don’t forget that when it cools down it becomes a solid. Keep a tin can or an old, thick cardboard box by the sink so you can pour excess fats into it and then dispose of them in the bin. Secondly, use a sink guard over your plug hole. This will catch any food chunks from falling into the drain pipes and getting stuck. Again, make sure these are disposed of in the bin! Another way to prevent blocked kitchen drains is to regularly clean them. Boiling water or vinegar and baking soda are simple, incredibly cheap ways to upkeep the clearance of your drains.
A common cause of bathroom sink and shower drains becoming blocked is hair. When you lose one or two hairs down the drain while you’re in the shower, this doesn’t seem like it could possibly cause a problem. But these can get stuck easily and group together by the hundreds, and then the chunks cause surprisingly solid blockages that are difficult to clear. This doesn’t just apply to long hairs! Short, fine hairs from shaving and even pet hairs can cause just as big of an issue when they become stuck. For this problem, we’d highly recommend a sink guard for both your sink and shower / bath tub, and cleaning it regularly. This will catch hairs before they get into your pipes and cause problems.
Cosmetic products can also get stuck to the pipes and cause blockages. This is known as soap scum, and happens more regularly in locations with hard water. This isn’t as common an issue as hair, but unfortunately does require a bit more effort to prevent serious blockages. Again, a sink trap can help a little with this issue by catching large chunks of soap or other products before they get into the pipes. But the best way to prevent blocked drains from cosmetic products is to regularly clean your drain pipes, specifically the p-trap of your bathroom sink.
Preventing blocked toilets is thankfully more simple than this. Prevention is key when it comes to blocked drains caused by toilets, as many of these issues don’t just cause surface level problems, but can create big blockages deep into your drainage system that may need professional drain unblocking services to fix.
To prevent blocked toilets, you need to remember not to flush anything other than toilet paper and human waste. That means no wipes, nappies, tampons, sanitary towels, cotton swabs, cotton pads or cotton balls. None of these objects are designed to flush and will not biodegrade once they enter the pipe system, so if they get stuck they will cause major blockages. Even using too much toilet paper in one go can cause clogs in your bathroom pipes. The golden rule to prevent toilets from becoming blocked is to remember they are not equal to bins! Toilet paper and human waste is really all they can handle.
So to sum up, here are the 5 best ways to prevent blocked drains in your home:
- Use a drain guard outdoors to prevents leaves blocking the drain
- Use a sink guard over all plug holes in your kitchen and bathroom
- Never wash fat or other food products down the kitchen sink
- Regularly clean drains with simple methods such as boiling water
- Never flush any items other than toilet paper and human waste down a toilet
Prevention is always better than cure. It saves so much time, effort and money to avoid drain blockages altogether rather than deal with the inconvenience of clogs. Of course, these methods aren’t completely foolproof, and you might be starting too late to be able to prevent blockages that could already have been building up for years. If you experience minor blocked drains in your household, we’d recommend checking out our guide to household drain unblocking.