7 Tips for Preventing Clogged Drains

A clogged drain can be quite a nuisance, sometimes even requiring the assistance of a professional plumber to remove it. Fortunately for homeowners everywhere, preventing clogged drains is actually quite simple – much simpler than some of the clog removals we’ve seen at Ridgeway Mechanical. Prevention is the key to many common plumbing problems, so let’s discuss what you can do to prevent a clogged drain from ruining your day and costing you money and time to fix.

Preventing Clogged Drains is Easy
There are many things that can clog a drain: food, hair, a child flushing a toy down the toilet, and any number of unexpected life circumstances. If it can clog a pipe, we’ve seen it before. Here are 7 valuable tips that you should keep in mind when operating any fixture in your home with a drain.

1. Use a drain strainer to keep food out of your kitchen sink’s drain. Food blockages are incredibly common in household kitchens. Placing a physical barrier to keep food from going down the drain is the easiest way of preventing clogged drains in the kitchen.
2. For kitchen drains with garbage disposals, always run some cool water while disposing of food items. This simple step helps garbage to successfully pass through the system without collecting inside the pipes.
3. Never pour grease or oil down the drain. These thick substances can coat the inside of the pipes and cause clogs. Instead, you should pour the grease or oil into a sealable container and then throw the container into the garbage.
4. Clean the drain by flushing hot water down it once a week. This will melt away trapped grease and other potential obstructions. Pour the hot water slowly to avoid splash-related burns.
5. If your kitchen drain has a garbage disposal, avoid using it to dispose of thick, sticky or fibrous items. Examples are potato skins, banana peels, coffee grounds and eggshells. These items can get trapped past the drain and lead to a clog.
   Clean your drain stoppers! You might use one of these in your bathtub, for example, when drawing a bath. Hair, soap scum, dirt and anything else that comes in contact with the drain can gather on the stoppers and contribute to clogging.
6. Clean your bathroom drains periodically with a straightened wire hanger to remove hair and potentially other obstructions that could have been forming there.

It’s easy to keep your drains free and clear, as long as you are proactive and have the time and means to do some basic cleaning every now and then. By utilizing the seven tips above, you can save yourself the expense of hiring a professional plumber or purchasing hazardous drain cleaning products.

It is important for the health of your home’s water lines to take the initiative of preventing clogged drains in the first place. By taking these simple measures, you can save yourself a fair sum of money and quite a bit of headache.