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The Christmas lights are glowing on your street, the tree is up in your house, and you are finally starting to feel like nothing is going to ruin this holiday season. That is until your drain clogs and suddenly you have feces all over your basement and a dozen guests coming to your home tomorrow for Christmas Eve dinner. The problem with home drains is that they can, and they do, tend to clog at the most inopportune times which is why it is important to stay ahead of drain cleaning services so that you can avoid painful situations like the one above.
Of course, sometimes there are emergencies that no one can predict, and when those times come you need a Mansfield, TX drain cleaning service that you can trust. This tends to be especially true if you have a household with a small child because for some reason every single parent has a story of at least one child flushing some unique toilet down a toilet. Children and drains seem to have an odd attraction that seldom ends well. Children are not the only threat to your drains, however, because there are a lot of bad drain habits and you might be guilty of one or two.
In the following article, we will take a closer look at the indications that you have a drain clog building so that you can call a drain cleaning service before it becomes a complete obstruction. No one wants to wake up to an overflowing sink or discover a floor drain that is covered in raw sewage, so learn the signs that a clog is forming so you don’t have to. While we can’t prevent every drain cleaning service emergency, it is surprising how many drain clogs can be prevented by just paying attention to the way your drains are acting.
We will also take a look at some of the worst drain habits that we see as plumbers. These are the number one reasons that drains clog, and how you can change your habits and avoid them. Once again, you can’t stop things like tree roots from growing or children from sneaking into the bathroom with a Hot Wheel but you can stop these bad habits so that you don’t have to see a drain cleaning service anytime soon. Given the New Year is almost here, changing your drain habits would be a great resolution to make.
Finally, in some situations where aging pipes or tree roots are involved, good drain habits will not be enough to prevent a clog, although they may help lengthen the time between clogs since they won’t add any new materials to the situation. In these situations, it is usually a good idea to have a preventive drain cleaning service at least once every year. Some homeowners may find that six months is the magic number. In this case, it is best to talk to your Mansfield, TX plumber to get a better idea. With all of that in mind, let’s take a closer look at these topics.
What Are the Signs Your Drains Are Clogging?
There is an old saying that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. In short, catching a problem before you have to actually solve it is always the best way to do things. The same is true in the world of plumbing. The problem with plumbing issues is that they always carry a high risk of flooding with them. No one wants to deal with an unexpected flood or the costly cleanup of water damage after the drain cleaning service is complete. Therefore, it is always best to be above the curve when it comes to drain cleaning service issues so you don’t find yourself at 2 AM calling an emergency drain cleaning service in Mansfield, TX.
Fortunately, making that happen isn’t the hardest task. You just need to pay attention to how your drains are working on a daily basis and know what red flags to look for. If you notice any of the following red flags, call for help immediately so a drain cleaning service can save you from the inevitable. Here are just a few of the many warning signs that you may have a clog forming in your home drains.
Bubbling Noises – Bubbling noises are almost always a bad sign when you hear them in your toilet or your drains as they clear. There should be no room for air to get trapped that would then bubble upwards, so if you see bubbles this is a sign that there is some type of obstruction in your pipes that is allowing air to hide.
Visible Partial Backups- Do you ever notice that sometimes water pools in a sink or drain before it eventually goes down. You can refer to this as a partial block-up or a slow-moving drain, either way, it is a sign that trouble is brewing if you don’t actively call for help from a drain cleaning service. When there is a partial clog in your plumbing the water is unable to pour down the drain and instead has to wait its turn to get around the clog which is what causes the blackout you can see.
Water Seeping from Under the Toilet- Sometimes if water is leaking out from under the bottom of your toilet this is a sign that you need a new seal. Other times it is, unfortunately, a sign that there is a clog somewhere along the line. The clog can be putting extra strain and pressure on the drain which in turn is forcing water upwards and water will always find the path of least resistance, which might mean out from under your toilet. It is best to have a plumber come to investigate if you are worried that you might have a leak.
Water is Draining Slowly – Most people have a basic idea of how quickly water drains in their bathtub, sink, shower, etc. Even if you don’t actively think about it you probably know what to expect, which means if you start to notice that it appears to be draining slowly you have a problem. Don’t ignore slow draining drains, especially if you notice that the problem is affecting more than one drain in your home. Call a drain cleaning service right away if you are worried that your drains are slowing down. Most people don’t notice things that aren’t there when it comes to their plumbing systems, so if you think that you are seeing something there is a good chance that you are.
Bad Odors Coming from Drains – No one wants to smell noxious fumes coming out of their drains, but the bad smell is not the only thing that you should be worried about. A lot of people think that pouring some bleach down the drain will take care of matters, but this is only a short-term solution. It may help dull the smell, but in most cases, if you smell sewage in your drains then it is a sign that bacteria, mold, and other disgusting matters are collecting in your drains. Bacteria actually produces the sewer smell that you are noticing, and bacteria grows where there is a blockage starting to form as dirt, debris, food matter, and sewage are collected. The only way to remove bad odors from your drains altogether is by having a Mansfield, TX drain cleaning service come out and remove all debris from your lines once and for all.
What Are the Most Common Bad Drain Habits?
Now that you know about some of the most common signs that it is time for a drain cleaning service, it is time to learn about what bad drain habits might actually be causing the issues to arise. Believe it or not, simple things that you do every day could be leading to your drain issues. Taking a few minutes to learn about the most common ways to clog your drains can help you turn around your drain health.
By adjusting your behavior just a little bit you can protect the health of your home and save some money by not calling out emergency drain services on a regular interval. Plus, you can save yourself the hassle of flooding and sewage when a backup occurs from the sewage. Here are a few of the most common drain habits that you can easily fix now.
Dumping Grease Down Your Drain – Grease should never go down your drains, whether you are dealing with kitchen grease or any greasy type of paint in the basement. The problem with grease is that while it may go down liquid it quickly solidifies. When that happens you end up with greasy sediment along the side of your pipes. Not only will grease build up over time and lead to a clog that will require drain cleaning service in Mansfield, TX, but it also attracts almost everything to stick to it compounding the issue.
Grease will quickly cause small items that slip down the drain to form a collection of particles that lead to obstruction. Take the extra step to pour grease into a disposal container like an old coffee can or butter container and it will be worth it in the long run.
Challenging Your Garbage Disposal
Regardless of how your garbage disposal is advertised and packaged, it is not the terminator and it cannot take on everything that comes it’s way. The motor on your garbage disposal can and will run out if you expect too much out of it. With that in mind, you need to avoid grinding up certain items such as celery, onions, brussel sprouts, banana peels, and radishes. Simply toss them in the trashcan or send them out to the compost. In addition to being hard on the motor mechanism, most of these items are also extremely fibrous. They can expand with water and are likely to collect with other debris leading to clogs and the need for a drain cleaning service.
Letting Tricky Food Slip Down Drains
Speaking of fibrous foods, there are other items that should never go down your kitchen sink simply because they expand when they come in contact with water. Therefore, those 20 rice kernels that seemed fine when they slipped the sink will turn into a much larger mass as they travel through your pipes easily contributing to a clog somewhere else that you can’t see. Rice is one of the big contenders but their major tricky foods that should not go down your drain include eggshells and pasta. If it seems like a bad idea to wash down the drain, then don’t.
Not Using Drain Guards
Drain guards are one of the simplest ways to protect your shower and sink drains, and they are the easiest to forget about until a plumber pulls out a thick wad of hair during a drain cleaning service and you are reminded those were on your to-do list. There is nothing you can do about hair loss. Brushing your hair and washing your hair is going to lead to loose strands that fall everywhere. Whoever is responsible for cleaning the bathroom likely already knows this.
What you can stop is them collecting in your drains and leading to large wads that clog or block sewage from flowing down. You can buy a drain guard at any department or hardware store and in most cases they either screw over the drain fixture or they simply sit on top like a trap. Make it a point to clean out the trap every couple of weeks or when you notice that your drain is slowing down and you will quickly see their worth, because without them that clog would be in your drain instead of on top of it and you would be calling for Mansfield, TX drain cleaning services.
Concerned about your home drains or worried you have a clog? Call Benjamin Franklin Plumbing of Fort Worth today and talk to one of our plumbing professionals.