When you think of problems with your home’s plumbing, what’s the first one that pops into your head? We’d bet it’s probably “clogged drains.” As professional plumbers, we’ve seen all types of drain clogs, and we know how common they are. Everybody runs into a clogged-up bathroom sink drain or a shower that drains so slow the water is up past the ankles before the shower is over.
One of the reasons that drain clogs are so common is that there are many causes behind them. We’re going to list the top four reasons you’ve got a clogged drain making life a bit more difficult and much more annoying:
- Hair: This is the big one for the shower, bathtub, and bathroom sink drains. It’s difficult to stop loose hair from going down the drains, and this hair can easily become caught in the p-trap under the drain. (The p-trap is the curved section of the pipe, which is there to prevent sewer gas from coming up the wrong direction and out the drain.) The hair trapped there quickly accumulates more hair, leading to an unpleasantly tenacious clog. You can help to prevent this by using drain covers to catch most of the hair—although this still won’t stop all the hair.
- Accumulated food: This is the great enemy of kitchen drains. Any food waste that goes down the drains, including the garbage disposal, can become lodged in the drainpipe. The biggest concern is FOG, which stands for “fats, oils, and grease.” This cooking liquid looks harmless, but once it cools down it changes into a waxy substance that clings to the drainpipe walls, building up until the drain is clogged. This organic waste can also lead to awful odors and drain flies.
- Soap scum: The residue soap leaves in both kitchen and sink drains create a caky build-up that can easily create clogs. Soap scum creates another danger as well: a chemical reaction with the drainpipe that can create corrosion. Soap scum reacts with chemical drain cleaners to speed up this process, which is one of the reasons never to use these store-bought “cleaners” when you have a clog.
- Hard water deposits: If your home has trouble with hard water, it can cause drain clogs. The mineral deposits from hard water create a calcite buildup inside drain pipes. This is one of the toughest types of clogs to get through. If your home has trouble with hard water minerals affecting the drains, we strongly recommend that you have a whole-house water softener installed after you have the drains cleaned.
For your troubles with a clogged drain in Portales, NM, make sure you call on our plumbers. We won’t come to your house and pour toxic, unhelpful chemicals down the drains. We’ll use the best in modern plumbing technology not only to unclog the drain but see that the drain is fully cleaned. This means the clog won’t come back in a few days—you should have a clog-free drain for months or years to come. Our equipment includes powerful motorized drain augers and hydro-jetters.
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