As a homeowner, the types of household emergencies you dread the most likely have to do with your plumbing system: an overflowing toilet, a leaky water heater, and then a common one—severely clogged drains.
Unfortunately, clogged drains are a part of life. The good news is that you can give our team a call for thorough Albuquerque, NM drain cleaning services. There are also some drain clog problems you can potentially prevent. But to do so, you first have to know some of the most common causes of this plumbing problem.
Common Causes for Clogged Drains
- Hair/Soap Scum: Many bathroom drain clogs result when dirt, hair, soap scum, and even skin flakes build up inside the walls of your drain pipes. One thing that can prevent this is using a drain cover that can be bought at a home store. These allow you to stop the hair and some of the larger particles of dirt from entering the drain.
- Foreign Objects in the Toilet: Is it your toilet that is clogged? This can happen due to trying to flush items like feminine hygiene products, cotton-tipped swabs, dental floss, and wipes (even if they’re labeled as “flushable”). The important thing to remember here is that the only items that should be flushed are your waste and toilet paper.
- FOG: Let’s move to the kitchen now. Are you aware of what FOG is? It stands for Fats, Oils, and Grease. This accumulates in your drains until it restricts the flow of water. It’s best to let items like these cool and solidify and then throw them out instead of dumping them down the drain.
- Sewer Line Clog: There are a number of possible reasons a sewer clog might occur. It could be due to any or all of the above-mentioned factors. It could also be due to tree root infiltration. Tree roots are attracted to water, so over time even the smallest leak in your sewer line can attract them.
How Do I Know if I Have a Sewer Line Problem?
The more drain clogs are left alone to accumulate, the more the flow of water will be restricted. In the best case scenarios, you’ll be able to relieve any clogs you may have with a standard plunger. But there are times a plunger simply isn’t enough, and your sewer line is actually to blame. But short of no drainage from any of your drains, how do you know when this is the problem?
- Foul Odors: If you notice bad smells coming from your drains, it can be due to waste sticking to the walls of the sewer pipe. If you detect this from more than one or two of your drains, it could certainly be due to a sewer line blockage.
- Frequent Clogs: You may be tempted to relieve your clogs with store-bought drain cleaners. This often provides a quick, albeit temporary, fix to the problem. Whether or not you are trying this option, if your clogs are frequent, chances are you need professional services to your sewer line that go far beyond chemical drain cleaners. What’s more, this type of drain cleaner is corrosive and can do more harm than good to your plumbing system.
Roadrunner Air Conditioning, Heating & Refrigeration is more than an HVAC company. Turn to us for a number of plumbing services as well—including thorough drain and sewer services. Contact us today!
