Home & Garden: Why does my drain get clogged?

A clogged drain is very common, and probably one of the main plumbing chores you find comes up again and again. They can be messy and frustrating though often taken care of without a plumber. That said, busy plumbers in Mosman and elsewhere do handle these exact kinds of calls.

The reasons behind most drain clogs will vary depending on what part of the house you’re talking about. If you want to keep your drains running smoothly, here is what you need to look out for.

Kitchen Sink

The drain in the kitchen sink is most at risk from clogs, but also one of the easiest to protect with a little care when it comes to your dishes. Most blocks are caused by too much food going down the pipe. Dishes with food still stuck to them shouldn’t just be rinsed off in the sink. Scrape all your dishes well before they get rinsed. This applies for hand-washing dishes as well as those that go in the dishwasher.

Be particularly aware of cooking grease. Just because it’s a liquid now (because it is still very warm), it will congeal into a solid very quickly. This is what generally gets clogs started. Let the grease cool to a solid before you wash the pan, and scrape it out for proper garbage disposal.

Add a sturdy basket filter to the drain, to catch what food is still in the sink and it should keep most of the material out of your pipes.

Bathroom Sinks

For the sink in the bathroom, a lot of clogs can be caused by too much toothpaste. Toothpaste is a lot like grease in the kitchen, creating sticky clumps in the pipes that create a foundation for bigger clogs. Hair will sometimes be an issue if you brush your hair over the sink, and then rinse it out. Take care not to let gobs of toothpaste be rinsed down, and add a filter to the drain to keep out hair.

Kids have a tendency to play more in bathroom sinks than others, so you can also get some clogs from toys or small items that are dropped down the drain. It’s best to fish out items like this as soon as you can to prevent them from developing into a larger blockage.

Shower

For the shower drain, your main clog cause is hair. There isn’t too much you can do to prevent this so a basket filter in the drain can be your only option. Large dollops of shampoo or slivers of soap can also create clogs, much like the toothpaste does in the sink. These things are difficult to control so the basket is your best bet in the shower.

Toilet

The toilet is a tricky spot since it is somewhat intended to handle solid waste and it’s not easy to put limits on how you use it. The main problem is toilet paper, or flushing anything else that is not intended for the toilet. Paper towels or other sanitary paper products should not be flushed. It’s a little awkward to discuss how much toilet paper should be used per flush, other than avoid large clumped handfuls of paper.

These are just the most common reasons why a drain gets clogged. There may be other causes. If you are finding that certain drains are getting blocked too often, even when watching what goes down, then you might want to examine the plumbing underneath. A narrow section of pipe or an awkward bend may be part of your problem too.