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Signs Indicating Blocked Drains and Sewers and Prevention Tips

by onthegoplumbing
If you’ve been experiencing blocked drains and sewers, or any other drainage-related issues, it’s important to take steps to troubleshoot as soon as possible. Fortunately, there are some signs that can indicate when you have a blocked drain or sewer, so you can take action before the problem gets worse. In this blog post, we’ll discuss some of those signs and provide tips on how to avoid blocked drains and sewers in the first place.

Signs you have a blocked drain problem

Blocked drains are usually caused by soap scum, a build-up of hair, or grease. You can prevent such blockages by regularly cleaning your drains. Here are several signs indicating you’ve blocked drains in Sydney:
  • Slow draining or gurgling toilets – If your toilets are making strange gurgling noises, or draining slower than usual, it could be a sign that you have blocked drains or sewers.
  • Drains or toilets emitting bad odours – If you have bad odours coming from your toilets or drains, it’s a sign that your drains are blocked. This is usually caused by waste building up in them.
  • Home or garden flooding – If there’s flooding occurring in your home or garden, it’s a sign that your drains or sewers are blocked. Such blockages can be caused by broken pipes, tree roots, or waste build-up. It’s important to call us if there’s flooding occurring.
  • Rats or other pests in your home – If you have rats or other pests invading your home, it’s a sign that your drains are blocked. They’re attracted to the build-up of waste in your drains and unsafe to have around. Call us to take care of the root cause of the pest influx.

 Signs your sewer line is blocked

Here are some indicators that you have a blocked sewer pipe and need to check if someone is needed for clearing the blocked sewer drains (if the problem exists):
  • Bubbling toilet – If your toilet is bubbling while you’re in the shower, you may have a blocked sewer problem on your hands.
  • If your sewer lines are too close to a tree, its roots might break, or squeeze the pipes.
  • Water backing up in sinks, showers or toilets – If multiple plumbing fixtures have water starting to back up into your sinks, showers or toilets, it’s a sign that your main sewer line may be clogged. But the toilet will get clogged first in this case, so if it flushes fine, the blockage is probably located elsewhere.
  • Is your toilet overflowing or does water not go down the shower drain when your washing machine is draining water out? These are signs that you have a blocked sewer pipe.

Preventing a blocked drain

There are several blocked drain solutions, ranging from home remedies to chemical drain cleaners and plungers, to high pressure water jetting and CCTV cameras. If you want to save money, it’s better to regularly maintain your drains and pipes or prevent them from getting clogged in the first place. It’s more expensive to find a solution after the fact.
Here are several tips on how to prevent blockages from occurring in the first place:
  • Don’t use your toilet as a garbage bin. So, whether it’s candy wrappers, thick toilet tissues, baby wipes, or sanitary pads, avoid flushing it down the toilet.
  •  Use a strainer basket or waste strainer for the kitchen sink as well as those in the bathrooms to prevent getting your plumbing blocked. Strands of hair, food particles, tiny pieces of plastic, etc., can collect in the drain pipes and block the flow sooner or later.
  • Use drain screens for your bathroom drains, including the shower drain, as well as the one(s) in the kitchen floor that make cleaning easier. Use screens to catch soap suds, strands of hair, and other debris from going down the pipes and getting stuck.
  • Don’t use the kitchen sink or garbage disposal to get rid of oils, fat, or trash. It’s a much better idea to throw trimmed fat, leftover oils, bones, etc., in the garbage bin.
  • Keep your outdoor drains clear of twigs, leaves, debris, trash, etc. to prevent them from getting blocked.
  • Keep setting compounds from being poured down the drain. Meaning, avoid pouring joint setting compounds like cement down the drain. Otherwise, it can cause a permanent blockage, leaving you no option but to install a new drain and whatever else is required to make it work.
  • To stop fabric, tissues and other large particles from going down the hose, connect a lint catcher to your washing machine hose.
  • Avoid putting grease, hair, and thick tissues in – this means throw away the fat and grease from cooking in the trash bin, and using 1-ply bathroom tissues to clean your behind, as well as not pouring grease and fats down the kitchen drain. We’d also suggest throwing sanitary napkins, baby wipes, and other trash in a trash bin and not flushing them down the toilet.

Preventing a blocked sewer pipe

Here are some tips on how to prevent blockages f
  • One of the main causes of sewer pipes clogging is tree roots. If they don’t clog the pipe directly, the solid matter that sticks to them inside the sewer pipe(s) will. Make sure the sewer pipes are not located close to a tree in your garden or yard. If they are, either cut those tree roots off that may cause a problem, or move the tree to a location further off.
  • Another cause of a blockage is if a section of the pipe is collapsed or broken. If you have been careful with what you flush down your toilet or put down your sinks, then a broken or collapsed pipe may be the problem.
  • You can install grease traps in the sewer lines connected to the kitchen to prevent blockages due to oil, fat, and grease.
If you’d like help with blocked drains or sewers and are in Sydney, call us. On The Go Plumbing is a Sydney plumbing contractor (try out our quality blocked drain and sewer service). We provide services to residents, body corporates, commercial and industrial customers in South Sydney, the Inner West, Eastern Suburbs, and Sutherland Shire. Like a free site inspection, a free quote and affordable rates? Give us a call at 1300 35 35 37 or fill out our web form, today.

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