When it comes to our sewage systems, we tend to only think about them when they don’t work.
That is, we flush a toilet and instead of heading down the drain as it does 9,999 times out of 10,000, all the liquid and effluent comes right back at us!
Saying this can be an unpleasant experience is putting it mildly.
While it’s natural to think that something in your toilet is blocking the way for your waste, a toilet or sewage blockage could be caused by something other than human waste, such as paper, a stuffed doll or something that’s been stuffed down a toilet or drain.
In fact, depending on your neighborhood’s sewage system, something in your neighbor’s home or business that blocks his sewage system could affect yours.
While there’s little you can do to keep problems at bay in a neighbor’s home or building, there are several things you can do in your own home to ensure you never hear that dreaded gurgling sound as your toilet, shower or kitchen sink backs up on to your bathroom or kitchen floor.
Read below for seven tips on how to keep sewage blockages from ruining your day.
- Watch the grease that goes down your kitchen or even bathroom sink. Grease can stick to the inside of sewer pipes not only on your own property but also the pipelines along your street, building up over time until it hardens into a plug. If that happens, it can block an entire pipe, causing backups and sewer overflows in your home and your neighbors’. Even thicker shampoos and hair products can build up over time. Watch out for products that claim to dissolve grease – they may just pass the grease down your own pipes to cause problems elsewhere later.
- To make sure grease doesn’t cause a blockage problem down the line, make sure you scrape off all grease from cooking utensils into a separate receptacle (an empty coffee can works wonders) or just place it in the trash. Wipe out a greasy pan before washing it. It’s best to wipe it while the pan is still warm with a towel or newspaper. You also can put strainers in sink drains to catch smaller pieces of food as well as grease; periodically empty the drains into the trash.
While the pan is still warm, wipe a greasy cooking utensil with a paper towel or newspaper to get at the grease before washing the pan.
- If you do find a clogged drain, avoid using chemical cleaning products. As mentioned above, these may just move the problem from your drain to another area within the sewage system.
- Instead, purchase a plumbing snake (also known as an augur) to clear out the clogged drain. Snakes cost about $15 at your local hardware store.
- Tree roots can sometimes work their way into your pipe system. It’s wise to engage a Dallas plumber to come to your home every few years to perform a main sewage cleanout and also to check for and remove any tree roots that have made their way into your plumbing.
- Never place anything but toilet paper down a toilet.
- If you’re not on sewage system but have a septic tank, have the tank pumped out every three to five years.
If you have a clogged drain that just won’t budge no matter how hard you try with your plumbing snake to clean it, contact the reliable and professional Dallas plumbing firm of Plumbing Dynamics to unclog it for you.
Reach us at 214-929-3431 or send us a message via our contact form.
Image courtesy of Grant Chochrane/FreeDigitalPhotos.net
