How to prevent clogged drains

Clogged drains are one of the most common calls we get. The frustrating part is that most of them are preventable. Clogs rarely happen all at once. They build up over weeks or months as grease, hair, soap and debris collect inside the pipe until one day the water stops going down. Here is how to keep that from happening.

In the kitchen

Keep grease out of the sink. Cooking grease, oil and fat go down as a liquid, then cool and harden on the inside of the pipe. Each layer catches more food particles. Pour cooled grease into a can or jar and throw it in the trash, and wipe greasy pans with a paper towel before washing them.

Be careful with the disposal. A garbage disposal grinds food into smaller pieces, but it does not make them disappear. Coffee grounds, eggshells, rice, pasta and fibrous scraps like celery, onion skins and corn husks are some of the worst offenders. Scrape plates into the trash, run plenty of cold water while the disposal is on, and keep it running a few seconds after the grinding stops.

Use a sink strainer. An inexpensive basket strainer catches most of what should not go down the drain in the first place.

In the bathroom

Catch hair before it goes down. Hair combined with soap scum is the main cause of slow showers and tubs. A simple hair catcher over the shower drain is the easiest fix there is. Clean it regularly.

Only flush toilet paper. So-called flushable wipes do not break down the way toilet paper does. Neither do paper towels, cotton swabs, dental floss or feminine products. They snag in the line and build into stubborn clogs, often far from the toilet in the main sewer line. If your home is on septic, they also fill the tank faster.

Clean pop-up stoppers. Bathroom sink stoppers collect hair and toothpaste. Pull them out and clean them every few months.

Go easy on chemical drain cleaners

Store-bought chemical drain openers might clear a partial clog, but they rarely remove the cause, and repeated use can damage pipes, especially older cast iron and metal drain lines common in Treasure Coast homes built before the 1980s. They are also dangerous to handle and make the job hazardous for anyone who has to open the drain afterward. For routine upkeep, a regular flush with hot tap water or an enzyme-based cleaner is gentler on your plumbing. Avoid pouring boiling water into drains with PVC pipe or a porcelain toilet.

Watch out for the main line

Some clogs are not in the fixture at all. Your main sewer line carries everything out of the house, and in our area it faces a few specific threats:

• Tree roots. Ficus, palms and other thirsty landscape trees send roots toward the moisture in sewer lines and work into joints and cracks.
• Aging cast iron. Older cast iron drains scale on the inside and wear along the bottom, narrowing the pipe and snagging debris.
• Bellies. Sections of pipe that have settled hold water and waste instead of draining it.

Warning signs of a main line problem include several drains slowing down at once, gurgling from toilets or drains, water backing up into the tub when you flush, and sewage odors inside or around the house. Those are not plunger problems. A video camera inspection shows exactly what is going on inside the line, so the fix addresses the cause rather than just clearing the symptom.

A simple maintenance routine

• Use strainers and hair catchers on every drain that has one available.
• Flush kitchen and bathroom drains with hot tap water once a week.
• Run the disposal with plenty of cold water, and never use it for grease.
• Clean bathroom sink stoppers every few months.
• If you have mature trees near your sewer line or an older home, consider a camera inspection before problems start.