Tag: blocked drain

How To Prevent Blocked Drains

Posted on by Josh Paternoster

Is there anything more frustrating than having a blocked drain? You can’t use the toilet for fear that it is going to overflow. You may even find that you can’t use water in any parts of your home, depending on the nature of the blockage. It can be very annoying, to say the least. But what makes matters worse is learning that the blockage could have been avoided. This is the case more often than you would realise. Mostly, blockages tend to occur because we act in ways we shouldn’t in terms of what we put down our toilets or sinks. Therefore, with a few little changes, you can go a long way to ensuring that your drains do not end up blocked. With that being said, let’s take a look at some important tips to follow to prevent blocked drains…

Some tips for the kitchen

Let’s begin by taking a look at some of the different things you can do with regards to your use of your kitchen sink in order to stop a blocked drain from occurring. When it relates to the kitchen, blockages usually occur because food has gotten down the sink.

This can be especially damaging if it is cooking oil, grease, or fat. This is because these liquids will solidify when they cool down, and this causes a pretty big blockage, which can be hard to remove by yourself. This is why you need to make sure that you never pour grease, fat, or cooking oil down the sink.

You should also make sure that you scrape any leftovers from your plate into the bin before you wash it in the sink. Another useful tip is to use a strainer in your sink plughole, emptying the contents into the bin. This will act as a barrier, ensuring food does not make it passed the plughole and into your drains. It’s always best to clean your sink properly to be absolutely sure you can prevent blocked drains.

Blockages in your own drains, as a result of clogging your pipes with fatty oils, grease, and leftover food, can cause a world of grief for your home. But there are also some more severe consequences. In the UK, “Fatbergs” have been an issue within London sewer systems since 2010, due to the rise in usage of “disposable” wet wipes.


BBC Earth Lab “Disgusting ‘Fatberg’ Found In London Sewer”

Fatbergs occur due to a combination of oils, fat and wet wipes, all combining into one large solid piece of matter. With that in mind, blockage prevention can be heavily influenced by what we flush down our toilets.

Some tips for the bathroom

Of course, aside from the kitchen, most of the mistakes happen in the bathroom when it comes to blocked drains. Did you know that one of the biggest causes of blocked drains in London and the UK, in general, is people trying to flush nappies down the toilet? You may think that this is something you can do because of the materials that modern nappies are made from. However, they have not been designed to be flushed down the toilet. This is one of the quickest ways to end up with a blockage because the nappy will end up stuck in the pipe, as it does not degrade in water.

Another big drain blocker is hair! If you have long or thick hair, this point is for you! It can be very difficult to avoid hair getting into the sink and shower plugholes. After all, you can’t help if strands of hair come out while you are washing! However, a good method for dealing with this is to get a trap or guard so that you can catch the hair before it is washed down the pipes.

Aside from nappies and hair, common blockages occur because of wipes and feminine products. With wipes, you need to throw them in the bin. They are not designed for toilets. Moreover, feminine products can range from cotton buds to sanitary pads, and these have not been designed to be flushed down the toilet either.

Whether it is food or a bathroom product, don’t have the attitude that now and again won’t make a difference. Little build-ups can easily result in big blockages.

Call Quick Clear Drainage London For Blocked Drains Emergencies!

If you do find that your drains are blocked, it is important to deal with the problem as soon as possible so that you can enjoy your home and the bill does not get bigger and bigger. After all, if you leave the blockage it may get worse, and this could mean that you have a more expensive plumbing service on your hands. Plus, who can really afford to leave a blockage as it is in any case? We all need water and to use the toilet! So, if you find yourself in this situation, don’t panic. Quick Clear Drainage London is here to provide an emergency blocked drain unblocking service. It does not matter what time it is or what day of the week it is, we have got you covered. Simply give us a call on 0203 633 3897 to book an emergency appointment if you have a blocked drain London.

How Often Should You Clean Your Drains

Posted on by Josh Paternoster

A lot of people don’t really have any clue how often their drains should be cleaned, and this can lead to a host of problems later on. It’s also true that most people don’t even think about their home’s drains or what they require until something goes wrong with them, and that’s not ideal either.

It means that problems are allowed to arise and that proper action is only taken when the drains are already blocked or experiencing other issues. Ideally, you should take action before that happens in order to ensure your drains don’t get blocked and those other problems don’t materialise. A big part of that is making sure they’re cleaned regularly and correctly.

You can find out more about how and when to do that below, so keep reading to find out more.

How Often Should I Clean My Drains?

The more you clean out your drains, the better they’ll perform and the less likely you’ll be to experience problems with them going forward. It really is as simple as that. With that in mind, the very best way to care for them is to clean them properly once a week. Of course, that’s not going to be possible for everyone, especially those with busy schedules, and that’s alright too.

If you don’t have the time to clean out your drains on a weekly basis, doing it once a month is fine too. As long as you make sure you get them cleaned out on a regular basis and don’t leave it too long between clean-outs. Everyone has different schedules and different amounts of free time available to them, so not everyone can dedicate the same amount of time to these things.

If you’re really short on time, you could always hire a professional company to clear out the drains for you. That’s one of the services we offer, meaning we can take care of this task for you on a regular basis if you can’t or don’t want to do it yourself. This makes life a little easier for you.

If You Notice Problems

There’s always a chance that a problem might occur, even if you’re sticking to a regular cleaning schedule. And when that happens, it’s important to know what to do. If you notice any bad smells or any other signs that you’re concerned about, it’s a good idea to seek immediate help from a professional. If the problem is relatively straightforward, the drain can be unblocked and cleaned to fix the issue.

In some circumstances, the problem may be deeper and simply cleaning out the drain might not be enough. When that happens, further exploratory work has to be carried out to get to the bottom of the issue and find out what’s going on with it. Again, this is something that can only be carried out by people with professional experience because it’s a difficult task to get right.

A plumber will be able to find out what’s going on and, most importantly, ensure the problem doesn’t simply return again in the near future. There’s always a risk of something like that happening, and it’s certainly the last thing you need. So if you notice a problem and you’re not sure what to do about it, trust the professionals to get it right.

Avoiding Blocked Drains

The best way to deal with a blocked drain is, of course, to avoid it happening in the first place. There are things that can be done to make blockages less likely. The first step is one we’ve already talked about. You simply need to make sure that you clean out the drains regularly to get rid of any problems that might be present. That way, they won’t have the chance to develop into something more troublesome.

There are devices you can use to place over your drains to prevent blockages occurring as well. These are known as drain traps or catches. These can stop debris and other things from entering the drain. Anything that’s too big to be going down the drain will be blocked, and fluids will be allowed through as they should. You can then manually remove anything that’s blocked by the train trap.

Another thing you can do is avoid putting anything down the drain that simply shouldn’t be there. Kitchen oils and things like that should never be put down the drain, for example. These simply lead to blockages, so cutting out those kinds of actions will help to make blocked drains less likely.

The Most Common Reasons for Blocked Drains

There are lots of different reasons why drains get blocked, and understanding these reasons is a good idea if you’re going to prevent this problem going forward. As mentioned above, one of the most common reasons for drain blockages is an excess amount of grease and fat entering the drains, and this can be avoided by properly and safely disposing of these things in other ways.

Any kind of foreign object that enters the drain and has the chance to cause a blockage is likely to lead to problems. The drain traps we discussed above can help to prevent these kinds of problems arising. Sometimes, it’s as simple as leaves and small tree branches causing blockages in the drains around your home. Steps should be taken to minimise this risk.

Toiletries and things we tend to use in the bathroom can also have a significant impact on drains. Baby wipes and things of that nature are terrible for drainage systems and can very quickly lead to blockages, and that’s why they should always be put in the bin instead. Even hairs that go down the drain can cause problems.

If you want more help with your drains, then don’t hesitate to get in touch with us here at Quick Clear Drainage. We can help to make sure that your drainage problems are dealt with professionally and efficiently. You can trust our team to get the job done properly.