Prevention is better than cure when keeping your drains healthy and happy. Here are some top tips to help keep your drains happy and healthy.

The best way to keep your drains happy is to maintain a healthy drainage system. The best way to do this is through prevention! It’s really quite easy, you need to be mindful of what you put down your drains, and later in this blog, I have a handy list of what to avoid! If you are careful it is likely you won’t need to clear your drains very often. However, debris can get in and blockages can happen. I have a couple of tips for you to show how to fix these problems as well as how to keep your drains happy and well-maintained.

Blocked drains- Help!

Here at Adam’s, I am in the business of keeping your property running as smoothly as possible. In all my years of service, I have encountered countless plumbing emergencies—such as clogged drains, sewage backflowing into the home, overflowing toilets, burst sewer lines, and more—all of which could have been avoided.

Prevention is Better Than Cure for Healthy Drains

The very first thing to keep in mind in preventing clogging your drains is to make sure that what you put down them is supposed to go down them. Your drains were designed for water! Water flows and drains meander around your property in a way that water will follow. Start adding some ‘non-flowing’ stuff and guess what, yes you got it, they won’t flow and furthermore, they will stop the stuff that’s trying to flow through.

Cleaning Your Drains

So prevention is always better than cure. But we all know things happen and being vigilant about your drains isn’t always top of your list with work and busy family life happening. So, there are a few things you can do to help with the maintenance. Top of that list is to clean them as regularly as possible. In fact, certain tasks when performed frequently may help to prevent problems with your drains in the first place. Just as you clean the rest of your home, you can clean and look after your drains. Keeping your drains clean and clear of the ‘non-flowing’ stuff is just as important as keeping your bathroom scrubbed and your kitchen countertop wiped clean.

Hair in Your Drains?

Some of your drains will need to be checked more regularly than others. These include in particular your bath, shower and bathroom sink drains as these are usually where hair, can become an unseen problem. It might not sound like much but it really doesn’t take much hair to block a drain pipe! When you add all of the soap suds, shaving foam, and toothpaste to that, it is easy to see how clogs can happen so quickly.

Drain Guards

A really useful gadget is a drain guard. Drain guards are small, plastic or metal grate-like disks that sit over your plug to collect bits from your washing up or other wastewater, which you can then throw into the bin. They are easy to buy and don’t cost much, well much less than having your drains cleared!  Pop one on all your plug holes to reduce the amount of waste that gets washed down your sink. Helpfully, you can also buy a drain guard for your shower to catch loose hair and other debris that can wash down the drains. This article has some great tips on choosing your sink guard.

Remember: dispose of non-dissolvable products like cooking fats, oils and coffee grounds appropriately.

Healthy Drain Top Tips

Use Boiling Water Regularly

One of the easiest ways to maintain a healthy drain is to wash it out with hot water once a week. Hot water keeps oils in food products running down the drain, rather than building up on the interior surface of pipes, which can make drains sluggish and lead to clogging.

For those with a garbage disposal, once a month clean it with a sturdy disposer brush. Adam’s top tip is to grind up a few cups of ice cubes and some table salt. Put it through your garbage disposal and this great solution will help cut the grease and slime off the sides of the disposer. Flush it out with cold water followed by half a lemon or lime to add some fresh smells to your home too.

Signs Your Drains Might Need Repair

As you are more than aware your drains are mostly underground! This means that problems with your drainage system often aren’t noticed until it’s too late. However, if you take the time to look carefully on a regular basis, you may notice some telling signs of drainage problems. Ask yourself: are there any signs of leakage or can you smell anything out of the ordinary? A telling sign is when you start to notice wet patches or leaks around your property that are appearing in places they shouldn’t. If this happens remember to call me I am available 24/7

Trust Adam to Get Your Drains Healthy

Let the Professional Do the Hard Work

Please don’t worry we have seen lots of problems with drains over the years and have always been able to help. What is our bread and butter can be very distressing for you. If you are faced with a drain problem and you are not sure how to proceed then please give us a call and we will send a professional round to help you out. When things in the home aren’t working properly it can be quite overwhelming, so cut out the stress by simply giving us a call and Adam will look at your issue and provide the perfect solution.