What are the most common causes of blocked drains?

What are the most common causes of blocked drains?

There's no doubt about it - blocked drains are a total nuisance.

Whether you're experiencing drain blockages in your residential home, on a construction or building site, or even on a rural property - you will want to identify the root of the cause and fix it, fast.

Stay with us as we explore the common causes of blocked drains in each of these locations, and explain the best ways to prevent, intercept, and fix these blockages.

Do you have a blocked drain in your home?

If this is the case, you may well be wondering what has caused the blockage, and what you can do to fix it.

The good news is, regardless of the cause of the blocked drain, you don't have to fix it yourself.

If you're in Australia, you can engage the services of a professional plumber who can assist you with drain cleaning in Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Adelaide, and other major cities around the country.

Some of the most common causes of blocked drains in residential homes include:

If you're using your kitchen sink to wash the dishes after cooking up a storm, you may be causing a build-up of grease, fat or oil to develop inside the drain pipe.

If you want to prevent this, you need to avoid pouring heavy liquids such as grease, fat and oil down the sink. Instead, dispose of these liquids in the bin - before washing your cooking pans and utensils.

Next, ensure you are using astringent dishwashing liquid to adequately rid your dishes, and the sink, of any excess grease.

Pets aren't the only culprits of malting hair in the home. It is extremely common for us to shed hair as well - particularly in the shower.

As such, it is not unlikely that your shower drain can become clogged with hair, which can then cause the drain pipe to become blocked.

Make sure to clear out the drain of hair as often as possible - either by pulling it out manually or by pouring bleach down the drain pipe.

Often, when a plumber has been called out to unclog a blocked drain, they will find all sorts of miscellaneous objects lodged inside it that have caused the blockage.

These objects can include toiletries and sanitary items such as tampons and pads, as well as excess tissue paper.

Other foreign objects that can accidentally fall into a toilet and cause it to become blocked, for example, include toothbrushes, dental floss, or even kid's toys.

Unfortunately, there's often no other way to prevent your drains and sewer pipes from being blocked by tree roots than to get rid of the surrounding trees.

This is a task best left to the experts and requires regular maintenance to avoid tree roots growing back into your drains.

Residential homes are not the only locations that are susceptible to blocked drains! Blocked drains can also happen on building and construction sites.

A blocked drain on a building or construction site can occur when drain pipes become damaged during construction.

With so much heavy machinery around, it is almost inevitable for a pipe to get knocked and sometimes even shattered.

This can then cause dirt, rubble and other debris to enter the pipe and eventually cause it to become blocked.

Again, the services of professionals are required here, and unblocking drains on construction sites is a task best left to the experts.

Just like residential homes and construction sites, rural properties can also experience blocked drains from time to time.

Some of the common causes of drain blockages on rural properties include:

Usually caused by a build-up of solid waste, septic tanks can experience clogs and blockages quite often.

To avoid this, the septic tank needs to be pumped regularly. It is also important to only flush biodegradable materials down these types of drains.

Leaky pipes can be another common cause of drain blockages on rural properties, as they can cause damage to the pipes and issues with the water supply.

This can only be helped by engaging the services of a professional plumber to seal and fix the leaks.

Frozen pipes can occur in freezing temperatures, particularly in the winter in rural locations.

The only way to stop this is to ensure that your drain pipes are well-insulated by a professional.