Ohio Drain Cleaning

Clogged Drains And How To Clean Them

Whether you’re a homeowner, business owner or other property owner, odds are you’ve experienced the hassle of clogged, blocked or backed up sewer drains, kitchen sink drains, bathtub drains, toilets and basement drains. Many drain and pipe blockages can be fixed by the homeowner without professional help, but on there are some occasions when a clog is so bad that it requires outside help from companies who specialize in drain cleaning.

For the average person (especially a newer property owner), the mechanics behind why a drain becomes clogged or broken can be somewhat of a mystery. In reality, there are several reasons why a drain could clog, and each require different methods for getting things flowing properly again. Figuring out what is causing your particular clog, and how to properly clean your drain, is something we have many years of experience.

Different Causes Of Blocked And Backed Up Drains

In addition to tree roots (which we will dedicate a section to later on in this article), there are four other main perpetrators when it comes to clogged drains: grit, grease, oil and fat. It sounds pretty disgusting, but these four drain-clogging agents are often at fault for malfunctioning Ohio drains, and it’s important to both prevent them from getting into your drains and properly remove them if they start causing problems. And in many cases, we’ve even seen all four of these substances present in severely clogged drains.

So, how do these four substances end up clogging the drains in your home or business? Well, first of all, they are water insoluble, which means that they just won’t mix with water and will separate from any kind of liquid. If you dump grease, oil or fat down one of your drains, it won’t just mix with the water and flow away down the sewer drain.

Instead, these substances tend to separate from the flowing water and stick to the pipes. And while the buildup of fat, oil and grease might not be noticeable immediately, after a while they start to form layers of obstruction that gradually gets thicker and thicker. Before you know it, the waste water moving through your sewer drain will start to be restricted by a smaller and smaller opening. And eventually, the drain could become completely blocked if it isn’t properly cleaned.

And here’s the worst part about fat, oil, dirt and grease: they don’t just cause overflows and clogs, but they could also cause your pipes to have to be completely replaced much sooner than they would have to otherwise. For homeowners like those, these are additional costs they would rather not have to incur.

Educating The Public On Substances That Clog Drains

Obviously, not many homeowners and restaurant owners purposely pour buckets of grease, oil and fat down their drains. Instead, these substances are often present in other things that people just don’t realize might cause drain problems in the future. In fact, just about any kind of byproduct from cooking and preparing food can cause problems if they get into your drains.

First of all, just about anything you might run through the garbage disposal in your sink will eventually cause buildup on your drains and might lead to a clog. Things like butter, salad dressing, sauces, and dairy products are common offenders that people don’t realize might lead to problems. Even substances like shampoo and other hair care products contain fats and grease that can block a pipes (in fact, we often see drain problems at hair salons for this very reason). So it might help to pay attention to the following preventative maintenance tips about how to keep your drains clean.

Taking Steps To Prevent Backed Up Drains In Your Home Or Business

As you can see, you don’t have to be a restaurant owner to eventually have major drain problems in your home. It’s important to be proactive and practice a little preventative maintenance when it comes to taking care of the drains in your home to stop clogs from occurring in the first place. Luckily, there are a few easy steps you can take to make sure that a professional drain cleaning in your home won’t be necessary for a long time.

First and most obviously, never pour any kind of grease, grit, fat or oil down any drain in your house or business. Even if you run these kind of substances through a garbage disposal, they will still build up on the inside of you pipes and cause clogging problems in the future.

Don’t rely too much on your garbage disposal, and try to strain any larger pieces of food and throw them away in the garbage along with large amounts of grease and oil. And before you wash any pots and pans that have been used to cook food, you might want to think about scraping grease and oil off of them or wiping them clean with a paper towel.

Tree Roots: A Big Problem For Sewer Drains

One of the most common problems that we deal with at residential homes is tree roots in sewer drain pipes that cause major obstructions, clogs and even breakages. One of the side effects of this is that large trees can cause major damage to your sewer drains as their roots snake around under the ground.

So, why do tree roots grow into your sewer drain and cause problems? Well, the fact of the matter is that your sewer drain is a great place for roots to pick up water, nutrients and oxygen that trees need to grow. Your drains are very welcoming places for tree roots, and they provide lots of nourishment that allow the roots to grow and expand, causing big problems for your sanitary sewer system.

Tree root clogs and blockages often sneak up on homeowners, since your sewer laterals are usually buried beneath the ground where you can’t see them. Roots can spend years in your sewer laterals getting bigger and bigger before you notice a waste water flow problem, and by that time the roots can be so large that it requires professional help to cut through them and get things running again.

How To Clean Tree Roots Out Of Your Sewer Drain

If you have trees of any substantial size in your yard, and if their roots have made it into your sewer lateral drain, then you will likely need to schedule a regular yearly maintenance to remove them. We have the most modern equipment available, such as augers, drain snakes and rodding, video inspecting and locating, and high-pressure water jets to get rid of tree roots efficiently and inexpensively.

Luckily, most tree root problems can be solved relatively quickly using our specialized equipment, which is quiet and safe enough to use in your home or business. And by scheduling a sewer drain maintenance appointment once every year, you’ll help ensure that tree roots won’t have a chance to obstruct and break your drain in the future.