The drains are an essential part of both the home and the office, so it is important that they be looked after with care. A blocked drain will only get worse over time, so it is important to keep it maintained, and act quickly if any problems arise.

Read on to find out some top tips for good drain maintenance that you can practise both at home and at work.

How to Tell Your Drains Are Blocked

Before we get onto good drain maintenance, here are a few telltale signs your drains are blocked. Carrying out drain maintenance is pointless if the drain is already blocked and you may even make the situation worse. So look out for:

• Odours – If there is food debris stuck in your pipes, it can start to decompose and generate an unpleasant smell, especially if the tap is running.
• Sounds – Listen out for any strange sounds coming from your drains and plug holes, especially a gurgling sound. This is an indicator that there is trapped air in the drainage system that is escaping as you run water.
• Drainage – If your drains are struggling to pass water or are moving slowly, they could be clogged. A build-up of sludge could cause an entire drainage system to fail so the system needs to be cleared as quickly as possible.
• Raised Water Levels – Your toilet can be a great indicator for a simple method to see if your drains are blocked. If the water in the bowl is higher than usual, this could be a sign your drains are blocked. At home, if you flush your toilet and water starts to rise out of your shower, there is most likely a blocked drain somewhere. It is harder to tell for sinks and drains as water doesn’t build up inside them as often, but for the toilet, this is a great technique.

How To Practise Good Drain Maintenance and Some Drainage Solutions

There isn’t one overruling way to keep good drain maintenance, but a series of different things that can be done to help prevent damage before it can occur and clean your drains regularly. Here are a few top tips to practise good drain maintenance both at home and in the workplace.

No Waste Down The Sink

Your sink should not be a dumping ground for whatever waste you have. Nothing should be put down your drains unless it is a liquid, and even in this case, oil and grease should also avoid the drains. If you’re going to wash a plate with food scraps on it, always scrape as much as possible off into the bin instead. Food waste, no matter the size can create blockages in your sink very easily. They can harden in the drains and combine with other waste over time to create this block, so try to ensure your plate is as clear as possible before washing it in the sink.

Pasta, rice and other starchy food can become slimy and swell up when in contact with water, so having them stuck in your sink will create a blockage. If any meat is washed down the sink, it can become stringy and wrap around anything already in your pipes, creating a block that will emit a foul odour as it decomposes. Flour becomes glue-like when it’s wet, sticking to your pipes. It then hardens as it dries making it hard to remove from the pipes.

While pouring used cooking oil down the sink may seem like the easiest solution, it can wreak havoc inside your drains, causing blockages as the oil solidifies. This then combines with other substances that shouldn’t be down sinks to form congealed clumps of fatty waste, known as fatbergs. These can create serious problems and damage for not just your drains, but fatbergs the size of buses have been discovered in local sewage systems, caused by the improper disposal of waste down the sink. In homes, small amounts of cooking oil should be absorbed with a kitchen towel and disposed of in your food waste bin. Large amounts should be sealed into a container then thrown away with your normal kitchen waste.

If you’re at home it’s easy to make sure you’re doing this yourself, but a bit harder to maintain in the workplace. Consider investing in drain food catchers for the office sink. These work by having holes big enough for water and soap to drain through, but not big enough to let food waste through. The catcher can then empty the food waste into the bin and be put right back in the sink. So even if you have a coworker who loves dumping their unfinished noodles in the sink, the catcher will save the food from harming your drains.

Keep Hair Away

Hair is very bad for drains, especially if it is longer. It can create a block in your drain which will then cause even more debris to build up around it. The human head is constantly shedding strands of hair, so a buildup of hair is one of the most common causes of drain blockage and is very hard to avoid. A great tip to combat this issue is to invest in a drain hair catcher.

A drain hair catcher is a very simple but effective way of preventing drain blockages. Just install it and the catcher will stop all hairs from going down the drain, while still allowing water and any kinds of soap or shampoo you’re using to pass through. You can find cutesy models to cover shower drains and add a pop of character to the drain or more subtle varieties that fit inside the drain so you can’t even notice them.

Boiling Water

Boiling water can be a quick and easy solution to cleaning your sink. It can help loosen simple debris that could be beginning to build up in your pipes. Simply bring the water to boil and pour it directly into the pipes. This should happen smoothly if your drains are unblocked, but if the water begins to build up in the sink, you could be looking at a blockage somewhere.

Vinegar and Baking Soda

Instead of investing in an expensive drain unblocker, this is a quick and convenient solution using items you might have lying around the house. You just need to pour baking soda followed by white vinegar down the drain, then place a stopper or cover on the drain to seal it. Then let this sit and absorb for around fifteen minutes before running hot water down the drain. The combination of the two works by dissolving organic compounds and minerals in the drains, breaking down and dislodging any blockages.

Signs

Put up signs in the workplace that detail good sink maintenance. This will encourage them to treat the sinks and drains with respect, especially if the consequences are clearly outlined on the signs. If you have teenagers who don’t think drains are the coolest or children who can’t even spell maintenance, they could also benefit from signs to help them know exactly what to be doing when it comes to helping maintain the sinks. What you do only matters so much if your children are blocking the drains when you’re not looking.

Schedule Maintenance

To make sure everyone does their part in practising good drain maintenance, establish a schedule that gives every employee the task of cleaning the drains. By working as a team, you will each want to do your part to maintain the drains so the rest of the team don’t look down on you for not being a team player. It also makes the cleaning fairer, so one person isn’t stuck doing the cleaning process multiple times while some sail under the radar and never lend a hand.

Aqua Rod – Your Local Drain Unblockers

We understand that even good drain maintenance can fail and more serious problems can occur. That’s why at Aqua Rod Ltd we are a family run business that offers industry-leading domestic and commercial drainage services to the South West of England. We have developed a reputation for providing a first-class service to all of our customers and are available to help you clear your blocked drains.

We don’t just deal with drains, dealing with septic tank emptying, repair and maintenance. So for all drainage services for both domestic and commercial clients, give us a call on 01209 861099 to find out how we can help you, or visit our website now to explore our full range of services.

Published by: David Parkes on: October 29th 2021