Signs Your Drains Need Cleaning
Proper drain function is essential to the smooth operation of your plumbing system. A network of pipes delivers clean water to the faucets, showers, and toilets of your home, and the drainage system carries away the waste. This process should occur effortlessly.
Most of us don’t give any thought to the condition of our plumbing systems until we see and smell clear signals that trouble is afoot. Your drainage system is in danger of becoming clogged with dirt, hair, grease, and other debris that not only can make life inconvenient, but it can be downright dangerous in some situations.
Why Drains Need to Be Cleaned
Proper drain cleaning and care can help improve the overall health and function of your house. Your drain system is often neglected because it is out of sight, but once an issue has presented itself, a repair may be unavoidable if you want to prevent damage to your home and ensure your safety. While a number of temporary remedies exist to clean drains short-term, the only lasting solution for freely flowing plumbing is regular drain cleaning and maintenance that removes clogs and other debris from your system.
Consequences of a Clogged Drain System
Your drainage system works much like an intestinal tract. It carries waste products from areas of your home via plumbing that clears dirty water from bathrooms, kitchens, and laundry rooms. To ensure that your home remains sanitary, you’ll need to give attention to cleaning and maintenance of your drainage system from time to time.
A number of consequences can result from failing to care for your drains properly. Here are a few of the issues that can arise from an overloaded system.
- Standing water in tubs and sinks
- Clogs
- Slow drains
- Strange smells
- Overflowing plumbing fixtures
- Leaks and burst pipes
- Potential health consequences
Dealing with these issues is essential to keeping your home safe and preventing costly plumbing issues. Let’s take a look at some of the most obvious signs that your drains need attention.
Slow Drains
Your drains are meant to easily carry water away from plumbing fixtures into your sewer or septic system. If they are slow to drain or, worse yet, leave you with standing water for a period of time, this is a clear indication that something is stopping up the works. Accumulation of unwanted substances such as hair, grease, and other obstructions can block plumbing, leaving water with no place to go. Evaluating the condition of your drains in sinks, tubs, and showers from time to time will give you an overview of how your drainage system is functioning.
Strange and Unusual Odors
Walking into a bathroom or basement and smelling the pungent odor of raw sewage is yet another sign that trouble is brewing with your drains. Over time, toxic gases thrown off by clogged plumbing can cause a number of health issues such as headaches, nausea, vomiting, and even respiratory distress. Getting to the root cause of this odor and eliminating it at its source is the only way to keep you and your family safe from the potential health consequences of noxious fumes that accumulate in your home.
The Presence of Pests and Bugs Around a Drain
Wherever you notice bugs such as fruit flies, drain flies, and cockroaches around a drain, there is likely something in the drain attracting them to it. Periodic flushing of the drain with baking soda and vinegar may work for a time, but lasting relief from pest infestation comes with keeping drains running free and clear with the assistance of professional maintenance.
Gurgling or Groaning Sounds
As water rushes past clogs in your pipes, air can easily get stuck and trapped within your plumbing. These pockets of air cause gurgling and groaning sounds as water is pushed through pipes. While the air itself won’t pose a problem, you’ll find over time that your plumbing works less efficiently. You may also find yourself with potential vapor locks that can cause pressurized leaks and burst pipes. Dealing with noise in your pipes when you hear it will be a key part of preventing more significant repairs.
Ongoing Clogging Issues
Drains will clog from time to time, but it’s those persistent and pesky clogs that keep happening within the same fixtures that point to major drainage issues. When plunging, chemicals, and snaking will no longer fix the problem, it’s time to call in a professional to assess the condition of your plumbing and drains and make recommendations for repair.
Multiple Clogs in Various Fixtures
There are times when a drainage system is so overloaded with debris that water has come to a standstill. A mainline cleaning is in order. In these circumstances, you should consider having all your plumbing inspected to determine the exact cause of such a failure. A problem like this cannot be ignored, as it will only continue to worsen over time. Call a professional plumber to diagnose and repair the issues that persist.
Water Backups
Water backups will almost always cause damage to your home, and they are a breeding ground for unsanitary conditions that can put you and your family at risk. When water has nowhere else to go, it will eventually come back into your home through floor drains, toilets, and even sinks. Prompt attention and cleanup of this issue is necessary to prevent exposure to harmful substances and bacteria that can make everyone in your home ill. Call a professional drain cleaning service immediately to eliminate standing water and implement sanitary cleaning and disinfecting measures to protect you and your loved ones.
Overflowing Toilets
Toilets are finicky appliances, and clogged toilets are unsanitary bacteria traps that can cause water to spill into your home and cause damage to floors and other bathroom fixtures. You’ll likely notice gurgling sounds, slow draining issues, and eventually an inability to flush properly as it prepares to dump its load throughout your home. Taking a proactive stance on drain cleaning and maintenance will prevent this nasty situation from occurring and eliminate the need for a very unsavory chore.
Sewage Backups
One of the most dangerous issues related to poor drainage is the backup of raw sewage into your home. A main line clog will result in a backup of raw sewage that flows into floor drains, main floor sinks and tubs, and laundry room utility sinks. Sewage brings with it dangerous bacteria and toxic gases that can wreak havoc on your health if not properly managed. In cases like this, it’s necessary to call in a sewer cleaning service to properly contain any dangerous elements and disinfect floors and surfaces in your home. On the heels of a cleanup operation, you should make drain cleaning a top priority to prevent this potentially dangerous situation from reoccurring.
Let’s Get Your Drains Flowing Freely Again
At Absolute Services, our top-notch professionals pride themselves on serving valued customers across the Louisville, Lexington, and Elizabethtown areas. We provide premium services such as heating and cooling repair and maintenance, new appliance installation, garage door repair, plumbing repair, sewer and septic system repair, drain cleaning, and much, much more. We can get you up and running again when you’ve had enough of clogged drains and standing water. Contact us today to see how we can free things up and get your plumbing system moving once more!
