Why Do My Drains Get Blocked?

The cause of blockages are endless, we have made a list of the most common causes and what you can do to prevent it from happening again.

Blocked Toilet

A Blocked toilet is no fun especially when there is only one in the house. The main causes of a blocked toilet are too much toilet paper has been used and collected in the trap inside the

toilet, foreign objects such as sanitary towels, wet wipes, make up pads have been flushed. The flush on the toilet is not powerful enough to flush the waste away to the main drain or you do not have enough water in the cistern to be be effective.

Blocked Sink

The main cause of a blocked sink is usually fats and oil. When poured into the sink / drain no matter how little it can settle and cool becoming hard restricting the drain pipe work. Over time it will collect more oils and grease as well as food left overs causing a either a slow draining sink or blockage. To reduce this place a strainer into the sink to gather any food left overs. If you do pour oils / grease down the sink ( which we suggest you don't) ensure you follow it up with a good amount of hot water (not boiling) to ensure it reaches the main drains and less likely to set.

Most times the blockage is in the trap / U bend and can be removed, but sometimes the blockage is further down the pipe work and will need to be cabled / plunged to remove.

Blocked Bath - Blocked Shower - Blocked Basin

These are mainly caused by hair, silt or foreign objects (ear buds, tooth floss, package wrapping)

Again place a strainer to help prevent any foreign objects escaping. Most times the blockage is easy to clear due to mostly water entering when in use. Be careful if you decide to pour any drain blockage removal liquid into the drain as they can damage the pipe work and if they do not removed the blockage they can sometimes mould with blockage making it harder to clear.

Blocked Drain

The main cause of a blocked drain are a build up of too much toilet paper, waste or foreign objects (wet wipes, sanitary towels.) If the blockage is consistent after you have cleared it - this could lead to various problems such as the flush on toilet isn't powerful enough to flush the waste away, the slope on the drains isn't steep enough to drain the waste away, there could be an issue within the drains such as a displaced joint, collapsed pipe(underground) or tree roots have grown into the pipe causing issues. If this is the case a CCTV survey is required to investigate why you keep having blockages.

And last but not least CHILDREN TOYS

Many times we have found the cause of a blockage to be a Peppa Pig toy or a happy meal toy. So parents beware as these can get stuck in a bend in the drains which are not easily removed.

Here at Leak Shield Plumbing & Drainage we provide a same day response to all you drainage needs from a blocked sink to a drain CCTV survey.

If you have any questions or would like to know more please get in touch with us.

Alex - 07762773796 info@leakshield plumbing.co.uk

Thanks for reading