Primary Image
Caption
A backed-up drain
Photo Credit
Signs of a Drain Backup: Thinkstock
Prevent and Clear Blocked Drains
Body
Clogged drains and blocked drains are more than just an inconvenience, they can quickly cause expensive damage to your home. If you have running water in your home, here are a few essential things you need to know about your drains!
Signs of Blocked Drains
When your sewer is plugged or your septic tank needs pumping, here’s what could happen:
- Water backs up out of your tub drain when you flush your toilet.
- When you empty your bathtub, the water stops flowing and bubbles back at you or bubbles into the toilet.
- When you empty your kitchen sink, the sink water backs up into the toilet.
- When you flush your toilet, sewer water backs up through an outside downspout, patio drain, driveway drain, or the lowest floor drain in your house.
- When you run a load of laundry, soapy water comes up into a toilet, shower, or floor drain.
How to Unclog a Drain and Prevent Clogs
- Let plenty of water run down the drain by keeping the faucet open for up to half a minute each day.
- Sink lines commonly plug because not enough water is flushed through them, especially after the garbage disposal is used. Run the faucet for about five seconds after you turn off the disposal. This helps flush the line.
- Never pour hot oil or grease down the sink—whether or not you have a disposal.
- About once a month, fill the sink to the top with very hot water. Using a fork or other kitchen utensil so you don’t scald your hand, remove the sink’s plug. As the clean hot water swirls down through the sink line, it takes much of the grease buildup with it.
- Drain-cleaning chemicals, if used improperly, can solidify in a drain line and aggravate the blockage. If the chemical doesn’t eat through the blockage, therefore not flushing down the drain, the chemical sits in your sink line. It crystallizes, and then there is no way you can easily clean a sink line after chemicals harden in it. Always be sure to follow the instructions
- It’s a good idea to keep a simple plumbing snake in your home. The snake can help you unclog your sink, bathtub, or shower drain if hair and other gunk happens to block them. A simple plumbing snake can be bought at your local hardware store or online for only a few dollars.
To Keep a Toilet from Clogging
- Don’t put anything foreign down the toilet except toilet paper.
- Items such as dental floss, Q-Tips, baby wipes, feminine hygiene products, or any other paper product cling to the roots in the sewer and cause an immediate blockage.
- Always have a plunger on hand, and don’t wait until you need one to buy one—by then, it’s too late!
More Helpful Household Hints:
More Like This
I washed clothes yesterday in the basement of our house. Upon returning to change to the dryer, I saw water on the floor and the utility sink filled to the top. My husband used a plunger and it caused water to continue filling from the drain into the sink. We flushed the toilets and ran water in the house and the sink continued to receive some water through the drain with what looked like remnants of toilet paper. We decided not to run water, go to the gym and shower and let it slowly drain on its own. Today, the sink is half full. He went outside and removed the vent cover because water was seeping through it and found toilet paper, hair and other household waste. After reviewing tons of videos, reading blogs and etc., we suspect there might be a block at the end of the sewer pipe that leads to the septic. What do you think? What steps should we try next.
Call in a professional.
It sound like you have a blockage in the main pipe going to your septic system. We suggest that you call a plumber.
My tub started backing up when my washer drained. After the washer was finished draining; the tub and toilet drained. It has only did this twice and then resolves. What could cause this? Everything had been draining fine all day.
Had a plumber replace 2 toilets and install 2 new showerheads. Since then, when you use the bathtub, water starts to leak from the walls in both bathrooms and the other bathtub that was not used, has standing water.After about 5 minutes, the water recedes. Today, I used the kitchen sink and it made water leak in those bathrooms. I have a 3rd bathroom that was not touched by tge plumber and everything works fine.
Sink water comes out of toilet which pipe
should I go look
Toilets are clear sinks are clear. I snakes 25ft into the main drain starting at the septic end first. But water still wont drain out. Its coming out to the septic tank in a slow stream.
For slow bath drains because of hair, check out The Drain Claw at http://www.thedrainclaw.com. You can unclog a bath drain without chemicals.
📣The Gardening Club Just Got Better! 3 Deliveries, 10% Store Discount, and more!
Comments