Preventing Clogged Drains

Clogged drains are perhaps the single most common problem that all homeowners can find themselves faced with. It can easily be said that everyone will experience a clogged drain at least once in their life, if they haven't already. While you can always deal with any clog that comes up, it would be much better to learn the tricks of preventing clogged drains. You may not want to believe it, but preventing clogged drains is actually rather simple, as long as you keep a few guidelines in mind.

• Drain grease properly. One of the leading causes for clogged drains is pouring grease down the drain while it is still liquid. This causes a slow buildup over time which will eventually lead to a clog. It is better to pour the grease out into a separate bowl or can, and then dispose of the grease when it has cooled and congealed.
• Flush the disposal. If you have a garbage disposal then you need to run it regularly. Even if you haven't really used it for a while, running the garbage disposal will help to get rid of any build up that you may experience in the drain.
• Clean your stoppers. Another area of the sink that can often be overlooked and end up causing clogs are the stoppers. Most stoppers, at least those that are designed to stay within the sink drain, are wonderful at collecting all kinds of junk that lead to a clog. While it would be best to remove these stoppers from the sink once a week and clean them off, it can be put off to once a month at an absolute minimum.
• Boiling water is great tool. Considering how often clogged drains are caused by congealed grease and other materials, a great method for removing the problem is to apply a bit of heat to the situation. One way to do this is by pouring boiling water doing the drains every week. It doesn't take very much effort, and really doesn't take all that much time to do. Simply heat the water up and then pour it down the drain.
• Strainers are a must. Another method for preventing clogged drains is to actually use strainers, and to clean them regularly. Strainers are tools that are designed to allow water to pass through tiny holes, while also catching and holding onto any food particles that may be in the water. Since they catch the food particles, you will need to clean them out after each use. The best way to do that would be to dump the remains into the garbage can.
• Recognize warning signs. The single greatest indicator of an oncoming clog is if your drain is running slowly. You need to try to break up the pending clog in a variety of ways, such as using a plunger, or pouring boiling water down the drain.

Now that you know the basics of preventing clogged drains, you should find that these plumbing problems are greatly reduced. Besides having cleaner drains, you should also notice at least a couple of other benefits. First of all, your plumbing bill should go way down, and secondly you should also notice that your drains don't have that awful smell anymore.