Return to Blog
Prevention is key when it comes to your drainage system and stopping blockages. Blocked drains are never convenient or pleasant, whether they are internal with slow draining sinks and toilets or external blocked manholes or gullies.
Failure to prevent blocked drains could lead to a number of unpleasant situations including flooding, foul odours and internal damage. That is why you should take every precaution possible to prevent blocked drains in your home.
Some blockages may be out of your control, but here are some easy tips to help prevent blocked drains in your home.
1) Install Sink Strainers
One of the easiest and cheapest solutions for preventing blocked drains is to install sink strainers in your kitchen and bathroom sinks and your bath and/or showers.
Sink strainers are small stainless-steel sieves or wire mesh devices that block hair and food particles from entering your sink drain. However, the steel still has tiny air pockets to allow water to pass through and enter the drain. So you can think of sink strainers as sink filters that protect your drains from debris that could cause blockage in the pipework.
2) Use the Toilet Responsibly
Are you using your toilet responsibly? Any waste management professional would tell you that the only things that should be flushed down the toilet are human waste and toilet paper.
Unfortunately, some people flush other items such as baby wipes, paper towels and sanitary items. We have even found nappies flushed down there! Your toilet drainage is not designed to take these items as they are not meant to be flushed. You may get away with it once or twice but these items will soon start to cause issues. So if you flush them down your toilet, you can expect blockage to occur soon after.
3) Keep Grease and Oil Away from Your Kitchen Sink Drains
One of the reasons why kitchen sink drains get frequently clogged is from washing dishes with grease, oil and food waste on them. Some people even pour grease or oil down the drain after straining them from meat and food. Either of these actions will create blockage issues in the drain.
The simple solution here is to pour your grease and oil into old containers that can then be disposed of in the rubbish bin rather than down the kitchen sink. And if you have any grease or oil residue on your pots, pans, or dishes, use a paper towel to remove this before washing them in the sink.
4) Chemical Drain Cleaners
Chemical drain cleaners can be used to unblock your drains if you have a minor blockage from food particles or organic waste materials. They are best used as soon as you notice water draining slowly, otherwise the chemical drain cleaners might not work if too much waste debris has built up in the drainage system over a long period of time.
You could even try home remedies like baking soda or boiling water if you don’t want to put chemicals down the drain. But the important thing is to act fast before the blockage worsens in the drainage system. Chemical drain cleaners are only good at dissolving small quantities of organic debris blockage, such as grease, oil and food particles.
5) Drainage Maintenance
Don’t wait for debris elements to form blockages in your home’s drainage system. Instead, take the initiative of having regular drainage maintenance carried out by a trustworthy and professional drain clearance company like London Drains Direct.
Regular drain maintenance will ensure your drains receive cleaning periodically, even if you haven’t noticed any signs of a blockage in your drainage system, removing any debris buildup before it causes a blockage.
In addition to the drain cleaning services, we can also carry out a CCTV survey of your drainage system. Our engineers will use our specialist drainage CCTV cameras to inspect the inside of your drain pipework to detect any signs of damage. If we find any issues we can advise whether to monitor or repair the defects to prevent further problems beyond just a blockage.
Call a Professional
It is always a good idea to schedule professional drain surveys and maintenance services for your home’s drainage system. That way, you can clear any accumulating debris from your drainage pipework and detect any potential damage..
London Drains Direct provides professional drainage clearance, CCTV surveying and maintenance services 24 hours per day, seven days per week. Call us at 020 7118 0999 to request drainage assistance or ask questions about our drainage services.