The saying, “a clean drain is a happy drain,” holds for every household. Drain problems are not only concerning but can get disgusting pretty quickly. Failing to attend to this problem can also expose you and your family to health issues, water damage, mold problems, etc. Before you call for a Residential Plumbing service | H&A Plumbing | Brooklyn New York, here are some signs that your drain needs cleaning.
Standing water
Standing water is perhaps the commonest tell-tale sign of a drain problem. If you’ve noticed slowly draining water in your sink or shower, chances are high that there’s a drain clog building up fast in your pipes.
Drain clogs are commonly caused by solid materials like hair, grease, or gunk. The slow drain indicates that a part of the pipe is blocked, thus restricting water movement and slowing down the drain speed. The slowed draining may continue for a few days until the water passage is completely blocked off.
Once totally blocked off, you begin to experience standing water problems.
Unexplained foul odor
Drain clogs are usually caused by a buildup of waste materials in the pipes. These waste materials often present a foul odor that may travel through your pipes into your home.
If you’re experiencing an unexplained foul odor traceable to your drain, chances are high that your drains are clogging up slowly. It is always better to address the problem at this stage than to wait.
Contact a drain cleaning company to clear the gunk and waste buildup in your pipes while removing the foul odor affecting indoor air quality.
Frequent mini clogs
Sometimes your drain clogs for a few minutes to a few hours and eases up. These mini clogs are a testament to a bigger problem waiting to happen. The mini clogs may be due to a huge buildup of solid materials like plastic bags, hair, grease, etc., in your drain. Each mini clog happens when something blocks the little space available for water passage and eases up when enough water pressure builds up to dislodge some of the obstacles.
Addressing this problem at this stage can be helpful. It saves you the last-minute stress caused by a total drain clog and can also save you money.
Gurgling sounds
Do you frequently hear gurgling sounds from your drains after wastewater has gone down through them? The odd sound is a warning sign of an impending drain clog.
While most homeowners think this sound testifies to a perfectly working drain, it isn’t. The noises result from gunk and other solid materials building up in your pipes as you flush wastes down them. With each waste you flush, the new gunk slaps air out and attaches itself to the existing obstacle, thus creating the strange gurgling sound you’ve become familiar with.
Addressing this problem could be by using degreasing powders flushed down the drain. You could also contact a professional plumber to dislodge the buildup before it becomes a major and unbearable problem for your household.
Water Backup
Water backup is one of the severe signs you can expect to experience, especially after you’ve ignored other signs of a drain clog for a long time. Water backups are usually a nightmare for most homeowners, especially as they could lead to devastating and expensive water damage.
Depending on the affected drain, homeowners may also need to spend more on disinfecting and damage repair to restore their homes to pristine condition. If you have suffered a water backup, you should contact your plumber as soon as possible to minimize the water damage and arrest the problem early.
Your professional plumber should be able to clean out your drains and address other problems that could lead to a recurrence.
Fruit Flies Infestation
Fruit flies are also another tell-tale sign of a building drain problem. If you’ve never had a problem with fruit flies in the past but have suddenly noticed an increasing number of them, chances are high that your drain is clogging up and will become stagnant in some weeks.
Leaving fruit flies infestation untreated and the drain problem unattended can cause extensive problems for you in the near future. Begin by calling your plumber to check your pipes and drains. You can also purchase insecticides or contact a pest control company to ensure the fruit flies are wiped out totally.
Multiple Clogged Drains
Multiple clogged drains are one of the severe outcomes you get for ignoring your drain problem. This problem can lead to wastewater backup and can cost you a lot of money to fix. Contact a professional plumber as soon as two or more of your drains are simultaneously clogged.
These tell-tale signs can help you detect drain clog problems and possibly avoid expensive damages due to water problems.
