Have you noticed a change in how long it takes your bathtub to drain? Or maybe you’ve been having to break out the plunger for the commode more frequently. You may be experiencing one of the most common plumbing issues around: clogged pipes. Once you have a clog, you may need professional help to clear it. Knowing the culprits of your clog conundrums may help you avoid them in the future – and the repair costs for hard to bust clog-ups.

Clogs in the Bathroom
Bathrooms are a hot spot for clogs! Clogs can happen in the tub, in the sink or in the toilet drain lines. Starting with the toilet, barring a sewer main break or back-up, many toilet line clogs can be avoided by simply not flushing things down the toilet that aren’t meant to be flushed. Items like tooth floss, diaper wipes, cotton swabs, cat litter, feminine products and clumps of hair can all cause clogs and should never be flushed down the toilet. The bathroom sink and the bathtub are often plagued by the same combination of clog creators – hair and soap scum. Soap by itself can cause a residue that builds up in your pipes but when you add-in hair that washes down the drain with it, the two can add up to slow drains and full-on stoppages.

Clogs in the Kitchen
Clogs in the kitchen are often caused by completely different factors (except for soap, which can build up in any pipe). One of the biggest culprits of kitchen clog catastrophes is fat. Pouring oils, grease and fats from cooking down the sink is one of the worst offenses you can commit in the kitchen. Fat and grease solidify as they cool and adhere to the walls of the plumbing, narrowing the space available for water to drain and working as a gunky trap to capture undissolved bits of food. This gunky mess builds up until you eventually have a totally stopped up sink.

Preventing Clog Crimes
The best way to avoid clogs inside the home is to avoid the “clog crimes” that cause them! Never flush items down the toilet like cotton swabs, diaper wipes or cat litter. In your sink and tub, try out a few versions of hair traps to find one that works for you and allows less hair to go down the drain. In the kitchen, never pour any kind of oil, grease or fatty substance down the drain. And always scrape plates into the trash before putting into your sink. Your garbage disposal is meant to break up small bits of food that escape into the drain to prevent clogs. Your garbage disposal is not meant to be an extra trash can with an electric grinder in it! You can also help break up soap scum and greasy deposits by regularly using a bio-based drain cleaner with enzymes and bacteria that eat and dissolve build-up to keep drains running clear.

And when you do have a clog you just can’t bust, call Carolina Cool. Our highly-trained technicians are the best clog-crushing cats in town.