A slow drain is most evident when you’re using the faucet and you start to notice that water is beginning to pool around the plug. The plug isn’t engaged, so the sink isn’t stopped up. Clearly, that means there’s a water blockage somewhere in the system. This isn’t the end of the world, but these kinds of slow drains tend to get worse over time. The last thing you want is to have guests and have them experience inconvenience when they’re brushing their teeth at best or have an overflow at worst.

At Pipe Works Services, we understand the problems a slow drain can cause. To help you better deal with the situation, we’ve compiled several common causes of a slow drain and included a few ways to fix them.

Common Causes of Slow Drains

Slow drains are an issue that isn’t usually noticeable until you start to see that pooling water in your sink. While it can be a simple fix, understanding what’s causing the drain stoppage will go a long way toward preventing the problem altogether. Here’s a breakdown of the most common causes.

Soap Scum

When soap scum clogs your drain, it’s typically the leftovers from your soap combined with hard water that causes the problem. Effectively, the fatty acids within the soap combine with the minerals in your water to create the white, soapy composite called lime soap or lime buildup. This lime soap coats the interior in layers until it makes it much harder for water to pass through the body of your pipe.

On top of the fatty acids, calcium, and magnesium that comprise this buildup, the gaps within the substance are also prime breeding grounds for mold and mildew. These pathogens flourish in soap scum, which is why slow-draining systems can emit a foul odor. As a general rule, this kind of scummy buildup occurs within the bathroom, but kitchen sinks can play host to it as well.

Products That Aren’t Septic-Friendly

Depending on your system, simple items like paper towels can cause slow drains for toilets. While many brands advertise sanitary wipes as “flushable” or “septic safe,” many are not and will cause blockages in the system. Like with other causes of slow drains, this tends to exacerbate over time; the more paper towels and wipes you flush, the bigger the clog. Contributing to the issue, other foreign objects can actually add to the clog.

Hair

Hair causes slow drains by combining with another drain-blocker: soap scum. When soap scum starts to resolidify and combine with minerals, the resulting slurry easily traps hair follicles as they work their way through the system. As humans, we shed up to 100 follicles a day, and hair has natural oils and contributes these oils to the blockage. Hair blockages are more common in shower drains, but they can also become a problem in sink drains as well.

Laundry Machines

The bathroom and kitchen sink, showers, and toilets aren’t necessarily the only drains in your household. If you have a washer and dryer, you need a lint trap and a clothes washer drain, and these can contribute to slow drainage. In an optimal setting, the lint trap collects all the lint that gets dislodged from your clothes as they wash and dry, but sometimes, the fibers miss the trap. These can clump together as they flow into the drain and form blockages.

Food Remnants

Kitchen sinks are notorious for accumulating food debris. When you wash off a dirty dish, the food that runs down the drain sometimes forms a layer around the pipe that’s similar to soap scum. This is thanks to the grease, fats, and oils interacting with hard water minerals to form a slurry that accumulates to form blockages. Add to this the binding agents like coffee grounds as well as eggshells, and kitchen clogs can be the worst in the house. These can also be the foulest smelling as bacteria, mold, and mildew will feed on the blockage and flourish.

Methods and Products to Fix Slow Drains

All of these contributing factors can cause slowed or fully blocked drains that will be hard to unclog. Fortunately, you can avoid most of these issues by being proactive. Here are a few solutions to the slow drain problems these issues cause.

Use Liquid Soap

As we mentioned, soap scum is created when the fatty acids of soap combine with minerals, but this acid is only present in bar soap. If you use liquid soap and body wash, your soap scum accumulation will slow significantly. Liquid soap also won’t resolidify when it reaches the drain level, so when running the water, it’ll continue out of your home and through the system without an issue.

Have a Mesh Trap Installed

Mesh drain traps, which are also called strainers, will capture debris that would otherwise make it into your plumbing system. For example, these are excellent at capturing hair, litter, food, and even soap scum. There are standard mesh drain traps that apply directly onto or in the drain, or you can have a plumbing professional install one.

Make Sure You Only Use Products That Dissolve

As we mentioned, some companies list products as “flushable” and “septic safe,” but they are typically problematic. You shouldn’t flush paper towels, and when it comes to toilet paper, you need to find a brand that easily dissolves in water. The brands that do this best will usually be self-described as biodegradable. Typically, a single-ply option is easiest on most septic systems.

Get a Lint Filter

To prevent lint fibers from accumulating in your washer drain, a lint filter is a smart purchase. These have a fine mesh build that allows air to pass through without letting fibers into the system, which then will work their way into drains.

Get a Professional Drain Cleaning

When you’re noticing a slow drain, it’s a good idea to call in a professional plumber like the ones we have on staff at Pipe Works Services. A plumber has dedicated tools to ensure your drain is completely clear of any detritus that might have accumulated over the months and years. Some tools we use are mechanical augers, drain snakes, and chemical cleaners to provide the best flow rates for your wastewater.

Schedule a Plumbing Inspection Today

Our team at Pipe Works Services has 25 years of experience inspecting drain systems so that we can actively help you prevent clogged and slowed drains. We suggest a yearly inspection to ensure that everything flows evenly. During the inspection, our plumber will check each drain to determine if there are any issues, and if there are, we’ll clean the drain to ensure it’s working optimally.

At Pipe Works Services, we work hard to make residents’ plumbing issues go away. We are a family business, and the community knows us as their local “Caring Trusted Experts.” We also provide electrical, heating, and cooling needs in Chatham, so call us today to schedule an appointment.

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