How to avoid blocked drains

There are a few things that can really block drains quickly. Do what you can to avoid the following wherever possible.

Cooking Grease

Do not throw cooking grease down your drain, this is a surefire way to to block drains quickly and if you are really unlucky build up of fats in your drains can encourage rats to pay you a visit as an added bonus.

Instead of pouring oil / grease down into your drains put your grease / oil ( carefully ) into an old tin can or a cardboard milk carton, wait for it to cool and then dispose in the bin as normal.

Coffee Grounds

We have seen advice that you could save them up and use them as dye for clothing, face-packs / exfoliants. Not sure about that maybe compost them or just throw them in the bin.  Coffee grounds and grease combine in your drain and make a perfect blocking combination so avoid this.

Soap & Hair

We have all had the displeasure of pulling hair from a partially blocked sink plug. Hair can often get caught in the U section of your sink pipes and soap can then build up, coating the hair gradually and forming a perfect blockage. This can sometimes be shifted with a sink plunger however if left for too long and combined with foreign objects it can be impossible to shift by the usual methods and you will need an expert.

Use a plug screen / drain screen to filter hair out. While were at it check your shower and bath also.

Don’t throw anything solid down your drain eiter, and also avoid dairy products, meat products and sauces as these all contain fats that can gradually accumulate in your drains.

A few other things you can do to help clean drains.

To keep things under control you can run hot water through your sink after each use to help clear out anything left in your pipes. Before doing this you can also put baking soda into the drain before pouring the hot water down.

Vinegar

One last thing you can try is pour white vinegar down your sink . . .around 250ml and then leave for 30mins. Vinegar is an organic solvent and will leave your pipes as clean as whistle. Ok maybe not quite that clean but definitely cleaner.