Prevent Clogged Drains

When a clog clears, you’ll see the sink drain very fast. Drains have a way of getting backed up. Food lodges in kitchen sink drains and hair migrates down the tub drain. While drain backup and slow moving water is common, its occurrence can be reduced, if not prevented. To begin with, you need to avoid non-liquids entering the drain line. To do this, use debris catchers (sometimes called “sink strainers” or “hair catchers”) in or over the drains.

You can buy debris catchers in a grocery or hardware store, or even online.  There are several different designs available, depending on what type of debris the catcher is designed to stop, as well as for the shape of your drain.  Kitchen drain catchers are meant to keep food from entering the drain, and bathtub or shower drain catchers are meant to keep hair out of the line.

Another important tip in keeping drains clear is to never pour grease down a sink. It will solidify on the walls of the pipe somewhere down the line and cause a clog. Instead of disposing of grease in a sink, save your soup cans or glass jars, pour the grease into these and either dispose of the container immediately in the garbage or store in the freezer for the next time you need to dispose of grease. No doubt pouring grease down the sink is a sure-fire way to clog up your drains.