Common Causes of Drain Backups in Florida Homes
Clogged drains happen without warning and back up your pipes. Even if you diligently try to keep hair or oil out of your drains, you cannot keep everything out. Unfortunately, you may not discover a clog until pipe damage emerges, cutting off your water access.
Families with young children know that kids may flush toys down the toilet or wash random things down the bathtub drain. Parents also know that sometimes, their kids may let cooking oil get into the drain when cleaning pots and pans. Simple tasks in life can cause a clogged drain and plumbing backups.
At Benjamin Franklin, we know clogs happen for many reasons. When they do, you need fast plumbing help to avoid high repair costs. Our expert plumbers can perform superior services to unclog and clean your drains. Continue reading and discover how drain clearing can help.
What Are the Common Causes for Clogged Drains in Florida Homes?
You’ll find that there are many drain clog causes. If you learn them, you can proactively protect your plumbing. Undetected clogs can damage your water lines and lead to drain files and other health risks. The following are prevailing drain clog causes:
Tree Roots: Nature’s Sneaky Invader
Planting trees close to your home adds shade and improves outdoor air quality. They add aesthetic appeal by enhancing landscaping designs. Unfortunately, tree roots continue to grow and could enter your water pipes. Tree roots inside water lines let water leak and cause clogs. The first sign of this issue could be limited or no access to water.
Drain cameras let us see inside your water lines. If tree roots are present, we can find the point where they’ve entered and damaged the pipes. Knowing where the damage happens saves time, and we won’t dig up your yard unnecessarily. After we’ve found the roots, we can dig in the correct spot, dig them up, and restore your plumbing.
Grease Buildup: The Hidden Kitchen Villain
Grease buildup in your kitchen drain is commonplace. While you would never directly pour cooking oil down your drain, it doesn’t take much to cause backup drains. Over time, fats from meats, cooking oils, and grease form sludge in your drains. The sludge itself can stop from flowing through water lines and into your sewage.
Garbage disposals can get clogged, too. Grease buildup and stuck food are common culprits. You need drain cleaning services if you have these problems.
You should get professional drain cleaning at least once a year. It will keep grease out of your kitchen drain. But if you cook fatty meats or use a lot of cooking oil daily, you may need drain cleaning every four months.
Aging Pipes: Out of Sight, Out of Time
The age of your plumbing system helps you determine how long it will last. The plumbing material establishes its vulnerabilities. Polybutylene was used for water pipes until the 1990s. It is vulnerable to early degradation from persistent hot water exposure. Polybutylene can become brittle, cause a clog, or fail completely.
Rust and mineral buildup are problems for galvanized steel pipes. Mineral buildup prevents water from draining into your sewage system. Corrosion is a problem for metal plumbing lines, like galvanized steel. Rust could trap soap scum and food particles in your drain.
Heavy Rainfall and High Groundwater Levels
Florida’s hurricane season increases plumbing risks because of higher precipitation. Your septic tank could flood and leak into your yard. It could also cause drain clogs and wastewater backups. We can recommend new plumbing installations to prevent these problems.
Flushing the Wrong Things
Potty training your kids is a tedious task within itself, but it is also a time in life when your kids could flush the wrong things. They could flush toys or too much toilet paper and cause a clog, and water will flood your bathroom. Typically, plumbers can snake the drain to remove these items.
Our Drain Clearing Solutions in Melbourne
At Benjamin Franklin, we have many drain clearing services. We’ll use a drain camera to find the clog. The clog’s location helps us decide which drain clearing method works best.
The following are drain clearing solutions we use:
- Rooters help us remove items, like small toys and clumps of hair. They’re easy to use and pull these items back through the drain opening.
- Hydro jetting is where a high-pressure nozzle is inserted into the drain. It forces water into the drain and pushes the clog out of the water lines. It’s great for difficult clogs in sewer lines. We use it to remove mineral deposits and grease buildup.
- Bio-Ben is a natural microorganism that eats away the clog. It’s poured directly into the drain and doesn’t contain harsh chemicals.
Stop the Cycle—Call the Pros
Drain clogs can cut you off from using your sink or shower. We can remove small clogs with drain snakes and restore your plumbing. Stubborn clogs could damage water lines and increase repair costs. We offer many drain clearing solutions to remove clogs and improve your plumbing.
There are many drain clog causes that can damage your plumbing and cause mold growth in your home. Educating yourself about these causes can alert you to plumbing problems before they prove costly. Tree roots can grow into your water lines and break them. Grease buildup can stop up your sink and attract drain flies. The age of your plumbing system plays a role in how likely a clog could form. Florida’s hurricane season causes heavy rainfall, flooding, and drain backup. Your septic tank could overflow and wastewater could back up into your home.
At Benjamin Franklin, we know how stressful a clog is, and we have many drain clearing solutions to help you. If your kid flushes a toy down the toilet, don’t worry, we’ll remove it and protect your plumbing. Contact us at Benjamin Franklin and schedule plumbing services. If there’s any delay it’s you we pay!