Posted on April 20, 2020
Do you think you have a blocked drain? Our experts have put together 5 telling signs your drains might be blocked. Read on to find out more.
Blocked drains are the kind of household snag that is easy to miss or overlook. The problem is, it can be hard to know you even have a problem - until it has built up into something that is causing major damage and will cost a small fortune to repair.
Drains, whether they serve our sinks, our baths, our toilets, or our washing machines, are constantly prone to blockages. They are, after all, mainly designed to carry liquid waste, but it is very hard to stop solids from getting into the system - food waste, hair, soap, bits, and pieces that have fallen out of your pockets in the wash.
Over time, these can build up to cause major blockages that lead to serious issues - drains backing up and causing flooding or water damage to fixtures and fittings, pipes splitting or components corroding in hard to reach places. The best way to avoid such problems is to catch blockages early - and that means staying vigilant and spotting the warning signs.
Signs to look out for
1. Slower than usual drainage
Most of us don’t stand with a stopwatch timing how long our kitchen sink or bath takes to drain when we’ve pulled the plug. But look out for drainage suddenly becoming sluggish and slow - it is a sure sign there is a blockage developing somewhere.
2. Unpleasant smells
We all know that ‘bad drains smell’. It isn’t just caused by whatever might be causing a blockage - water left to stand in any place for any length of time will develop a bad smell because of the bacteria and mould that breeds in it. So if you start to notice your drains letting off a nasty pong, you can bet the water is not passing through them the way it should
3. Water backing up
During the early stages of a blockage building up, you are unlikely to see water back up so far that it comes up through your plug holes (and if it does, you should act fast). But what you might notice is the water in your toilet sitting higher than usual. A way to check this is to run a tap and look to see if the water in your toilet rises. If it does, you can bet you have a blockage somewhere that is causing water in the system to be displaced while drainage is slowed down.
4. Noisy pipes
A lot of us wouldn’t even think to pay any attention to gurgling drains. But this is actually a very good early indication of a blockage developing. So if you have learned to ignore the noises coming from your pipework, think again - you could be missing a vital clue that your drains need clearing.
5. Signs of damp
Finally, if you suddenly start to notice damp spots on walls and ceilings, especially on interior surfaces - you might want to get your drains checked out urgently. Damp is not always caused by condensation or groundwater climbing up external brickwork - it is just as likely to be caused by something leaking in your pipework. Blockages to drains are very common causes of leaky pipework, so take action before it gets worse.
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If your drains are blocked, get in touch with our specialist blocked drains team who are here to help!