One of the issues that you are sure to face with indoor plumbing is a slow drain. However, although this problem is inevitable, it should not be a recurrent problem. Usually, when one of your drains is affected by this, a quick fix would be taking your plunger to the drain and eliminating the minor clogs that may have formed. The moment that you find that these slow drains are not being remedied by your plunger and are cropping up in different parts of your home, you should be concerned about a blocked drain. So what are the typical reasons why your home's plumbing is succumbing to blocked drains that subsequently lead to slow drainage?
Accumulation of fats, grease and oil
When most homeowners envision drains blocked from fats and oil, they immediately relate this to a kitchen problem. In reality, oils, fats and grease can affect any drain in your home, as long as there is biomatter that is being washed down it. You may take measures such as installing grease traps in your kitchen, but the bathroom drain is also vulnerable to this scourge. For starters, as soap scum accumulates in the drain, it begins to line the interior of the plumbing and steadily constricts the diameter of your pipes. The result is slow flowing water, which can also be accompanied by off-putting odours. The best way to try to eliminate this is having your drains cleaned professionally on a scheduled basis. Moreover, you could also contemplate switching your household to soapless alternatives to limit the amount of soap scum that collects in your drains.
Buildup of minerals in the hardware
Another culprit of slow drainage that a good number of people may be unaware of is mineral buildup in your plumbing. Not many people consider the mineral composition of their water supply. As long as they have water for the different applications in their home, they will not consider that this same water could be wreaking havoc on their plumbing. It is critical to note that hard water can eventually be a cause of blocked drains and slow drainage in your home for a couple of reasons. Firstly, the minerals in the hard water will steadily calcify inside your plumbing pipes, increasing the risk of a pipe burst due to high pressure coupled with restricted water flow. Secondly, some minerals can be severely corrosive to your plumbing, leading to undetected leaks that subsequently cause slow drainage. De-scaling your plumbing routinely is imperative to prevent mineral buildup. Additionally, you should also invest in a water softener, especially if you source your water supply from a well.
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