Most of us take clear-running drains inside our homes for granted. But when a shower or sink drains slowly, it’s more than just a major inconvenience. It is a sign that plumbing problems are brewing deep inside your home’s network of pipes and sewage lines. Here are some ways that cleaning your drains regularly can prevent serious plumbing issues and potentially save you a lot of money over the years.
Avoid Drain Clogs
Stubborn clogs — whether they occur near the surface or deeper down in your pipes — have the potential to cause all kinds of headaches and do serious damage to your plumbing, your personal property and even your health.
Having your drains cleaned at least once a year is a basic part of home plumbing maintenance. It’s something every homeowner should do as a preventive measure.
Prevent Sewer Lines From Backing Up
Cooking oils, grease and soap residue from your kitchen sink, showers and bathroom sinks often stick to the insides of your sewage pipes. Then food debris, paper products, hair and other materials stick to them and form clogs deep inside your plumbing. When these clogs prevent water and sewage from flowing, your toilets and drains start to back up.
Prevent Water Damage to Your Home
When your drains back up or your toilets overflow, all that water and sewage can end up causing major damage inside your home. Raw sewage all over your floors often requires demolition and replacement of vinyl planks, underlayment and drywall. And if the damage occurs in an upstairs bathroom, it will spread into the walls and ceilings below.
As if all that weren’t bad enough, water damage can lead to the growth of mold within days if water remediation is not performed right away. If you’ve ever had to deal with flooding inside your home, then you know how quickly the damage and costs can escalate. Clearing your drains once or twice a year might be all it takes to prevent a sewer line backup.
Reduce Health Risks
One more problem associated with clogged plumbing and overflowing drains is the health risks posed by raw sewage and mold infestation. When your sewer lines back up, smelly gasses are released inside your home. Along with being a stinky nuisance, these gasses can worsen respiratory problems.
If drains overflow and leave moisture underneath your flooring and inside your walls, mold and bacterial growth can cause health problems as well. You don’t need us to tell you that more sick days away from work combined with increased medical costs are a financial burden that you are better off avoiding.
Don’t let drain clogs go unresolved. Deferred maintenance might seem like a way to save money in the short term. But small plumbing problems can grow into expensive plumbing disasters down the road.
If you need professional drain cleaning services to remove a stubborn drain clog in Grand Forks, ND, or if you just want to make annual drain cleaning part of your preventive maintenance strategy, contact our team at Total Care Plumbing today.
