Is your tub or sink not draining properly anymore? Reliable Drain & Plumbing is here to help! Here are some of the things we find most often with drainage issue investigation.
Drain Blockage
Hands down, the most common reason for people to experience drainage issues is from a blockage. This blockage is usually caused from hair and other gunk building up in the drain. When you shower, all of the skin oils and loose hair you wash away goes right down your drain. Unsurprisingly, it can begin to get stuck. One stuck hair leads to another and, eventually, your drain is clogged with all kinds of nasty stuff.
Drain blockages from buildup are easy to spot, as the drain will get slowly worse at draining. However, if the drain stops working suddenly, it’s also possible it’s been blocked from something getting into it. In homes where pests are a problem, there’s the horrifying possibility that a mouse or rat has gotten stuck in the drain. If you have us out to investigate, we can leave the unfortunate experience of finding that out to someone who’s at least getting compensated for their time! We’re sure you have better things to be doing.
Collapsed Pipes
The next cause for sudden drainage issues is collapsed pipes. This happens sometimes with older houses. If your home is over 50 years old (circa 1970 or earlier) your plumbing might be doing pretty bad by now. Galvanized steel was the pipe material of choice back then and, after about 50 years, it starts to break down from rust and age.
Any drain pipe that’s buried is susceptible to collapse from the weight of the earth on top of it. If a pipe collapses, your water suddenly has nowhere to go – so it doesn’t. These pipes can be dug out and replaced.
Burst Pipes
A burst drain pipe isn’t as common as a burst in-flowing water pipe. However, with a combination of a blockage and age, it does happen. This is especially true in much older houses and can come about from plunging or putting pressure on blocked pipes. If your tub stopped draining and you tried to solve it with a plunger, you might have caused a pipe burst. This will become immediately apparent if you have a basement, because that burst pipe will suddenly be leaking water and whatever else it contains into the space below the bathroom.
Frozen Pipes
If the temperature has suddenly dropped, a frozen pipe might present as a drainage issue. If your pipe had water sitting in it before the temperature dropped, that water might have frozen over completely. That means nowhere for your new water to escape to. This presents some concerns about pipe insulation and will need to be assessed on a case by case basis.
Drainage Investigation and Diagnostics
If you need help getting to the bottom of your drainage issues, give us a call at Reliable Drain & Plumbing. We look forward to helping you get things back to normal.
