7 Common Reasons Behind Blocked Drains in Your Home in Portsmouth

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You probably do not think much about your drains when everything is working as it should. You turn on the tap, the water disappears, you flush the toilet and move on. But what if it stops working? Suppose the water sits in the sink or the shower drains slowly. Then you realise something is not right. If you live in Portsmouth, knowing what can cause blocked drains can help you spot the problem early and avoid a much bigger mess.

A blocked drain does not always happen suddenly. In many cases, the problem has been building up inside the pipe for some time. At first, you may only notice a slight change in how quickly the water drains. Leave it for long enough, though, and you could end up with overflowing water, unpleasant smells, or damage around your property. So, what is actually causing the blockage? Let us look at seven common reasons and what you can do about them.

Dealing With Blocked Drains? Here are the Primary Causes

1. Fat, Oil and Grease Going Down the Kitchen Sink

Think about what happens after you have cooked a Sunday roast or fried something for dinner. There is fat left in the pan, and washing it straight into the sink can seem harmless, especially if you run hot water at the same time. The problem is that the grease does not simply disappear. Once it moves further into the pipe and cools, it can stick to the sides and form a thick layer.

Then other things begin to stick to it. Small bits of food, washing-up residue, and more grease collect around the original build-up. Slowly, the opening inside the pipe becomes smaller, so water takes longer to pass through. You might first notice that the kitchen sink is draining a little more slowly than usual. Eventually, it can stop draining altogether.

This is one of those problems that is much easier to prevent than fix. Let cooking fat cool down and put it in the bin rather than pouring it down the sink. Wipe greasy pans with kitchen roll before washing them, and scrape leftover food into the bin. As a home building company in Portsmouth, we always advise against putting fats, oils and grease down sinks because they can contribute to blockages in drains and sewers.

2. Hair and Soap Build-Up in Your Bathroom Pipes

Your bathroom drains have a difficult job. Every time you shower or wash your hair, small amounts of hair, soap, shampoo, conditioner, and skin particles go down the plughole. You are not going to stop every single strand of hair from reaching the drain, but the amount that collects over months can become a problem.

Hair gets caught inside the pipe, especially where there are bends or areas that already have some build-up. Soap residue then sticks around it, and more hair gets caught in the same place. You may notice the water pooling around your feet during a shower or taking several minutes to disappear from the bath.

A simple drain cover can catch a surprising amount of hair before it reaches the pipe. Clean it regularly rather than allowing the collected hair to wash through. If your shower or bath is already draining slowly, do not keep ignoring it. That slow drainage often indicates the early blockage stage. And dealing with it now is much less troublesome than waiting until the water becomes stagnant.

3. Problems With the Drainage System Around Your Property

There are times when the cause is not something you have put down a drain at all. A problem with the drainage system itself can affect how water leaves your property. For example, a pipe may have an issue with its connection or position, or part of the drainage system may have become damaged. You may notice that water regularly collects in the same part of your garden or that an outside drain overflows whenever there is heavy rain. If this keeps happening, there is a good chance you are looking at more than a simple blockage.

This is worth considering if you have recently had work carried out around your property. Landscaping, home extensions, driveways and other building work can involve changes to the ground around existing drainage. The drainage needs to be considered properly during this work so that water can still flow away as it should.

This is also where looking at the wider condition of your property can be useful. As a general building company in Portsmouth, we know that drainage problems can sometimes appear alongside other building issues. If you are planning an extension, property refurbishment or structural work, drainage should be considered as part of the project rather than left until the end.

4. Flushing the Wrong Things Down the Toilet

Your toilet can handle toilet paper and human waste. It is not for dealing with everything that looks small enough to flush. Wet wipes are a common example. They may go down when you flush, but they do not break down in the same way as toilet paper. Sanitary products, nappies, cotton buds, kitchen roll and similar items can also cause trouble once they reach the pipework. They may become caught and then collect other waste around them, which ultimately blocks the drainage system.

It is easy to think that if something disappears when you flush, it has gone. Unfortunately, that is not always the case. We specifically warn against flushing items such as wet wipes and sanitary products because they can cause blockages in drains and sewers.

The solution is simple. Keep a bathroom bin available and use it for anything that should not be flushed. It takes a few extra seconds, but those seconds can save you from dealing with dirty water backing up through the toilet later.

5. Leaves, Soil and Garden Waste Entering Outside Drains

The drains around your home can become blocked even if you are careful about what goes down your sinks and toilets. Look at the outdoor drainage points around your property. If they are close to trees, flower beds or areas where leaves collect, they can gradually fill with debris.

During autumn, leaves are an obvious problem, but they are not the only one. Small twigs, soil, moss and other garden waste can also make their way towards an outside drain. Heavy rain can then push more debris into the same area. Once the opening becomes restricted, water has nowhere to go quickly enough, so it starts pooling around the drain.

Take a look at outdoor gullies and drain covers from time to time, particularly after strong winds or heavy rain. Remove leaves and visible debris from the surface so they do not get washed further into the drainage system. If water is already backing up or an outside drain repeatedly overflows, though, the problem may be further inside the pipe and will need proper attention.

6. Cracked, Damaged or Ageing Drain Pipes

Sometimes you have done nothing wrong. The problem is simply that the drainage pipe has developed an issue over time. This can happen in older properties, where sections of the drainage system may have been in place for decades. Pipes can crack, move, collapse, or become damaged by ground movement. Once there is a small opening or crack, tree roots may also grow into it for water. Those roots can then become a serious obstruction inside the pipe.

The frustrating thing is that clearing the blockage may only solve the problem temporarily. If the pipe itself is damaged, waste can continue to collect around the same area, and you will soon find yourself dealing with another blockage.

Pay attention if the same drain keeps causing trouble. If you have had it cleared more than once and the problem keeps coming back, do not assume you are simply unlucky. There may be an underlying problem that needs to be found and repaired. A professional inspection can help establish whether the issue is a build-up, damaged pipework, root intrusion, or something else.

7. A Build-Up That Has Been Developing for Months

Not every blockage has one obvious cause. Sometimes it is a combination of small things that have gradually collected inside the pipe. Imagine your kitchen drain has been carrying small amounts of food residue and grease for months. Your bathroom drain has been taking hair and soap away every day. None of this creates an immediate problem, so you carry on using the drains normally. Eventually, enough material collects to restrict the flow.

That is why you should not ignore small warning signs. If the water is draining more slowly than it used to, you hear bubbling from the plug hole, or you notice an unpleasant smell coming from the drain, something may already be building up. You do not need to wait until the water is completely stuck before taking action.

A quick response can also help you avoid the temptation to keep pouring different chemical products down the drain. If a blockage is serious or keeps returning, finding out what is actually causing it is more useful than repeatedly trying to push the problem further down the pipe.

How Can You Prevent the Same Problem From Happening Again?

The best way to deal with a drain problem is to avoid creating one in the first place. You do not need a complicated maintenance routine. Just be careful about what goes down your drains and pay attention when something changes.

Keep grease, oil and food waste out of the kitchen sink. Use a hair catcher in the shower and bath. Put wipes and sanitary products in the bin rather than flushing them. Keep outdoor drains clear of leaves and garden debris. These simple habits can reduce the amount of waste entering your drainage system.

It is also worth remembering that a drain that keeps blocking is telling you something. If the same issue appears every few weeks or months, the answer may not be another bottle of drain cleaner. You may need to look at the condition of the pipe or the drainage system itself.

And if you are already planning home renovations, this is the right time to think about drainage too. Any major work gives you an opportunity to check that the existing system is suitable for the changes you are making. For further advice, you may read our other blogs.

Final Words

For more examples of our building work, take a look at our project gallery. If you have a drainage issue that appears to be connected to wider building or structural work, contact us and tell us what is happening. We can discuss the problem with you and help you understand what needs to be looked at.

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