10 Ways on How To Prevent Your Kitchen Drains From Clogging

Time and time again, it’s the same old “usual suspects” that will cause blocked drains. If your drains are always getting blocked, you should be calling a drain professional.

But before you attempt to do so, we will introduce you to how to keep drains from clogging, just in case the plumber cannot come to your aid right away.

1. Remove Fat

Fat will easily stick to the edges of the drains of your home. When there is a buildup of fat along the drainage pipes, it will block the path of everything else.

Make sure to scrape out greasy frying pans and roasting tins as much as possible before putting them into the sink or dishwasher. Giant lumps of fat can totally clog entire sewers and cost a lot of money to break up. So, remove the fat before it even reaches the drainage.

2. Dispose of Baby Wipes Properly

This is common among households that have children. It is fair knowledge that clogging can happen when baby wipes are flushed down the toilet. This is a nightmare for drains.

Baby wipes really stick together easily so even if you flush only one at a time, they will end up sticking to each other and everything else that they come in contact with along the drainage pipe. Provide a lidded bin for disposing of baby wipes and save your drain.

3. Take Care of Hair

You probably know about how ruly hair can be when clogging your drain. Hair lumped together can very often plug the hole of your drainage in the shower or bathroom.

A single strand will do no harm, but hair does easily add up and can totally block the plughole of your drainage. When soap and other products add up to hair strands down your drainage pipe, you can get a gooey, hairy lump that will not wash away in the drain.

A useful piece of advice for preventing lots of hair from blocking your shower plughole or drainage is to brush your hair, especially if it’s long before you get into the shower.

This will remove any loose hairs before they get to your shower plug hole. Using some form of hair catcher for your plug hole can also prevent drainage clogging.

4. Do Not Shove Food Scraps Down the Sink

Food scraps don’t take too much to clog a drain so be careful when you are in your kitchen sink doing your cooking.

Any type of food scrap can do more damage than you might think because they can soak up a lot of water and grow bigger than they should. When they expand, they can clog your drainage easily especially when they add up.

To prevent food scraps from being a nuisance in your drainage system, be careful when you are scraping them off plates and pans.

You can also provide a separate container near your sink where you can throw away your food scraps when you are ready to wash dishes and pans.

5. Know Where Toilet Paper Should Go

No matter how fancy your toilet paper looks or feels, it will not do any good when you throw it down the drain. Thick toilet paper, those that are multi-ply, can be very beneficial for you but not for your toilet seat nor your drainage.

Adjust the amount you use when you are using multi-ply toilet paper which is thicker to prevent them from clogging your drains. Thicker means putting twice as much down the loo.

6. Refrain From Using Bath Salts

So, you think bath salts and bath bombs are luxurious. However, not all of them dissolve in your bath. More often than not, most of them do not completely dissolve. You will notice that after your bath, there are particles and a few lumps left in the water undissolved.

These lumps do not get flushed out usually because they get caught on other debris along your drainage pipe. Before you know it, this debris altogether clogs your drain. Try using more draining-friendly bath essentials like a bubble bath.

7. Smaller, Breakable Pieces of Toys Should Not Go Down the Drain

Your child prefers to play with toys in the shower or the sink. But, when the smaller, breakable pieces come off they go straight to the drain and cuddle together with other debris already piling up along your drainage system.

Sometimes, lots of small toys are lost floating away down the overflow hole in the bathroom sink. They go straight to the drain. And you will not know it until your blocked drain needs to be cleared.

8. Get Your Coffee Grounds Into the Bin

Ground coffee doesn’t dissolve easily with water as it does easily in your morning cup of hot water. It can be a real nuisance to try and clear a scoop out of a coffee pot or filter and throw it into the bin, but you should.

Think again, when you are tempted to just scrape off the grounds and rinse them off down the drain so you can get along with your day. Just like any debris that is flushed or rinsed down the drain, coffee grounds can cause build-up in your drains, especially in the corners of your piping system.

The next time you have coffee grounds waiting to be trashed, and you’re in a hurry, just go ahead and get them all into the bin using a spoon. If you are really catching the bus, leave it there and get back to it instead of rinsing it off down the drain.

9. Throw Cotton Buds in the Bin

The plastic stick with cotton wool on both ends does not belong to the drain. Oftentimes, cotton buds are mistakenly dropped into toilets or drains. If they do, they become attached with previously attached items lurking in your drain.

Similar to all the above items that can be flushed down your drain that build-up, cotton buds can create a mighty blockage when they join previously flushed items.

10. Use Only the Amount of Soap and Toothpaste You Need

Soap can glue all other nasties in your drainage pipes when it slips off your hand because you put too much than you need. We are talking about liquid soap that easily gets pumped out of the container. It’s the same story with toothpaste. Discarded lumps of toothpaste can also glue nasties in your drain. So, use only the amount of liquid soap that you need.

If you want a clear drain that works perfectly, take these steps to avoid your drains from becoming clogged or damaged. Avoid the stress of dealing with drainage mishaps. Keep your drain pipes clean by doing monthly drainage maintenance.

More From Tom’s Plumber

How to Tell if Your Drain Needs to be Repaired or Replaced

How To Know If Toilet is Clogged

Tom’s Plumbing and Drain Service, LLC is a family-owned, full-service company offering plumbing, draining, and repairs in New Orleans, Louisiana.

With 20 years of experience, our professional and certified plumbers can handle all of your sewer line service needs. If you have a plumbing question or would like to schedule an appointment, don’t hesitate to contact us today!