Top Signs You Are About to Experience Draining Issues

We’re kind of oblivious to the wonder of indoor plumbing until we’re out on a camping trip or our plumbing and drainage system start acting up. At that point, all we can fixate on is getting back to where we can have the comfort of a nice warm shower or bath, clean clothes and a functioning toilet.

When our plumbing fixtures work poorly or stop functioning all together, it’s a hassle which can lead to more serious repairs. Here are the top signs you are about to experience draining issues.

Slow drainage

You’re standing in the shower, enjoying the nice warm water, and then you suddenly notice that the water has risen up around your ankles. Even though it’s soapy and likely clean, somehow it just feels disgusting. Besides ruining your showering experience, you are obviously having drainage issues.

Hair, shampoo residue and grime all accumulate and lodge in the unseen portions of your drain pipes causing the problem of slow drainage. Do yourself a favor and get this sorted out immediately, before your next shower turns into a bath.

Water backing up when using one or more fixtures

Are you noticing water backing up when using your plumbing fixtures? If you have a main sewer line stoppage, it can present itself as a problem with your toilet, tub, shower, sink and/or washing machine.

The toilet is the biggest drain line in the house, so if your toilet is backing up, you know for sure you have a problem on your hands. If flushing the toilet results in water backing up or coming up into the tub or shower, you’re likely to have some sort of clog in the sewer main.

Unpleasant smells and gurgling sounds

You can employ most of your senses to identify potential drainage issues. If visually nothing is happening yet, you might smell or hear that something isn’t quite right with your pipes and drains.

If you smell any foul odors coming out of your drains and pipes, this is sometimes a sign that food particles have gotten stuck in there and are starting to break down. Since they can’t be washed down the drain, they slowly begin to decompose and smell. You can avoid this by using drain caps and ensuring that food waste is scraped into the garbage can rather than washed down the sink.

If you hear gurgling sounds when you run your fixtures, you might also have a blocked drain. This funny noise occurs because there is trapped air bubbling up towards the surface when the water is going down the drain. This shouldn’t happen if your pipes are in good working order and there are no obstructions in the drainage system.

Water stains in the basement

If you see water stains in the basement, this can be due to poor drainage of surface water outside or an issue with water traveling underground. If you have water stains on your ceiling or walls, it’s not likely a drainage issue, but a leaky roof, leaky pipes or sweating pipes.

What are the causes of these issues?

The signs above are indicators that you have drainage issues, but what are the causes of these tell-tale signs? The main culprit is usually a clogged drain. Clogs can occur in the main sewer line or one of the secondary lines. The secondary lines connect to the main sewer line, and if these pipes are clogged then you will only have an isolated problem with the fixture connected to that line. But if your main sewer line is clogged then you’ll have issues with multiple plumbing fixtures. Clogged drains can be due to food, hair, flushed objects and even plant or tree roots.

Another cause can be the poor setup of your drainage system in your yard. This should be designed in a way that the water drains away from the foundation of your home and doesn’t pool in your yard.

Fix it yourself or call in the professionals?

There are a numbers of plumbing issues you can solve yourself before calling in for a plumber. You can unblock drains with a number of home remedies or drain cleaners, but for bigger drainage problems, you’ll need the help of plumbing professionals.

If you live in and around New Castle, Kent and Cecil counties, you can contact our team for all your plumbing repairs and maintenance needs. We’ve been serving this area for over 24 years with our speedy emergency service and friendly customer service.

Call (302) 421-9000 to get in touch with us today for drain cleaning, video pipe inspections and other plumbing issues.