A backed-up drain
Prevent and Clear Blocked Drains
Clogged drains and blocked drains are more than just an inconvenience, they can quickly cause expensive damage to your home. If you have running water in your home, here are a few essential things you need to know about your drains!
Signs of Blocked Drains
When your sewer is plugged or your septic tank needs pumping, here’s what could happen:
- Water backs up out of your tub drain when you flush your toilet.
- When you empty your bathtub, the water stops flowing and bubbles back at you or bubbles into the toilet.
- When you empty your kitchen sink, the sink water backs up into the toilet.
- When you flush your toilet, sewer water backs up through an outside downspout, patio drain, driveway drain, or the lowest floor drain in your house.
- When you run a load of laundry, soapy water comes up into a toilet, shower, or floor drain.
How to Unclog a Drain and Prevent Clogs
- Let plenty of water run down the drain by keeping the faucet open for up to half a minute each day.
- Sink lines commonly plug because not enough water is flushed through them, especially after the garbage disposal is used. Run the faucet for about five seconds after you turn off the disposal. This helps flush the line.
- Never pour hot oil or grease down the sink—whether or not you have a disposal.
- About once a month, fill the sink to the top with very hot water. Using a fork or other kitchen utensil so you don’t scald your hand, remove the sink’s plug. As the clean hot water swirls down through the sink line, it takes much of the grease buildup with it.
- Drain-cleaning chemicals, if used improperly, can solidify in a drain line and aggravate the blockage. If the chemical doesn’t eat through the blockage, therefore not flushing down the drain, the chemical sits in your sink line. It crystallizes, and then there is no way you can easily clean a sink line after chemicals harden in it. Always be sure to follow the instructions
- It’s a good idea to keep a simple plumbing snake in your home. The snake can help you unclog your sink, bathtub, or shower drain if hair and other gunk happens to block them. A simple plumbing snake can be bought at your local hardware store or online for only a few dollars.
Read Next
To Keep a Toilet from Clogging
- Don’t put anything foreign down the toilet except toilet paper.
- Items such as dental floss, Q-Tips, baby wipes, feminine hygiene products, or any other paper product cling to the roots in the sewer and cause an immediate blockage.
- Always have a plunger on hand, and don’t wait until you need one to buy one—by then, it’s too late!
More Helpful Household Hints:
Catherine Boeckmann
ADVERTISEMENT
Kristy, I'm having the same problem, so I am wondering if you received a response to your question about your diswasher backing up into your laundry tub. Thanks! Judy
Hi Judy,
There may be a problem with your air vents for the plumbing. If you have roof vents they may be plugged shut so no air gets in to push the water out of the pipes. We suggest that you contact a plumber to check your vents and drain pipes.
Upon moving in a week ago, I noticed that water drained very slowly during/after showers. Just now I was cleaning the toilet and I flushed and I noticed water gurgling back up from the shower drain with what looked like small amounts of waste.
I ran the sink for a few minutes to see what would happen and the only odd thing that I noticed was that the shower drain was gurgling and it looked like air bubbles were coming up from it as well.
What could be the issue here? Is this something a jug of Drano can solve? Is there a stronger solvent I can use? Or, do I need a professional to handle things?
Thank you for your time. I look forward to hearing your assessment of the situation.
Hi, Xiamara: Consult a professional. Soon. Good luck!
My toilet is clogged but when we use the plunger it backs up into the tub. Put drain cleaner in toilet but since it has water in it and will not flush guess it didn't work. We have snaked the pipe on the roof all the way to septic and nothing. We have snaked the toilet a good 3 feet and still nothing. What could be causing this and how do I fix.
I'm having the same problem. I have a Spetic system n it's been pumped but my sink is draining into the tub n now the wax ring is broke so it's also coming out the base of the toilet. I can't take this much longer. Ugh
hi, I know this is an old post, but I'm hoping to find out what the problem was. I am having this same issue. Septic has been cleaned a few weeks ago. and it's doing this.
If you flush the toilet and the water goes into the bath tub, then it suggests that your main drain line is clogged so that water has no where else to go. You could rent an auger and snake it, but it's probably do deep that you need to call a professional plumber.
When we flush our toilets clean water runs in our washer why is that?
We had a plumber inspect our home when we moved in and everything was fine.
Also if showering or using a sink and someone flushes the toilet or turns on the water our pressure decreases intensely do you know why that is happening?
We had a septic sewer back up and the jacuzzi bath tub filled with sewage water on 2 nd floor? Is it cleanable or need replaced in construction. We had 2 floors flood. I worry it's inside the jets.....
