Blocked Sinks

Some of the main causes of blocked sinks are:

• Fat build up
  This occurs when grease and fat, such as cooking oils or greasy food, passes through the drain, leaving a sticky residue that clings to pipe walls and, over time, builds up. This restricts water flow significantly, and can even block the drain completely. This kind of sticky blockage is made even worse by soap scum, which also leaves a deposit on pipe walls and builds up over time. This leads to even more debris being caught, and the drain becoming blocked even more quickly.
• Waste debris
  Anything and everything gets washed down the drain. From food waste to tooth brushes, we’ve seen it all. But of course, drains are not supposed to be filled with debris and other solid matter. Whether the particles are too big to pass through, and get trapped in the pipe, or the debris gets caught by the sticky soap scum on the pipe walls, waste like this will inevitably lead to a blocked sink somewhere down the line. Rice and other foods that expand in water are particularly bad for causing blocked sinks when washed down the plughole.
• Blocked waste disposal (which we can remove and unblock for you).
  A blocked waste disposal can be caused by several things, whether it’s feeding waste into it too quickly, not flushing it through with the sufficient amount of water, or dropping a foreign object like a piece of cutlery into it.
• Scale build up
  Scale build up mainly occurs in hard water areas, when water passing through the drain deposits minerals and solids on the pipe walls. This builds up over time to form a hard scale on the pipes, which constricts water flow and catches even more debris, eventually leading to the sink becoming totally blocked.

Blocked sinks can also lead to blocked outside gullies. When fat and foot debris go down your sink in liquid form they can go outside into a gully and harden in the u-bend, and require professional assistance to treat and remove.

We use a few different methods to unblock your sink, remove all fat build up, and bring the pipework back to its original condition. One of our preferred techniques is unblocking sinks using electro mechanical machines, which push a rotating cable through the blockage, clearing all the debris away, and using water to flush the waste out.

There are also some preventative methods you can implement at home to keep your sink and pipes clean:

• Pour fats into containers and take to your local waste management site. You should avoid washing fats and greasy substances down the drain at all costs.
• Scrape any food into the bin rather than washing it down your system. Even small food particles can get lodged, and collect other debris, leading to smelly, inconvenient blockages.
• Use strainers in the sink plug to stop any objects getting flushed down. This helps to catch even the smallest bits of debris.
• Use an enzyme cleaner to break down solids and fats and keep pipework free flowing. Maintaining clean, clear pipes is essential to avoiding blocked drains. When an enzyme cleaner is flushed through the sink it multiplies and breaks down food and fat, which is an effective way to stop it blocking the pipe.