Do You Know How to Deal with a Gurgling Drain? | Insight from Your Trusted Conway, SC Plumber

3/3/2020

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What Causes Drains to Gurgle?

Gurgling drains might not seem particularly concerning to Conway, SC residents. However, it is important to note that gurgling can be a sign of a serious plumbing problem that could require the intervention of professional plumbers. This is because gurgling is caused by the formation of air bubbles made possible by the slow passage of water through the pipes, which suggests that there could be something blocking them. Suffice to say that is a serious concern, meaning that residents might want to be prepared to call in the professional plumbers should the need pop up.

What Are Some Potential Reasons for Drains to Gurgle?

For Conway, SC residents who are curious, here are some of the potential reasons for gurgling drains that should convince them to call in professional plumbers:

Blocked Drain

One of the most common causes for a blocked drain is a blockage situated somewhere in the relevant pipes. In some cases, interested individuals can handle such issues on their own, particularly if they have a wide range of plumbing tools and supplies that can be purchased from just about any hardware store out there. In other cases, the blockage will be situated far beyond their reach, meaning that it will be best to call in professional plumbers with specialized equipment even if they have a general idea of where the blockage might be located.

Regardless, a blockage of a drain can be either partial or complete in nature. Unfortunately, the nature of blockages make it very easy for a partial blockage to turn into a complete blockage. After all, an existing obstruction creates an obstacle for other objects to latch on to, thus causing that existing obstruction to grow and grow. Initially, there will be gurgling as well as other signs to show that something is stuck in the pipes, though the water will continue to flow. However, there will come a point in time when the blockage becomes total, thus preventing the use of the drain in question.

It should be mentioned that interested individuals can actually do a great deal to minimize the chances of a blockage in their plumbing system. In short, plumbing systems are designed to handle a limited range of objects, meaning putting anything that shouldn’t be put in them is a very bad idea. For example, both rice and flour products should never be put down the drain because they can expand when they are soaked in water, thus causing them to take up much more space than otherwise. Likewise, oil and grease are bad because they can congeal while within the pipes, thus creating an obstruction for other objects to latch on to; while egg shells, coffee grounds, and other hard examples of food waste won’t break down with ease, meaning that they will be stuck if they get stuck. On top of this, it should be mentioned that even an excess of hair can cause blockages, which is why shower drains tend to have traps to keep too much of that hair from going down them.

In any case, if Conway, SC residents aren’t confident about handling their drain blockages on their own, they should just call in the professional plumbers. The pipes of plumbing systems can be more delicate than they seem, meaning that it is a bad idea to risk making the plumbing problem even worse than it already is. 

Blocked Sewer Line

Blocked drains are not as bad as blocked sewer line. In part, this is because a blocked sewer line can disrupt the function of multiple drains, thus making it into an even bigger issue for people’s day-to-day routines. However, it should also be noted that it is much more difficult to get access to a sewer line compared to a drain. Never mind actually fixing the source of the plumbing problem. As such, when residents suspect that they have a blocked sewer line on their hands, they should call in professional plumbers sooner rather than later.

To get an idea of why interested individuals should call in professionals, consider the challenges of just finding the sewer line. In an ideal scenario, interested individuals will already have the sewer line’s location on their property mapped out somewhere. However, if they don’t have that information, they are going to have to trace the pipes of their plumbing system to see if they can find the point where everything drains out. At which point, they are going to have to start probing the ground to determine the exact course of the sewer line that connects their plumbing system to the local sewage system. Even if they have the necessary expertise, experience, and equipment, this can mean a lot of time and effort. On top of that, it should be mentioned that this is just the first step in getting access to the sewer line, which isn’t even close to actually finding the blockage and then clearing it. As such, interested individuals should always entrust blocked sewer lines to professional plumbers, who are the ones in the best position to handle them.

As for the potential causes for blocked sewer lines, there are a number of possibilities. For example, someone might have flushed too many paper products down their drains, thus resulting in a blocked sewer line. Likewise, tree roots might have broken into the relevant pipes in search of water and nutrients, with the result that those pipes are now blocked off by tree roots. No matter the exact cause, just finding out that much information can be a serious hassle, which is why it is best to count on professional plumbers who have specialized equipment for determining the nature of the blockage without having to take a physical look beforehand.

Contact Us

Need to ask some questions before being willing to entrust plumbing problems to professional plumbers? Feel free to contact Benjamin Franklin Plumbing in the Conway, SC area for further inquiries. Making such a choice can be tough, which is why our representatives are waiting around to lend a helping hand.