You may be amazed at some of the crazy things that can create clogged pipes in your house! Here are some of the oddest things that plumbers find – on a regular basis – as the cause of clogs or burst pipes. Does anything sound familiar?
- Band-Aids: Advice on how you should flush things like diapers or condoms is pretty common: Advice on band-aids tends to be a bit more rare, but you really don't want these down your drain either. You see, band-aids don't decompose very easily and can lead to clogged pipes. They tend to wash off easily in the shower or bath too, so you may not even realize that one slipped down the drain.
- Dentures: Yes, it's true – false teeth are one of the more common items that plumbers find in the drain, where they tend to stick around and cause damage (here's one story, but it's common across the country). Plumbers aren't sure why this tends to happen. The best guess is that people take off their dentures, put them in a glass of water, then toss that glass down the drain without realizing what they're doing.
- Animals and Toys: Yes, both small animals and toys are frequently found as the cause of pipe clogs or burst pipes. As you may surmise, the cause is typically young children: Sometimes they just can't help flushing things, and that includes the family gerbil (or kitten, or turtle, or snake...)! Try teaching kids early that toilets aren't for play, and that pets won't come back from the journey.
- Cell Phones: Almost everyone has a horror story about dropping their smartphone in the toilet or sink, but the phone usually ends up back in their hands. However, there is a portion that ends up going down the drain. Small flip phones in particular are tiny enough to find into pipes but large enough to quickly get jammed and cause clogs.
- Tea: Tea leaves and tea bags alike don't get much of a bad rap for pipe clogs (coffee grounds are mentioned more frequently) but they are still a surprising danger, especially when it comes to loose tea leaves. Those innocent particles are tough, fibrous leaves that will swell up with water and cause problems.
Drain Cleaning in Atlanta
For more information on clogged pipes – and how to fix them, no matter how strange the cause, Ragsdale can help! We provide expert drain cleaning services to the Atlanta metro area.
