Many home and business owners consider a drain pipe clog a nuisance. Yet, a clog that doesn’t clear can result in a severe backup of water and waste materials that cause expensive damage and serious health and safety risks. Consider the following three ways in which clogs that aren’t removed quickly cause problems:
Clogs Become Harder to Remove Over Time
Clogs are usually made of a variety of substances, such as hair, skin cells, oils and/or food. Sometimes they occur when someone accidentally drops an item into a drain. Whatever a clog’s origin, a combination of biofilm and minerals, that are too sticky and hard to remove with a standard over-the-counter chemical cleaner, often build up around it.
Clogs Can Backup Other Piping Systems
Since buildings typically have interconnected pipes, a clog can cause problems with other drain systems. For example, a kitchen drain pipe clog might cause dirty water to back up in a shower or tub. Worse yet, the dirty water might flood an area that isn’t designed to normally contain water, such as a basement. Attached drain pipes might make banging or other annoying noises that cause disruption. You might also smell sudden bad odors and sewer gas that can make your or your loved ones sick.
Clogs Provide Harmful Organisms Stable Habitats
A whole host of microorganisms, including bacteria, viruses and fungi, live in the biofilm that forms inside of drain pipes. When a clog forms, toxic molds, for example, often take hold. Their spores can damage a person’s immune system and cause a range of symptoms, such as allergic reactions and upper respiratory problems. These symptoms can even occur in healthy people who’ve had no previous allergy or breathing problems.
At Benjamin Franklin Plumbing, the members of our plumbing team possess the knowledge, experience and tools needed to help our clients in Phoenix and surrounding areas find and remove clogs in an timely fashion. When we send a plumber to your location, we also provide a free camera inspection to make certain that we’ve completely cleaned out the pipes and that they’re in the best shape possible. Our emergency plumbing hotline is available 24/7. Call us today.
