Commercial drains see heavy use on a daily basis, which makes them more likely to develop clogs than the average household drain. At Drain Blaster Bill’s Sewer & Drain Cleaning, it’s our goal to keep your building’s drains fully functional and in peak condition. To help you better prevent some of the most common drain clogs, below, we explain which commercial drains are most likely to develop blockages and how you can prevent them.
Main Sewer Lines
In any commercial building, the main sewer line handles a staggering amount of waste on a daily basis. Because all the waste from every drain in the building ends up in the main sewer line before it flows to the septic tank or city sewer, this particular drain is prone to developing blockages. This is especially true if building occupants put clog-inducing items such as trash, paper towels, grease, and hygiene products down the drains inside the building.
Main sewer lines can also develop severe drain blockages as a result of tree root intrusions. Since the main sewer line travels underground to reach the city sewer or septic system, it’s exposed to growing tree roots. And when a tree root grows, it doesn’t naturally grow around the drain; rather, it often grows right through it.
Keep in mind that even though your main sewer line connects to the public plumbing system, as the building owner or manager, it’s your responsibility to maintain the drain. Some helpful tips for avoiding main line clogs include:
● Practice routine drain maintenance. Ideally, you should have your building’s drains cleaned on a regular basis to keep them in peak condition. Annual drain cleaning can help prevent the vast majority of drain blockages.
● Understand the warning signs. If any of the drains in your building begin making bubbling noises, that’s an early sign of a main sewer line clog. As soon as you notice unusual drain noises, contact a drain cleaning professional for a camera drain inspection to determine what’s going on.
● Plant wisely. If you plan to update the property’s landscaping at any point, be sure to plant bushes and trees as far away from the main sewer line as possible.
For minor main sewer line clogs, the standard method of drain cleaning, snaking, is often sufficient to dislodge the clog. For tree root intrusions and other types of severe drain blockages, commercial water jetting is the go-to drain cleaning method.
Toilet Drains
How are your customers, clients, and employees treating the bathroom drains in your building? It’s unfortunate, but many people think that since they’re not in their own home, they can flush trash down the toilet.
It’s common to find building users flushing hygiene products, paper towels, and other no-go items down commercial toilets because they mistakenly assume the plumbing system can handle these types of materials. Here’s the truth: it can’t.
To protect your building against toilet drain clogs, it’s never a bad idea to post signs in each bathroom stall that indicate what can and cannot be flushed. You should also place a trash can in each stall to allow building users convenient access to a trash receptacle while they use the commode.
Grease Traps
In restaurants and other commercial food preparation areas, grease traps serve a critical purpose: to keep fatty substances from flowing into the building’s drains. Because a commercial grease trap collects a substantial amount of fat on a daily basis, it can fill rapidly. Once it’s full, it can no longer prevent grease from entering the plumbing system, and that’s when the problems start.
As grease accumulates inside the pipe, it creates a sludgy buildup that traps incoming substances. Eventually, a severe drain blockage can form, which typically necessitates commercial water jetting to deep clean the pipe. This is why routine grease trap cleaning is so important.
To protect your building against this type of drain clog, you should clean grease traps on a monthly basis. If you have a high-volume establishment, more frequent cleanings may be necessary. A good rule of thumb is to clean the trap whenever it reaches 25% full.
Floor Drains
A clogged floor drain in a commercial building isn’t just a nuisance; it can be a major safety hazard. Since many floor drains are located in storage areas, backed-up liquids can also cause significant loss as they can damage back stock or materials in storage.
In commercial kitchens, floor drain clogs can cause prolonged interruptions in production, which can also result in significant losses. To help prevent this type of clog, follow these tips:
● Avoid sweeping debris into floor drains. Drains are not trash cans, and they cannot handle solid waste.
● Place screen covers over all floor drains. Screens prevent larger items from accidentally entering the drain and clogging the plumbing line.
● Investigate unusual drain odors. If you notice sewer-like odors inside your building, immediately check the floor drains. One common sign of a clogged main line is sewer odor, and since the floor drains are closest to the sewer, they typically develop an off-putting scent first. That said, a dry p-trap — a harmless, easy-to-fix problem — can also allow sewer gases to travel into your building. Try pouring water into the drain to see if that resolves the stench, and if it doesn’t, call a drain cleaning professional for a camera drain inspection.
● Practice routine drain maintenance. To provide the best protection against drain clogs, schedule routine floor drain cleaning on an annual or semi-annual basis. Regular drain inspections and cleanings will minimize the need for emergency service.
Drain Blaster Bill’s: Your Twin Cities Source for Comprehensive Commercial Drain Cleaning
When your commercial building develops drain blockages, get in touch with our team at Drain Blaster Bill’s Sewer & Drain Cleaning. We specialize in camera drain inspections, commercial water jetting, and maintenance drain cleaning for commercial properties throughout the Twin Cities and offer same-day service for emergency situations. To request a free estimate or learn more about our services, call our Stillwater, MN office today at 763-913-8719 or send us a message online.