Signs of Blocked Drains
It may take a while for a blockage to build up, but once a problem has started to take its toll it will soon become apparent. Look out for these symptoms and don’t hesitate to take action and unblock drains.
Look for
One of the most obvious signs of a drain blockage is if toilets and sinks on your premises are draining slowly. If a drain blockage is particularly bad, water may not drain away at all. If just one individual sink or toilet is having drainage issues, then the blockage is likely in the fixture itself. However, if all of them are backed up, then the blockage is most likely to be located in the sewer drain.
If flushing the toilet or running taps causes water to rise elsewhere, be it in other fixtures, external drains or manhole covers, then a blockage is the likely cause.
Smell for
Foul smells are, unfortunately dead giveaways for blockage. If something has blocked the drain and begun to rot, your staff will know about it. The smells may well begin to occur before any visual symptoms emerge, so don’t make the mistake of ignoring them when they do crop up.
Listen for
Finally, if your pipes and fixtures are gurgling, this too could be an indication of a blockage. The sound is caused by trapped air, resulting from the blockage, is displaced and pushed up through the system.
Any of these symptoms in isolation is cause for concern, but if you discover two, or even three of them simultaneously, you may well end up facing a plumbing emergency.