Why you should never ignore a blocked drain

A clogged drain is one of those home maintenance problems that people tend to ignore.

If your sink is draining a little slowly, it doesn’t seem like an urgent problem and when you have a busy work and family life, it’s easy to learn to live with it instead of doing something about it. 
However, unclogging a drain is one of the most important home improvement skills to learn because if you leave it, you are setting yourself up for bigger problems. Trust me, I know! 
Will A Clogged Drain Fix Itself?
Clogged drains happen for a lot of reasons, like a build up of hair or food in the drain. If you leave it, that blockage will only get bigger over time and the problem can get worse. You can try removing the blockage yourself, but if that doesn’t work, you’ll probably need to call in a professional. 
What Happens If You Neglect A Clogged Drain?
If you neglect a clogged drain, a slow draining sink is the least of your worries. A blockage can cause water to back up in the pipes. Eventually, the water pressure will increase and can lead to a burst pipe, which means that you’ll need to call emergency plumbing out. 
It’s pretty gross – and smelly – having to clean up the damage done by stagnant water spilling all over the house, but you can easily avoid that if you stay on top of clogged drains. 
Common Signs To Look Out For
If you want to avoid any serious plumbing problems, you need to watch out for the common signs of a blockage. A slow draining sink is the most obvious sign, but that doesn’t always happen until the blockage is quite large, so there are other things you should watch out for first. 
If you notice a bad smell coming from the kitchen sink, for example, that’s a sign that you have lots of old food stuck down there. A gurgling sound when water drains down the sink is also a sign of a blockage further down the pipes. 
*this is a collaborative post.