Why Does My Drain Keep Clogging?

A drain that clogs again after being cleared is telling you the blockage was never fully removed, or that something further down is catching everything that passes. Repeated clogs in one fixture are usually build-up in that branch. Repeated clogs in several fixtures at once point at the main line, which is a different and more serious thing.

What to do right now

• Notice how many fixtures are affected. One fixture means that branch. Several, or the lowest drains in the house backing up, means the main line and it is worth calling sooner.
• Stop pouring chemical drain cleaner down it. Repeated use does not remove build-up, and it leaves a caustic mix sitting in the pipe for whoever opens it next, including us.
• Run hot water for a minute after using a kitchen sink to help move grease along rather than letting it cool and stick.
• Keep grease and cooking oil out of the sink entirely. Let it cool and bin it. This is the single biggest thing you can do for a kitchen line.
• If it has now clogged more than twice, ask for a camera inspection rather than another clearing. Two clears in quick succession usually costs more than finding out why.

Likely causes

• Grease and soap build-up coating the inside of the pipe, which narrows it until anything slightly solid catches. Clearing a channel through it does not remove the coating, which is why it comes back.
• Hair binding with soap in bathroom drains, which rebuilds steadily after each clearing.
• Tree roots finding a joint in the sewer line outside and growing into it. Roots are cleared by cutting, and they regrow, so this is the classic repeating clog.
• A sag or a break in the line, where a section has dropped or cracked so waste collects there every time rather than flowing past.
• Something rigid stuck further down that a cable pushes past rather than removes, so everything else keeps catching on it.
• Hard water scale narrowing the pipe over years, which makes a line that used to cope stop coping.

When to call a pro

If the quick fixes do not solve it, this is usually a drain cleaning job. Liberty dispatches 24/7 with upfront pricing.