5 Common Causes of Blocked Drains and How to Prevent Them

Posted by Adelaide Blocked Drains Plumbing on 3 Dec 2025

Blocked drains are a source of frustration that could disrupt your everyday life. They can lead to smelly water damage, bad odours, and even health risks. If not dealt with promptly blocked drains could cause grave problems to the plumbing system, which can lead to costly fixes or replacings.

Key Takeaways

  • Blockages to drains can cause disruption to your day-to-day routine and cause problems with water, bad odours and even health hazards.
  • Oil, grease and fat accumulations can stick to the walls of pipes, leading to blockages. Avoid pouring grease down the drain, or use hot water and soap for cleaning dishes.
  • Tree roots naturally grow into the ground searching for nutrients, which could cause serious damage and completely block pipes that can lead to flooding. Regularly keep trees in the vicinity of drainage systems by pruning them.
  • The flushing of non-biodegradable products like wet towels, wipes and sanitary pads etc. can result in nasty smells that can be detected around bins and toilets; just take care to wash your toilet paper in the toilet.
  • Hair

In this post, we’ll look at five common causes of blocked drains and the best way to keep them from happening.

Cause 1. Grease, Oil and Fat Buildup

Fat, grease, and oil could appear as harmless substances to pour down the drain but as time passes, they build up over the insides of pipes, which causes an obstruction. When this occurs, water is unable to flow freely through the drainpipes. The solution is to avoid spilling grease down the drain. Or use hot water and soap during cleaning dishes as it helps remove greasy substances.

Cause 2: Tree Roots

As time passes, tree roots naturally extend themselves into the ground seeking nutrients. This results in them growing towards underground pipes. Once inside these pipes trees roots can cause a lot of damage and may completely stop them from flowing, causing flooding. It’s crucial, therefore, if you are near trees that you maintain the growth of your trees around drainage systems by pruning them in a regular manner.

Cause 3: Flushed items

It’s easy to think that flushing non-biodegradable items like wet towels, sanitary wipes etc. aren’t likely to cause major issues in the long term, However, when a lot of these products are flushed in toilets, they’ll build up, pushing other items aside and that block pipes. This can cause unpleasant odors to emanate in the vicinity of toilets or bins! Make sure to remember what should be flushed, and what shouldn’t (i. e only toilet paper should be flushed).

Cause 4: Hair

Additional Information

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Are you experiencing a clogged toilet, blocked shower drain, overflowing drains or an issue with your kitchen sink? We can help you sort out your drain blockage problem quickly and provide the following services:

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