Saskatoon Handyman: 4 Reasons Your Bathroom Sink is Clogged

If you are fortunate, your bathroom sink only clogs once in a long while. This is frustrating when it happens but not a consistent problem. However, some people have a bathroom sink that clogs constantly. This is a major headache that may require handyman services in Saskatoon to break out of the cycle with a more permanent fix. If you are not sure what is causing your bathroom sink to clog, here are some common causes, at least one of which may be behind the problem you are having.

1. Soap Scum

Soap scum is a sticky residue that appears filmy or chalky. You may see it collect on bathroom surfaces, but it can also build up in places that you cannot see, such as inside your pipes. Even the mildest of soaps contain chemicals, and soap scum forms when the chemicals in soap react with ions of dissolved magnesium and calcium in the water.

If you have a water softener, it is less likely that soap scum is the cause of your bathroom sink clogging. Softeners exist expressly to remove the minerals in the water that react with chemicals to form soap scum. Nevertheless, it is still possible that soap scum could be a factor if you use a soap that is particularly coarse or strong, or if you pour it down the drain in large quantities.

If you have ever tried to remove soap scum from bathroom surfaces, you know it is a difficult task. If the soap scum builds up in the pipes, it is even more difficult because the space is inaccessible.

2. Hair

The inside walls of a pipe are not necessarily smooth, and when hair goes down the drain, it may get caught on the sides. This can be the beginning of a clog because wet hair sticks together to form clumps. As it collects, it could also trap other pieces of debris that pass down the drain. The clump can grow bigger and bigger until it clogs up the pipe so the water cannot get through. This is the most common cause of bathroom sink clogs.

How does hair get down the drain if you do not wash it there? If you brush or comb your hair at or near the sink, shed strands of hair could fall down the drain without your knowing it. In fact, humans shed individual strands of hair all through the day, so you could be losing hairs in the sink without noticing any time that you wash or groom at the bathroom vanity.

3. Pipe Damage

The problem could be the pipes themselves. Water is a powerful solvent, and years of exposure to it can cause the inside of the pipe to corrode. Rust or sediment could build up inside. Over time, it could close off enough of the opening inside the pipe that the water cannot get through.

4. Combined Causes

These causes do not necessarily exist independently of one another. It could be that more than one factor is contributing to the clogs in your bathroom sink. For example, corrosion in the pipes could provide more places for hair to collect, or hair could stick to soap scum in the pipes. Corrosion in the pipes could trap pieces of other debris and form a clog.

Handyman Services in Saskatoon 

You may be able to clear individual clogs, but if the sink keeps backing up, you are not dealing with the underlying problem but only treating the symptoms. Our technicians can figure out exactly what is causing the problem and fix it so the clogs stop coming back. Contact Handyman Connection for an estimate on all bathroom renovations and repairs.