Drain Cleaning

What Are The Signs I Have A Clogged Drain?

At Pittsburgh's Best Plumbing, Heating & Air, we've seen our fair share of drain problems throughout Pittsburgh. Here are six telltale signs that indicate you might be dealing with a clogged drain line:

Slow-Draining Water

When water starts taking longer than usual to drain from your sink, shower, or tub, it's often the first warning sign of a developing clog. We notice many homeowners initially dismiss this as a minor inconvenience, but that slow drain is actually telling you something important.

Debris is building up along the pipe walls, narrowing the passage for water. What starts as a slight delay can quickly progress to standing water that won't drain at all. Addressing this issue early saves you from more serious blockages down the line and prevents potential water damage to your bathroom or kitchen fixtures.

Gurgling Sounds

Those strange gurgling noises coming from your drains or toilet aren't just random plumbing sounds. They're actually air pockets trying to escape through water trapped by a blockage. We hear this complaint frequently from Pittsburgh homeowners, especially in older homes with established plumbing systems.

The gurgling typically occurs when you run water elsewhere in your home or flush a toilet. This happens because water is trying to navigate around a partial blockage, creating those distinctive bubbling or gurgling sounds. If left unaddressed, these air pockets can create pressure problems throughout your plumbing system.

Unpleasant Odors

When drains begin emitting foul smells, we know immediately that there's likely food, hair, grease, or other organic matter trapped in your pipes and starting to decompose. These odors often become more noticeable in warm weather when bacteria multiply faster. In Pittsburgh's summer months, we get many calls about suddenly smelly drains. The problem is particularly common in kitchen sinks where food particles accumulate, and in bathroom drains where hair and soap scum create perfect trapping conditions. Regular cleaning can prevent these buildups, but once the smell develops, it usually indicates a clog that needs professional attention.

Water Backing Up

One of the most obvious and troubling signs of a serious clog is when using one plumbing fixture causes water to back up in another. For example, you might turn on your washing machine only to find water rising in your shower drain or toilet. We see this frequently in Pittsburgh's older neighborhoods where plumbing systems have more years of potential buildup. This cross-fixture backup occurs when water can't flow properly through the main drain line, so it seeks the path of least resistance – often the lowest drain in your house. This situation nearly always requires professional drain cleaning to resolve.

Rising Water Bills

We often surprise homeowners when we ask about recent changes in their water bills during service calls. Unexplained increases in your water usage can actually indicate hidden plumbing problems, including significant clogs. When drains don't function properly, toilets might run longer, faucets might drip more as pressure builds up, or you might unconsciously use more water trying to clear slow drains. In our decades serving Pittsburgh residents, we've found that many serious plumbing issues first appear as subtle changes on your utility bills. Monitoring your water usage can help catch developing clogs before they become emergencies.

Avoid Chemical DIY Solutions To Protect Your Plumbing

We understand it serves our purposes to convince you not to use liquid drain cleaners so you'll call us instead. But that's not why we recommend avoiding them. The harsh chemicals in liquid drain cleaners are not only dangerous to people in your home, but they can also cause serious damage to your plumbing, leading to greater - and more expensive - problems down the line. There are a number of DIY solutions, such as pouring boiling water down your drains, that you can give a shot - but liquid drain cleaners shouldn't be one of them.