If you keep asking, "Why does my drain keep clogging?" the answer is usually a buildup of hair, grease, soap, or minerals inside your pipes. A single clog can happen to anyone. But when the same drain clogs repeatedly, it means something deeper is at work. The blockage you cleared last time was probably just a symptom, not the real problem. For homeowners in Spokane, hard water and aging pipes make recurring drain clogs even more common.
Ignoring a drain that keeps backing up can lead to water damage, mold, and expensive repairs. According to the Insurance Information Institute, the average water damage claim in the United States costs about $13,954. That is a lot of money for a problem that often starts with a slow drain.
Why Does My Drain Keep Clogging in Spokane?
Your drain keeps clogging in Spokane because material is building up inside the pipe faster than water can wash it away. Every time you use a sink, shower, or tub, small amounts of debris accumulate on the inside walls of the pipes. Over time, this buildup narrows the opening. Water flows slower and slower until a full blockage forms.
You might clear the clog with a plunger or a store-bought drain cleaner, and things seem fine for a few days or weeks. But the underlying layer of gunk is still there. New debris sticks to it, and the clog comes back. This cycle of clearing and re-clogging is one of the biggest signs that you need professional drain cleaning service in Spokane to remove the full buildup, not just the surface blockage.
Structural Problems That Cause Repeat Clogs
There are also structural reasons a drain keeps clogging. Older pipes can sag, crack, or develop rough spots on the inside where debris catches easily. Tree roots can grow into underground sewer lines through tiny cracks and create a net that traps everything flowing through. Pipes that were installed at the wrong angle may not drain properly, letting waste settle instead of moving toward the sewer.
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the average household wastes nearly 10,000 gallons of water per year from leaks alone. While that stat is about leaks specifically, it shows how small plumbing problems add up fast. A drain that keeps clogging is your plumbing system telling you something needs attention before it turns into a bigger, more expensive issue.
Common Recurring Drain Clogs Causes
Understanding the recurring drain clogs in your home is the first step to fixing the problem for good. Most repeat clogs come from one or more of the issues below.
- Hair and Soap Scum Buildup
Hair is one of the top reasons drains clog again and again. The average person sheds around 50 to 100 hairs per day, and many of those end up going down the shower or bathroom sink drain. Hair does not dissolve in water. Instead, it tangles together and combines with soap scum to form thick, sticky clumps deep inside the pipe.
Bar soap makes this worse. It is made with fats that leave a residue called soap scum on the inside of your pipes. This film hardens over time and bonds with hair and minerals, creating a stubborn blockage that a plunger cannot fully remove.
- Grease, Fat, and Food Waste
Cooking grease, butter, and oil go down the kitchen drain as liquids, but they cool and harden inside the pipe. This sticky coating traps food particles and other debris, creating a blockage that grows over time. Even small amounts of grease add up. Running hot water while you pour grease down the drain does not prevent this. The grease still solidifies once it hits cooler sections of the pipe further down the line.
- Hard Water Mineral Deposits
Hard water contains dissolved calcium and magnesium. These minerals leave deposits inside your pipes, faucets, and drains. Over time, scale buildup reduces the pipe diameter and creates rough surfaces where other debris can get caught. This is a major factor in Spokane, where the water comes from the Spokane Valley-Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer and often measures around 13 grains per gallon, which is classified as very hard by the Spokane Aquifer Joint Board.
- Flushing the Wrong Items
Many homeowners unknowingly send things down the drain that do not belong there. These items do not break down like toilet paper and get stuck in bends and joints inside the pipe. Common offenders include:
- So-called "flushable" wipes, which do not dissolve properly in water
- Cotton swabs, dental floss, and feminine hygiene products
- Paper towels and tissues, which are thicker than toilet paper
- Coffee grounds, eggshells, and fibrous vegetables like celery in kitchen sinks
- Starchy foods like rice and pasta, which expand in water and form thick clogs
How to Stop Your Drain from Clogging Again
If you want to know how to stop your drain from clogging again, the answer comes down to changing a few daily habits and investing in some basic prevention tools. These steps work for kitchen, bathroom, and utility drains.
- Daily Prevention Habits
Start by placing mesh drain screens over every drain in your home. These inexpensive screens catch hair, food scraps, and other debris before it enters the pipe. Clean the screens after every use for the best results. In the kitchen, wipe greasy pans with a paper towel before washing them. Pour used cooking oil into a container and throw it in the trash once it cools and hardens. Never pour grease down the drain, even with hot water running.
In the bathroom, brush your hair before you shower to remove loose strands. This cuts down on the amount of hair that goes down the drain. Run hot water through your drains for 30 seconds after each use to push soap and small particles through the pipe.
- Weekly and Monthly Maintenance
Once a week, pour a pot of hot water down each drain to flush. For a deeper clean, sprinkle half a cup of baking soda into the drain, then add a cup of white vinegar and let it fizz for 10 to 15 minutes before rinsing with hot water. This breaks down light buildup without using harsh chemicals.
Avoid liquid drain cleaners from the store. While they may temporarily clear a clog, the caustic chemicals can corrode your pipes over time, especially older metal pipes. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency warns against the overuse of caustic chemicals in household drains, as they can damage pipes and release harmful fumes. A better long-term approach is to schedule professional drain cleaning once a year to remove the buildup from the entire pipe.
Causes and Fixes of Kitchen Drain Backing Up
When your kitchen drain keeps backing up, the most likely cause is a buildup of grease inside the pipe. Every time you wash dishes, small amounts of oil, fat, and food residue go down the drain. Even if you are careful, some grease always makes it through. Over weeks and months, this grease hardens on the pipe walls, narrowing the opening.
Foods That Cause Kitchen Drain Clogs
Food particles make the grease problem worse. Rice, pasta, and bread expand when they absorb water, and they can form thick clogs. Coffee grounds are another common problem. They clump together in the pipe and do not dissolve. Potato peels and other starchy foods create a paste-like substance that sticks to grease and blocks the flow.
If you have a garbage disposal, it helps with small food scraps, but it is not a substitute for proper disposal habits. The disposal grinds food into smaller pieces, but those pieces still need to travel through the pipe. If grease is already coating the inside of the pipe, ground-up food particles stick to it and build up.
How to Stop a Kitchen Drain from Backing Up
To stop a kitchen drain from backing up, scrape all food scraps into the trash or compost before rinsing dishes. Run cold water while using the garbage disposal to help solidify any grease so the disposal can break it up. After running the disposal, switch to hot water for 30 seconds to help flush the line.
If your kitchen drain is already backing up regularly, a professional clogged drain repair service can clear the pipe and remove the grease layer that is causing the problem. A plumber can also check whether the pipe's slope or a damaged section is contributing to the repeated backups.
Slow Drain Causes and Solutions
A slow drain is usually the first sign that a clog is forming. Understanding the causes and solutions for slow drains in each situation can help you act before the pipe completely blocks.
What Makes a Drain Slow Down?
The most common cause of a slow drain is partial buildup inside the pipe. Hair, soap scum, grease, and mineral deposits narrow the pipe opening over time. Water can still get through, but it moves slowly because the passageway is smaller. If you notice water pooling around your feet in the shower or taking longer than usual to drain from the sink, buildup is the most likely reason.
Another cause is a blocked plumbing vent. Every drain in your home connects to a vent pipe that goes up through the roof. This vent allows air into the system so water can flow smoothly. If the vent is blocked by leaves, bird nests, or ice, the drain will be sluggish because air cannot circulate properly. You might also hear gurgling sounds, which is air trying to get through.
Solutions for Slow Drains
For minor slow drains caused by surface buildup, the baking soda and vinegar method works well. Remove the drain stopper and clean off any visible debris first. For slow drains caused by deeper buildup, a plumber can use a drain snake or hydro jetting service to clear the pipe.
Hydro jetting uses high-pressure water to scour the inside of the pipe, cleaning it and removing not just the clog but also the buildup that could cause future problems.
If multiple drains in your home are slow at the same time, the issue is probably not in a single drain. It is likely a partial blockage in the main sewer line, possibly from tree root intrusion or a collapsed section of pipe. A plumbing video camera inspection can show exactly where the blockage is and what is causing it. According to HomeAdvisor, the average cost for professional drain cleaning runs between $147 and $346, which is far less than the cost of repairing water damage from a pipe that backs up.
What to Do When the Bathroom Sink Keeps Clogging
If your bathroom sink keeps clogging, hair and soap scum are almost always the cause. The bathroom sink drain is smaller than most other drains in the house, and it collects hair from shaving, brushing, and washing every day.
The Pop-Up Stopper Problem
The pop-up stopper is the piece that moves up and down when you pull the lever behind the faucet. Underneath the sink, a horizontal rod connects to this stopper. Hair and gunk collect on the rod, around the pivot ball, and on the stopper itself. Over time, this creates a thick mass that blocks water from draining. That hair also wraps around the drain crossbar below the stopper, making the clog even harder to reach.
How to Fix a Bathroom Sink That Keeps Clogging
To fix a bathroom sink that keeps clogging, follow these steps:
- Remove the pop-up stopper by twisting and lifting it out or by unscrewing the pivot nut under the sink
- Clean all the hair and buildup off the stopper, the rod, and the inside of the drain opening
- Use a small drain snake or zip-it tool to reach several inches into the pipe and pull out hair tangles
- Flush the drain with hot water after cleaning
- Repeat this process once a month as part of your regular cleaning routine
If the clog keeps coming back even after you clean the stopper and snake the drain, the buildup may be further down in the P-trap or the pipe behind the wall. At that point, a professional plumber can inspect the pipe and remove the blockage completely. Hard water in Spokane makes bathroom sink clogs worse because the mineral deposits create rough surfaces inside the pipe where hair and soap scum stick more easily.
Why Recurring Drain Clogs Are Common in Spokane
Spokane has a few local factors that make recurring drain clogs more common than in many other cities.
Hard Water from the Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer
Spokane's drinking water comes from the Spokane Valley-Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer, which naturally contains high levels of calcium and magnesium. According to the Spokane Aquifer Joint Board, the water hardness in the area often exceeds 12 to 13 grains per gallon. That puts it in the "very hard" category. These minerals leave scale deposits inside pipes, reducing flow and creating surfaces where hair, soap, and grease catch easily.
Older Homes with Aging Pipes
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the median construction year for homes in Spokane is 1961, and about 25% of homes were built before the 1940s. Older homes often have cast iron or galvanized steel drain pipes that corrode from the inside over time. The interior walls of a corroded pipe can be so rough that even normal use leads to frequent clogs. Older pipes are also more likely to have joint separations or small cracks where tree roots can enter.
Tree Root Intrusion and Cold Winters
Spokane's large, established trees cause root intrusion into underground sewer lines. Tree roots naturally seek out moisture, and they can find their way into sewer pipes through tiny cracks or loose joints. Once inside, the roots grow and catch waste, creating stubborn blockages that come back again and again.
Cold winters also play a role. When temperatures drop below freezing, ice can form in uninsulated pipes, especially in crawl spaces and exterior walls. Even a partial freeze can slow drainage enough to cause buildup that leads to recurring clogs.
When to Call a Professional Plumber in Spokane
Knowing when to stop trying to fix a clog yourself and call a professional can save you time, money, and frustration. Here are the warning signs that tell you it is time to bring in a licensed plumber:
- The same drain clogs more than twice in a short period, meaning the problem is deeper than a plunger can reach
- Multiple drains in your home are slow or clogged at the same time, which usually points to a main sewer line blockage
- Sewage smells are coming from your drains, which can indicate a cracked sewer pipe or a major blockage
- Water is backing up into your tub, shower, or basement floor drain when you flush the toilet or run the washing machine
- Gurgling sounds come from drains or toilets when water is running elsewhere in the house
According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, plumbing failures are among the most common maintenance issues in homes over 30 years old. If your home has older pipes, annual professional drain cleaning is one of the best ways to prevent recurring clogs and avoid emergency repairs.
Our licensed plumbers at Mr. Rooter Plumbing of Spokane have the equipment and experience to find the root cause of recurring drain clogs and fix them for good. From camera inspections to professional-grade hydro jetting, our team of residential plumbing services experts can clear years of buildup and repair damaged sections of pipe so the problem does not come back.
Stop Recurring Drain Clogs Before They Cause Bigger Problems
A drain that keeps clogging is more than an annoyance. It is a warning sign that something in your plumbing system needs attention. Whether the cause is hair buildup, grease, hard water minerals, or tree roots, the problem will only get worse if you ignore it. Understanding why your drain keeps clogging gives you the power to take the right steps, from daily prevention habits to annual professional cleanings.
Spokane's hard water and older housing stock make drain maintenance especially important for local homeowners. If you are dealing with a drain that clogs over and over, do not keep reaching for the plunger and hoping for the best. Contact Mr. Rooter Plumbing of Spokane to schedule a professional drain inspection and get the problem fixed the right way.
