How to Keep Drains From Clogging: 8 Simple Habits
By Mike Holt, NJ Master Plumber · March 6, 2024 · 3 min read · Updated October 31, 2026
Quick answer
Keep grease, coffee grounds and food scraps out of the kitchen sink, put hair catchers on every tub and shower drain, and flush only toilet paper. Clean sink stoppers and strainers once a month. If a drain still clogs more than once a year, have the line cleaned and checked with a camera.
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Time
- A few minutes a week
- You need
- Sink strainers, hair catchers, a jar for grease
Rather not risk it? A licensed plumber can handle this for you, with written upfront flat-rate pricing options before any work starts.
Most clogs build up slowly from a few everyday habits. Change these and most drains will run clear for years. If a drain is already clogged, start with our guide to unclogging a drain in 5 steps.
8 habits that keep drains clear
Step 1: Scrape plates into the trash
Food scraps belong in the trash or compost, even if you have a garbage disposal. Coffee grounds, rice, pasta, eggshells and potato peels pack into a paste in the pipe. See the right way to clean your garbage disposal.
Step 2: Pour grease into a jar
Let bacon fat and cooking oil cool in a jar or can, then throw it out. Wipe greasy pans with a paper towel before washing them. Grease is the biggest cause of kitchen clogs. More in why it's bad to pour oil down your drains.
Step 3: Catch hair before it goes down
Put a hair catcher on every tub and shower drain and a strainer in the kitchen sink. They cost a few dollars. Empty them often.
Step 4: Flush only toilet paper
Wipes, including the ones labeled flushable, don't break down like toilet paper. Neither do paper towels, cotton swabs, dental floss or feminine products. Keep a small trash can in every bathroom.
Step 5: Clean stoppers once a month
Pull out bathroom sink and tub stoppers and clear the hair and soap off them. It takes two minutes and stops most bathroom clogs early.
Step 6: Run water after using the kitchen sink
After rinsing dishes, let the water run for several seconds to carry everything through the trap. It won't fix a grease problem, but it keeps small debris from settling.
Step 7: Skip chemical drain cleaners
Using them for maintenance can damage older pipes and rubber parts over time, and they don't remove the buildup coating the pipe. A plunger, a zip tool and good habits do more.
Step 8: Watch the main line
Older Central Jersey homes often have cast iron or clay sewer lines, and trees near the line can send roots into the joints. If drains slow down together, or the basement floor drain backs up, have the main line cleaned and checked with a camera. We explain the options in snaking vs. hydro jetting.
When to call a plumber
Habits prevent most clogs, but they can't fix a pipe that sags, cracks or has roots in it. If a drain keeps clogging, our drain cleaning service clears the line and a camera inspection shows why it keeps happening. Call 908-873-6686 or request service online.
Get tips and reminders
New guides and seasonal reminders. A few emails a year.
Stop and call us if
- The same drain clogs more than once in a few months.
- Several drains are slow at the same time.
- Drains gurgle or you smell sewage.
- Water backs up into a tub or floor drain when you flush or do laundry.
Call 908-873-6686.
Michael Holt
Owner and operator of Plumbing Doctor, NJ Master Plumber (Lic. #36BI01345600) and U.S. Marine Corps veteran.
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