Dealing with a blocked drainpipe in your home is never a particularly pleasant experience, but at least a blocked drain in your bathtub or kitchen sink has little likelihood of doing any serious damage. A clogged floor drain in your basement, however, is a far more serious matter; since all free-flowing moisture in your home will eventually find it's way into the basement, blocked basement drains can rapidly cause catastrophic flooding that can cost many thousands of dollars.

Needless to say, keeping your basement drain(s) flowing freely at all times is vital. Doing this means you have to both tackle blockages quickly and do your best to prevent future blockages from occurring. 

How can I unclog a blocked basement drain?

Frequent inspection of basement drains is rarely at the top of anybody's to-do list, so most homeowners will not notice a blocked basement drain until enough water backs up in the drain to overflow onto the basement floor; consequently, the drain must be unclogged as quickly as possible before any serious damage can occur.

Unfortunately, this usually means that conventional drain unblocking chemicals are not an ideal solution for clogged basement drains, as they tend to work slowly, and their effectiveness will be reduced by the amount of water already contained within the blocked drain. It is therefore advisable to skip the chemicals entirely and use a lengthy drain snake to try and root out of the problem. 

A robust drain snake can be picked up from most DIY stores, and is usually enough to break up blockages caused by hairballs, fat deposits, fallen leaves and other solid masses. However, if your drain snake meets a solid obstacle that cannot be broken up, you should call in a professional plumbing service to help, as this may mean something more substantial and potentially damaging is causing the blockage.

A plumbing services specialising in unblocking drains will be able to bring more effective tools to help diagnose the source of your blockage woes. Drain cameras are particularly useful, and consist of a camera and touch attached the end of a flexible hose which is fed into the drain in question. This will send back clear images of the blockage, allowing your chosen service to tackle it in the most effective way. For example, if tree roots have invaded your basement drain to cause the blockage, your plumbing service can use a snake fitted with sharp blades to cut through the obstructing roots.

How can I prevent new blockages from occurring?

Once your basement drain has been unclogged, your focus should shift to preventing blockages from occurring in the future, and how you go about that will depend largely on the nature of the blockage. If your blockage was caused by loose detritus, keeping your basement floor cleaner may be enough to prevent recurrence. However, if blockages are becoming frequent, or if tree roots or shifting soils are causing damage to the drain that results in blockages, your basement drain may need to be repaired or entirely redesigned -- another good reason to call in professional plumbers.