A clogged drain can be a serious inconvenience. Clogs that prevent the flow of water can leave you without access to a sink or toilet, and major clogs could even result in flooding that could damage the structure of your home.

Dealing with a clog can be costly. If you want to avoid a messy situation, develop these three simple habits to avoid clogged drains in the future.

1. Use Drain Screens

One of the easiest things that you can do to avoid having a drain become clogged is utilize drain screens on sinks, tubs, and floor drains. A drain screen is a small piece of metal that fits over your drain openings.

A series of small holes allow water to filter into the drain, while trapping any debris that could create a clog. Placing drain screens over each of your drains can be instrumental in avoiding a serious clog that might leave you with pools of water on your floors.

2. Clean Drain Stoppers

Some drains, particularly those in a bathroom sink or tub, are equipped with drain stoppers. A drain stopper is supposed to trap hair, soap residue, and other debris from finding its way into your drain pipes. As these contaminants collect on the drain stopper, they can begin to harden.

Eventually, the stopper will be so dirty that it can no longer catch debris properly. This is when clogs can form and you may notice your sink or tub draining slower than usual. Take the time to remove the stopper from each drain on a regular basis and clean it.

Clean your drain stoppers often to ensure that they can provide maximum protection against the formation of clogs.

3. Jar Your Grease

Many cooking processes result in the creation of grease. This grease, combined with cooking oils, can pose a real threat to your sink drains. Homeowners often think that it's okay to put grease down their kitchen drain because the grease looks like a liquid. You need to keep in mind that grease hardens as it cools.

The liquid grease you pour down your drain will coat the interior walls of drainage pipes. As the grease cools, it will harden and form a thick layer of sludge on pipe walls. Eventually, this sludge layer becomes so thick that water cannot move freely through drainage pipes.

Pour your cooking oils and grease into a glass jar, then toss the jar in the trash to avoid clogged drains in the future. If you do find that you have a clogged drain, you can contact local drain cleaning services nearby to get help cleaning up the mess and fixing the problem.