Drain clogs are one of the unfortunate hassles of daily life. Taking care of stopped-up drains is one of the basic jobs of a professional plumber, and any licensed plumber knows how to tackle a wide range of causes for clogged and slow drains.
There are a number of drain clogs that plumbers see all the time: clots of hair caught in the p-trap of a bathroom sink, food waste in kitchen sinks, objects accidentally flushed down a toilet, and soap scum build-up in a shower drain. But most plumbers can also tell stories about super odd things causing drain clogs. Here are a few of the more off-beat and unusual reasons for drain clogs—because even these can be helpful in understanding how to avoid future clogging problems.