Most people are unaware that a clogged drain is an ideal home for all kinds of living organisms. A mix of moisture, heat and organic materials produces the perfect environment for larvae growth in an incubator.
This is why mold, drain worms, and other vermin are commonly found in bathrooms. Flush your drain if you find black worms or other vermin in your bathroom. However, there is more to eliminating black worms than simply flushing them down the drain.
What are Black Worms or Drain Worms?
Drain worms are generally less than one inch in length. They are dark and occasionally confused for dirt caught in drain holes. Drain larvae grow into little white or brown maggots without legs or antennae. Their bodies are covered with tiny bristles that allow them to slide through drain pipes easily.
They are most commonly seen in bathrooms because of moist environments and decomposing organic materials like dead skin cells and hair. They thrive in drain pipes covered by toilet bowls and even under sinks. You can also find them in other sewer pipes around the house.
Drain worms can survive for 20 days without food and ten days without water. Thus, they can survive in drainage systems for an extended period.
Where Do These Black Worms Come From?
Most washroom drains, lines, and taps are slimy and sludgy on the inside, making them ideal for black worms to affix themselves to.
Because black worms are drawn to biomatter or decomposing organic material, they enjoy living in drains, pipelines, and toilets.
Black worms are fond of clogged drains, and a clogged drain may soon spawn a complete colony in stagnant water.
While you may feel you cannot have black worms in your toilet since you have never spotted any drain flies in your home, it is essential to note that they migrate along with your drain system.
As a result, the breeding area can be located outside your home, so the black worms you see in your washroom are probably there in search of food and air.
Black worms feed off the biomass found in toilets; this encourages them to climb up the sewer line system.
They’ll happily eat anything that is flushed down your bathroom drain, so be sure to clean it regularly. Black worms in the toilet bowl or sewage tank indicate a poorly kept toilet drain.
Black worms crawl over the grouting of your shower tiles, looking for mold and other biologicals to devour.
Any wetness can attract these worms. You may even find them in your washroom carpet or rug.
7 Amazing Ways to Get Rid of Black Worms in the Bathroom
Keeping your bathroom clean is the best way to prevent black worms from getting into your toilet. To help prevent them from hatching, you can use a mixture of baking soda and vinegar. This solution can be added to hot water to kill the eggs before they hatch.
The bathroom should also be sealed well by blocking door frames and window panes. Repair broken tiles with cement or caulk. That said, below are some more ways you can get rid of black worms in the bathroom.
1. Reducing Air Moisture
Drain flies and their larvae require moisture to survive, and in most circumstances, they will be forced to leave if their habitat becomes too dry for them.
To get rid of excess water in the atmosphere, open a window and switch on the vent. Sometimes, the humidity may become unbearable for you. In this case, purchase a humidifier if you don’t already own one. Worms are less likely to be found in dry environments.
2. Clean All Your Bathroom Surfaces With Bleach
If the drain worm infestation has spread beyond the bathroom drain, you’ll need to clean your bathroom thoroughly, washing every tile or ceramic surface with bleach. Bleach is powerful enough to chew through worm tissues and kill any eggs produced.
Because bleach has a strong odor, your bathroom must be well-ventilated throughout the cleaning process. Even though this method may not be delightful, it is an effective way to stop the spread of drain worms.
3. Apply Pesticide
Because drain worms are extremely simple to eradicate, practically any bug bomb will suffice. However, Organic Material on Earth–an organic powder that is non-toxic and capable of taking down every bug, including drain flies–is your best choice.
If you’re worried that your “worms” are baby millipedes, DE is a must-have. Unlike other pesticides, DE is potent enough to kill insects, bugs, and worms without the occurrence of a pesticide-resistance. It works by dehydrating worms, ultimately killing them. Place little mounds of DE in locations around your washroom where you spotted a slew of drain worms.
4. Clean Your Drains with an Enzyme Cleaner
Drain flies get their name from the fact that they reside in sewers. They live and breed in drains blocked with biological debris such as hair, germs, dead skin cells, and grease.
They require that natural gunk to thrive. It’s what they eat. That means you’ll need to apply an enzyme drain cleaner to assist in clearing your drains off the food they’re consuming.
Enzyme cleaners are often regarded as the gold standard in drain cleaning. To achieve excellent results, utilize a comprehensive clog-removing package that removes hair from your drains and includes a drain enzyme. Green Gobbler is well-known for this.
5. Prevent a Black Worm Infestation
Pouring bleach-based mold cleansers down the drain can prevent worm infestation. This will give you some breathing space as you clean up your pipes.
Preventing black worm invasions begins with keeping your drainage system clean of debris, contaminants, and obstructions. Furthermore, if you have a compost pile, try relocating it away from the plumbing.
You may use a vinegar and baking soda solution to clear your drain once or twice a month as an additional precautionary measure. Alternatively, you could also use dishwashing soap and water. In any case, hygiene is essential for preventing infestations.
Finally, plug any access points or pipe fractures. This includes windows, door frames, and shattered tiles.
Every bug seeks entrance into your home for a warm, wet atmosphere to lay its eggs.
If you regularly notice worms in your bathroom, you should contact a professional plumber. The worm infestation, in this case, could indicate a fault in your home’s plumbing system. If left unattended, it could lead to a slew of additional plumbing problems. If you regularly notice worms in your bathroom, you should contact a professional plumber.
6. Do Away With their Breeding Areas
Once the worms are all dead, focus on removing their breeding grounds. First, you must remove any stagnant unclean water surrounding your house or sewage system.
Next, scrub the sides of the drain with hot water. As a preventive step, you can work on the problematic drain or all of the drains in your home.
Damaged bathroom tiles provide an excellent environment for black worms to thrive. Repair all damages as quickly as possible to prevent flies from depositing eggs in them.
Plumbing problems are a common reason for black worms in the washroom. A plumber can fix this for you. Examine your drainage system for pipe leaks, cracks, and other flaws.
7. Kill the Black Worms
Although it may be tempting to use a drain cleaner or opener, we recommend against it.
The strong chemical has the potential to erode and destroy your pipes. Instead of using strong chemicals, pour boiling water down the drain and follow with a cup of white vinegar to destroy any worms or larvae.
Baking soda is a multi-purpose chemical that is used in a variety of household applications. It effectively eliminates black worms.
A baking soda and vinegar solution is a powerful combination for cleaning the drain, removing obstructions, and killing black worm larvae.
Another do-it-yourself option is the use of soapy water and chlorine. Thoroughly combine equal proportions of chlorine and liquid dishwashing soap. Pour the solution down the sewer.
Leave the solution in place for 3 to 4 hours for optimal efficacy. Afterward, wash away the sludge and grease with hot water.
Consider using an enzyme drain cleaning agent to employ eco-friendly biodegradable techniques.
These eco-friendly enzymes clear obstructions in your drain, nibble away at the organic substances clogging the pipes and erode the blockage using a non-toxic sodium chloride sulfate acid.
Are Drain Worms Dangerous?
Drain worms are not dangerous, although nuisances in otherwise clean homes.
Drain worms, sometimes known as drain flies or sink flies, digest debris in the drain. Drain flies, as the name implies, mainly infest drains (bathrooms and kitchens), as well as other wet locations in your home. You may notice black worms emerging from your drain.
Like most of the other worms and bugs in your house, drain flies are infamous food contaminants, so it is best to get rid of them as soon as you become aware of an infestation.
If you notice tiny black worms in your bathroom drain, you should consider hiring a plumber. Worms might be accessing your drainage through a break in the pipe. This could lead to worse problems in the future and should be urgently addressed.