Blocked Drain

[MarcMCFC1986]

Well, my girlfriend does use baby wipes to take her make up off - but she puts them in the bin. She could well put them down the toilet sometimes though, if she takes her make up off in the bathroom instead of the bedroom! I wouldn’t say we flush them daily though!?

So; what do you think is going to have to happen to remove the blockage if there is no access to the Manhole cover/can’t find manhole cover? I had a walk up the street yesterday and noticed the covers seem to be in the front gardens, not the back, so hopefully the paving won’t need to be destroyed to access it, and it is just a case of getting a spade and moving the gravel in my front garden around to try and find it!? Do they have metal detectors to find manhole covers? I’ve seen these little jets the spray water backwards to propel itself through the drains - is this the most likely thing they will use?

 

[dilalio]

They'll do whatever they need to.
And stop flushing the wipes.

 

[MarcMCFC1986]

They'll do whatever they need to.
And stop flushing the wipes.

What a shame! We were so so close to making it through a forum thread without an idiot coming up with an unhelpful, arrogant comment!

 

[dilalio]

What a shame! We were so so close to making it through a forum thread without an idiot coming up with an unhelpful, arrogant comment!

How is it unhelpful FFS (snowflake )

You asked a question which can only be answered by the engineers "when they visit the site" and assess what methods are needed to address the problem.

And wipes down a sewer are a big no-no... Even a teensy-weensy one, once in a blue moon!

So, what a shame... another idiot who doesn't want to listen to advice from someone with the experience

 

[Hugh Jaleak]

It doesn't take many wipes to cause an issue, they dont disintegrate, (at all), and will catch on any lip or edge in the drain, soon building up enough to help cause an issue. Not saying it is wipes causing the issue, but if you're seeing them, it indicates they are present!

Given all the foul drainage above ground seems to be at the back, it is unlikely, (although not impossible), the drains run along the front. Quite possible the chambers you see along the front are for the rainwater drainage from the front gutters. You really need to check neighbouring rear gardens and see if they have a chamber, (if every other house has one, chances are you do). Metal detectors are one method of locating a cover, another common method is running a CCTV camera up the run from a downstream manhole, this not only will show any chamber appearing on the line, but also gives distance along to make locating it a lot easier.

You only option it seems is to wait for UU to come and have a look. Given the effort they seem to make on every job after watching their performances on the TV recently, I can only assume they wont clear the blockage, find any hidden chambers, CCTV the entire run, and explain in great detail their findings whilst drinking copious cups of tea.

Jetting is the most common way of cleaning/unblocking sewers these days, but rods still have their place.

 

[MarcMCFC1986]

It doesn't take many wipes to cause an issue, they dont disintegrate, (at all), and will catch on any lip or edge in the drain, soon building up enough to help cause an issue. Not saying it is wipes causing the issue, but if you're seeing them, it indicates they are present!

Given all the foul drainage above ground seems to be at the back, it is unlikely, (although not impossible), the drains run along the front. Quite possible the chambers you see along the front are for the rainwater drainage from the front gutters. You really need to check neighbouring rear gardens and see if they have a chamber, (if every other house has one, chances are you do). Metal detectors are one method of locating a cover, another common method is running a CCTV camera up the run from a downstream manhole, this not only will show any chamber appearing on the line, but also gives distance along to make locating it a lot easier.

You only option it seems is to wait for UU to come and have a look. Given the effort they seem to make on every job after watching their performances on the TV recently, I can only assume they wont clear the blockage, find any hidden chambers, CCTV the entire run, and explain in great detail their findings whilst drinking copious cups of tea.

Jetting is the most common way of cleaning/unblocking sewers these days, but rods still have their place.

Thank you for letting me know.

It's odd that the smell seems to have disappeared now that the blockage has got worse.

 

[MarcMCFC1986]

How is it unhelpful FFS (snowflake )

You asked a question which can only be answered by the engineers "when they visit the site" and assess what methods are needed to address the problem.

And wipes down a sewer are a big no-no... Even a teensy-weensy one, once in a blue moon!

So, what a shame... another idiot who doesn't want to listen to advice from someone with the experience

Far from a snowflake - just wanted to know what possible action they may take on arrival, as kindly explained by Hugh Jaleak, as I don't want to waste their time by bringing them out if they are planning on asking me where the manhole is and I can't tell them.

And, with this site being called 'DIY', the number of people who come on here and tell me to just call a plumber etc. suggests they don't understand what DIY actually means. I want to learn what to do, how to do it etc. And a response of 'They'll do whatever they need to' teaches me nothing.

 

[Hugh Jaleak]

Any smell from the upstairs, unless coming from the WC, wont be anything to do with the drains directly, they are sealed off with by the gulley's. More likely to be a build up of dried gunk in the waste pipes and/or hopper outside. Good dose of bleach once a week helps. Hoppers were actually banned for taking grey water drainage from bathrooms etc, for the very reason they are unsanitary, all modern installations have the wastes connected directly to a stack or the drain.

Please let us know how you get on with UU, always interesting to find out the result in these situations.

 

[SpecialK]

Borrow a metal detector and go looking for a manhole cover under the patio?

 

[dilalio]

And a response of 'They'll do whatever they need to' teaches me nothing.

But maybe you'll learn something when you see what they do

 

[HERTS P&D]

And stop flushing the wipes.

Completely disagree, keep chucking all baby wipes, face wipes, makeup wipes and even toilet wipes down the toilet. The more the merrier and I'll see you soon. .

Andy

 

[dilalio]

Completely disagree, keep chucking all baby wipes, face wipes, makeup wipes and even toilet wipes down the toilet. The more the merrier and I'll see you soon. .

Andy

And, when you're done Andy, where will you chuck these...

 

[MarcMCFC1986]

Please let us know how you get on with UU, always interesting to find out the result in these situations.

United Utilities were at my house for 5 hours today, 8.30am to 1.30pm. Turns out somewhere between my house and my neighbours house tree roots have got into the drains, hence why my drains were blocked and hers weren’t.

Fortunately the blockage is on the neighbours side of the fence, so they won’t need to dig up my garden to fix it.

 

[oldbutnotdead]

Well that's a result (ish). Be prepared for a bill if the blocked section is only serving your house (it doesn't become shared until it joins the run from the next place)

 

[HERTS P&D]

Glad they found the blockage.......................................but 5hrs? Looks like someone dragged the job out.

Andy