Answers requested about a repeated drain blockage

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Lancashire
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Hello, household wizards:
This is a longish tome, so I hope that you will have the patience to read through. It will be kept as short as the full story will permit...

After being in the same house for thirty-two years, during the last four years, our outside drain (the one that the kitchen sink and the bath, discharges into, as well as the soil pipe, lower down the chain of waste than these) has been blocked five times. Each time, I have needed to fork out what, to a pensioner, are colossal sums of money to have it cleared (except for the last two times, by a pressure hose). There has never been any trouble with the loo. It has never thrown back, and always flushes well.

I believe that we are careful about keeping grease from going into the sink to enter the drain. We do not use washing powder — only a non-fatty solution — and the bits of food, from plates, that are washed down the sink, are fairly minimal. Yet, the drain keeps backing up.

Less than a fortnight ago, it blocked again and this time, I was lucky, in that, instead of a pressure hose, this firm used a drain-plunger on a five-foot rod, and this gave me the first indication that perhaps I could solve my own blockage problems (it would not have been possible for me to buy a pressure hose, and besides, I have heard that it is risky to use these, as they can damage the drain). I ordered a professional quality drain plunger (up to now, it has not arrived). Today, within ten days of being cleared, it was blocked again! Luckily, it was within the 14-day guarantee period, so the same firm plunged it again, and now it flows freely (for how long, I don’t know, seeing that ten days ago, it was cleared, and also flowed freely).

I expect that, by the time a further blockage occurs, I shall be in possession of my drain plunger. However, if past history is anything to go by, this kind of thing may keep on happening (if it blocked so soon after being cleared, it can soon block again, since I cannot see, or gain any access to, anything beyond the first bend of the gully. (And there are two bends to the gully, before it discharges into the main pipe, aren’t there?)

I would love either to be a millionaire, and be able to afford to call out professional drain-cleaners,, to hire engineers to really sort this problem, or otherwise, to have x-ray eyes, so as to find out what could cause such early blockages. However, even if I did have x-ray eyes, I would be unable to do anything about the cause of the blockages — I have tried, and it is a cold, wet, dirty job. Also, my arms neither will go round the two bends, nor are they long enough, even if they could bend like that. At 82, I feel that I am past this, anyway.

I have seen advertised flexible drain-rod sets that will go into a drain for about thirty feet or more. There is even a wheel attachment, which facilitates the negotiation, by the first rod, of the bends in the pipe. However, what could this do? (see below)

Against this background information, my questions are as follows:

1) What could cause such an early blockage as we have experienced so soon after the drain being cleared (I mean, given that we are so careful with grease and bits)?

2) If, as I suspect, the cause of these blockages is a “collar” of grease/fat that may have built up after the first bend in the gully drain (i.e. at the top of the trap, where it would naturally gather, being on top of the water in the trap), and that never fully is cleared by plunger-pressure, and therefore quickly thickens and collects new waste (and finally, blocks the pipe at this point), what on earth can be done, to shift it completely?? I have tried using caustic soda, but later learned that this makes grease harder to shift, as it turns it into something like soap. So, caustic soda is out.

3) Given that I may be able to obtain a set of drain-rods with a wheel attachment, what could the first rod (the one with the wheel attachment) do, to clear an obstruction of any kind — that is, apart from punching a small hole in it, perhaps? Why are these wheel attachments sold, if all they do is make it easy for a rod only to get round a bend?

If someone could consider all the information given above, and my questions, I should be very grateful for answers and advice.

I ought to add that our neighbour, who has been in the adjoining semi for sixty years, has NEVER had a drain blockage. So she tells me!
 
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Firstly is the drain solely your own - or does it join your neighbours at some point . You see if it's shared your local sewerage company will own it ( since 2011 I think ) and are responsible for clearing it . I would call them and see if they will come and look at it for you. There should be no charge to look.Make sure you tell them your age.;)
 
Firstly is the drain solely your own - or does it join your neighbours at some point . You see if it's shared your local sewerage company will own it ( since 2011 I think ) and are responsible for clearing it . I would call them and see if they will come and look at it for you. There should be no charge to look.Make sure you tell them your age.;)
Nige: (Bearing in mind that I live in the UK), I'm surprised to hear that the local sewerage company owns it (they are always sending me offers to insure my drains). Yes, at a point on private ground (ours), the neighbour's drain joins the main pipe under our garden, and it empties in a manhole on our ground that is the responsibility of seven residents, including us (at least, it was our joint responsibility in 1982, when we bought this house. They all had to pay towards its restoration, as the brickwork was in a bad way). The common pipe, into which the seven rainwater outlets empty (I'm not sure about their sewage, except for our next-door neighbour), is still on our land, though it is near to the boundary. However, much as I would like Utilities to be responsible and put it right, I am sure that this blocking up is only inches away from our house-wall, where the gully grid is. I think that they would tell me that I must clear it at my own expense. However, I will enquire, and thanks for the suggestion.
 
Nige is right. I work for another Water Company, and indeed, the law changed in 2011, to bring most drains under the responsibility of the Water Companies. Basically, any shared drain, or a drain serving one property, from where it passes under the boundary into a neighbouring property, is now the responsibility of the water Company providing the sewerage services. It would be worth a call to see if they can help you.

Of course they'll also be happy to take (more) money from you to insure your drains, they rely on ignorance and fear to persuade people into parting with money to cover what little drainage they are, as householders, now responsible for, in the rare event there may be a problem.

However, this does bother me as far as if there was a build up of soap or grease, I would have expected the high pressure jet to have removed it, (unless they let the hose fly down the pipe, allowing it to pierce the blockage, rather than blast it off the wall of the pipe). Which may lead to the fact by using a plunger, this is sufficient to remove the centre of the 'plug' where the jet has previously penetrated, but not the entire problem. CCTV may be the answer here to see what is going on, if the water co cant (or wont) help, I would ring round a few companies and get a fixed price to get it looked at. Avoid the Franchised companies, unfortunately with the change in the law, I suspect their business has been rather hit, and they were never known for their cheap prices beforehand anyway....

High pressure jetting can incur risks, (I have been on several courses as part of ongoing training), and it is not recommended for DIYers. Damage to the drain, or worse, yourself, is a risk, and even we get it wrong sometimes. Having blown someones toilet recently, we were sent on a course on how not to blow toilets. Only to be told it can happen, and even with taking all the recommended precautions, it can still happen..... (Hereby lies a lesson for all on the importance of not replacing open vented stacks with Air Admittance Valve's!)
 
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Nige is right. I work for another Water Company, and indeed, the law changed in 2011, to bring most drains under the responsibility of the Water Companies. Basically, any shared drain, or a drain serving one property, from where it passes under the boundary into a neighbouring property, is now the responsibility of the water Company providing the sewerage services. It would be worth a call to see if they can help you.

Hugh: thanks for reinforcing what Nige told me. I certainly will look into this. I didn't know whether Nige lived in the UK or not, so this led to some doubt. However, after my stating that I do, and hearing what you say, I am convinced. It's expected, though, that they will try to fob me off with some eyewash reason. I wish someone could tell me, though, what fitting a wheel attachment to a drain rod will gain, in the sense of clearing a blockage.
A.W.
 
I'm in East Sussex;) and I've never worked out what use that small wheel is for - since I started plumbing in 1972.
Nige: Thanks for your latest comment. About the wheel, it seems as if, finally, the light has dawned (though this is only guesswork; also, it exposes what seems to have been faulty reasoning on my part, in the first place). I was under the impression that, with the wheel attached, it would be possible to push a flexible drain rod or rods downwards from the grid end of the drain, round the first bend and round the top bend (in other words, to negotiate the trap). It seems clear, now, that drain rods cannot bend as much as that. So, I would surmise that the wheel is for when you need to enter the drain with the rod/s, from an open end of the drain (i.e. from the end opposite to the gully grid — perhaps from a manhole). The drain might not be absolutely straight but have a (not too severe) bend in it. The wheel would enable the end of the rod to easily negotiate such a bend. Even with a wheel attached, a rod is not much, to clear a drain such as this, but it would be better than having no access at all. I now see that my earlier idea of going round two bends in the gully trap is laughable. However, if you have no experience of these things, wrong ideas are bound to surface.
 
The problems could be :- plant roots growing through cracks in the pipe, likely to be at the mortar joints. Some one disposing of non suitable material down the toilet (wet wipes as an example). Or the complete fracture of a drain, caused by bad modifications or earth movement.
You must first of all map out where the drains run and locate any manholes and lift the covers. The angle of the gulley should show you the pipe run. There is always a possibility of a manhole cover being covered over. In my last house, our drains joined our neighbours drains under the centre of their lawn. We also had a very shallow manhole under our tarmaced path.
Frank
 
The problems could be :- plant roots growing through cracks in the pipe, likely to be at the mortar joints. Some one disposing of non suitable material down the toilet (wet wipes as an example). Or the complete fracture of a drain, caused by bad modifications or earth movement.
You must first of all map out where the drains run and locate any manholes and lift the covers. The angle of the gulley should show you the pipe run. There is always a possibility of a manhole cover being covered over. In my last house, our drains joined our neighbours drains under the centre of their lawn. We also had a very shallow manhole under our tarmaced path.
Frank
Thanks for your comments, Frank. Years ago, when we had block paving done, and later, when laying an electric cable under the ground, to the works-hed at the bottom of the garden, I saw the layout of the pipes. However, thankfully, these blockages are in the part of the pipe immediately under the grid outside the kitchen wall — i.e. near or in the trap, seeing that a plunger always clears them — for a while, at least. By the way, it seems that there will be no help from the utility company, because I have discovered that they are responsible only for the pipes on one's property after a union with another property's drain, which union is about four feet away from our grid. Besides, the loo always flushes well, and there are never any blockages as far as that is concerned. I am a bit concerned about what you say, though, about wet wipes. We regularly use wet wipes in conjunction with dry toilet tissue. The size of these is not much, but are these a risk, then, for drains? Why would they be sold, if they are?
 
The problem with wet wipes is that they don't disintegrate when flushed. I have a colleague who owns a commercial drainage company and says that more that half of domestic blockages they attend are due to baby-wipe/wet-wipe type products.

The old maxim - only the three P's should go down a toilet. Paper & P... & P..... - I'll let you complete the maxim!
 
The only thing that should go down the toilet is, toilet paper and what comes out of us!. Wet wipes, toilet wipes, baby wipe, make-up wipes will always block-up a drain line/manhole.

Phone up you water provider and get them out, if for any reason they will not clear the blockage then phone around for a 'fixed cleared price'. I would charge you £90 if you were local to me to give you an idea. Don't phone large companies as they charge by the 1/2 hr and have a charge for the machinery use.

Also I have been out to many householders who have used drain rods and got them stuck, which was another charge to me to remove them.

Good Luck.
 
Wet wipes down a pipe will always be a problem until they are removed. You can dislodge them and get free flow, but it only needs the edge of one to curl upwards and it will start catching things. . .
Our shared manhole flooded right over its top. I bailed it out (nice task) and removed over 20 wet wipes from the soup. In the end I used a large piece of 1" square mesh as a filter over my 3 drums. Once it was cleaned up a bit, I removed the 6" rodding eye into the 6" drain and this seemed clear. Poured the soup back down the manhole, watching out for splashes. My neighbour felt so guilty about the affair, though not admitting it was she who used the ******** wetwipes, gave me a bottle of scotch. It helped to take the taste away.
Frank
 
The manufacturers of these wipes market them as 'flushable', which they are, so far as they'll disappear around the U bend when the chain is pulled on the toilet. However, they are made of seemingly one of the toughest materials known to man, as they simply do not break down once in the system. Those that do find their way through to the treatment works are screened out on arrival, and sent for landfill. Its those that dont that cause the problem....

These wipes bind together, and clog pipes, valves, and pumps. Net result is something like this...
_53017382_sewage1.jpg
 

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