Blocked drain in back garden

[OM2]

someone has recommended putting bleach down the drain
will this work? they told me to put a few bottles of domestos down there

this sounds a better first measure than using caustic sod?

question: i know this might sound REALLY silly... but is it a good idea to pour down liquid or at least something that will effect grease?

the way i see it, these things are made to unclog grease - therefore pouring down this formula would be a good alternative to bleach or caustic soda?

would appreciate some replies on this point

thanks

 

[TonyW2]

Bleach does not dissolve grease. It has a disinfectant action.

If a main drain is blocked with grease or debris, then there is nothing that will just dissolve it and clear the drain..
Some physical movement of the obstruction will be needed.

Is this a troll??? Nobody could live with a blocked drain for so long. (Could they???)

 

[OM2]

tony, thanks for the reply
NOT a troll (edit: i've notched up 163 posts here!)
lol

YES: i have lived with the problem all this time
not needing to go to the garden helps!
it's been freeezing prior to today
today was 16 degrees so i ventured out

i'm still scratching my head what to do

bleach: someone told me that it solved their problem when they had a blockage for their sink (OK - so not quite the same thing!) and where suggesting this as a result

 

[OM2]

i've been looking at a snake thingy - would this be any help?
i mentioned this in my original post
i know it's for sinks - but is there any harm in trying?
only costs £2 on ebay?

 

[OM2]

i went to the local diy shop
they recommended some acid - stronger than caustic acid (think thats what its called)

i poured half the bottle in
guess what came up???

half of the damn mop head i was shoving down there yesterday!!!
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!
who was it that told me to use the mop.....!!!!
lol

problem still there - water not gone down
i'll pour the other half down there in a while

 

[Trazor]

i went to the local diy shop
they recommended some acid - stronger than caustic acid (think thats what its called)

This will be the acid that I recommended 3 weeks ago.........

 

[OM2]

i went to the local diy shop
they recommended some acid - stronger than caustic acid (think thats what its called)

This will be the acid that I recommended 3 weeks ago.........

oooh... oh...
sorry
should have listened
i've poured the remaining half in now - that was 90 min ago
i had another look - water doesn't seem to have gone down

will look at again tmrw

 

[TonyW2]

Caustic soda (not acid) is a (corrosive and dangerous) alkali, which in strong solution will dissolve grease.
Sulphuric acid (equally corrosive and dangerous) in a strong solution will dissolve flesh (eg meat residue, and possibly cotton mop heads).The drain from the gulley entry upto the blockage will contain (dirty) water.
The amount of water will depend on the distance to the blockage.
The effective concentration of any chemical tipped into the drain will depend on the dilution.
Is it likely that an effective concentration will be achieved? I don't think so, except in a kitchen sink U bend situation.

Hot water will raise the temperature of any water to which it is added and at sufficiently high temp, grease would melt. How much hot water would be required to mix with and raise the temp of a drain full of earth cold water.
Plunging with a mop (or similar) would have an hydraulic hammering action on the blockage, provided the drain is sealed and the compressed water could not move elsewhere. That might clear the blockage, but might compact it.
Wiggly wire " things" if supported by a narrow drain wall will poke gently at small blockages (sink bends)--they will not transfer much oomph down a 6inch sewer pipe. (Try pushing string)
Rod it, power jet it, or start digging.
PS There are also some specially trained ferrets with diving equipment that are able to undertake this work.

 

[HERTS P&D]

Get it jetted out!

Andy

 

[OM2]

Caustic soda (not acid) is a (corrosive and dangerous) alkali, which in strong solution will dissolve grease.
Sulphuric acid (equally corrosive and dangerous) in a strong solution will dissolve flesh (eg meat residue, and possibly cotton mop heads).The drain from the gulley entry upto the blockage will contain (dirty) water.
The amount of water will depend on the distance to the blockage.
The effective concentration of any chemical tipped into the drain will depend on the dilution.
Is it likely that an effective concentration will be achieved? I don't think so, except in a kitchen sink U bend situation.

Hot water will raise the temperature of any water to which it is added and at sufficiently high temp, grease would melt. How much hot water would be required to mix with and raise the temp of a drain full of earth cold water.
Plunging with a mop (or similar) would have an hydraulic hammering action on the blockage, provided the drain is sealed and the compressed water could not move elsewhere. That might clear the blockage, but might compact it.
Wiggly wire " things" if supported by a narrow drain wall will poke gently at small blockages (sink bends)--they will not transfer much oomph down a 6inch sewer pipe. (Try pushing string)
Rod it, power jet it, or start digging.
PS There are also some specially trained ferrets with diving equipment that are able to undertake this work.

the guy in the diy shop said the solution he gave was stronger than caustic soda - which they also had

ferret sounds good
what would i have to feed it?
and would i have to take it for a walk every day?
i'd prefer a meerkat to be honest

 

[OM2]

Get it jetted out!

Andy

i don't have a karcher
i would need to buy a karcher as well
karcher pressure washer: quick search tells me it would cost £80 roughly for a cheap end model
then the drain pip will set me back about £60

question: how much would a drain unblocking professional service cost?

i looked up in yell
some firms say "prices starting from £21+vat"
i've seen another firm that say £95 guaranteed - not a penny more

not sure what to do
not sure what else to try before thinking of getting the experts

one option: drain cleaning rods - £16 on ebay delivered
should i at least give that a go??

 

[HERTS P&D]

Phone around and get a fixed price to unblock your gully.

This thread has gone on to long.

Andy

 

[OM2]

Phone around and get a fixed price to unblock your gully.

This thread has gone on to long.

Andy

thanks andy
i'll do that tomorrow

gone on too long - i'm guilty of making that happen - for leaving it too long

 

[OM2]

i thought i'd update: now fixed
phew

it turns out that neighbour had problem as well
he'd gone and purchased drain rods
in the day he shoved them down there - didn't fix problem

i called thames water

told them i had problem + neighbour

+ i said that 2 other neighbours were also effected - their drains seem to have damp water outside - i assumed drain had been leaking - this turned out to be a false alarm

a guy came around
in my garage there was a manhole
he lifted up - bingo
loooads of clogged water/sewage there

took him all of 5 min to fix

he was very professional + polite
was very happy to get the problem fixed - on a saturday evening
(i was concerned - since water was now coming backup the drain and spilling out)

phew
if it ever happened again... i'm pretty clued up

cost: didn't cost anything - i was really worried about being taken for a ride by a cowboy

having said that, given that the drain is shared between at least my house and the neighboars (don't know if shared by more)
who is to blame (blame is the wrong word actually)? the point of blockage was where both house exit their waste

on thames water website, they say if shared blockage, then they fix for free - but only free if it their piping (or something to that effect)

the guy also told me that the chemicals (in such a case) do nothing AFTER the blockage occcured

thank u for all the replies
(yes: i did actually leave it that long before getting fixed!)[/b]