blocked drain

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8 May 2012
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It's hard to explain and difficult to get a picture of with it being under our decking.

Anyway I have a blocked drain where the downpipe from the gutter goes through the decking into what I think is a trap. I climbed under the decking yesterday with my head torch on and had a look. The downpipe was somehow filled with the most ridiculous amount of soil (god knows where it's come from) so I managed to clear it out and got soaked. The trap however was still filled with water. I've tried putting my hand in but can't seem to find out where it's blocked.

Do the traps have a U bend to stop the smell or is it just a straight in a down?

Does anyone know if a bleach or similar would dissolve the dirt
 
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It's hard to explain and difficult to get a picture of with it being under our decking.

Anyway I have a blocked drain where the downpipe from the gutter goes through the decking into what I think is a trap. I climbed under the decking yesterday with my head torch on and had a look. The downpipe was somehow filled with the most ridiculous amount of soil (god knows where it's come from) so I managed to clear it out and got soaked. The trap however was still filled with water. I've tried putting my hand in but can't seem to find out where it's blocked.

Do the traps have a U bend to stop the smell or is it just a straight in a down?

Does anyone know if a bleach or similar would dissolve the dirt

A trap is a U bend! - On a combined drainage system there should be a trap. On a separate system the "Storm" drain does not need a trap where a rainwater pipe is connected. Where a Trap is fitted it would usually be very close to ground level. So you should be able to scoop out any blockage.Typical clay trap

The rubbish (soil) comes from algae, moss, dead leaves, twigs etc. Depending on your location a yearly clear out may be required especially with trees local.

Bleech would be a waste of time. Time to get your hands dirty again! Once clear jetting the trap with a good jet from a hose pipe will help flush away any residual debris. If you can't unblock it then rodding back from a manhole may be possible except that access on storm drains is usually pretty poor so rodding may not be possible
 
Cheers for that. I did have a rake around with my hand but couldn't seem to find the bend. It will have to wait until Saturday now, but I'll have a good look.

Does caustic soda do anything
 
Does caustic soda do anything
I would doubt it - Remember the pipe is 100mm diameter so that is a serious amount of stuff to shift. The usual solutions are scoop out by hand, rodding or jetting (power jet). Rodding unfortunately won't clear a trap, just the pipe leading to it
 
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When you say there is water in it do you mean it doesn't clear if you add more? Traps are of course meant to have water in them. What does the down pipe come from? Could it just be a bodge and not connected to anything?
 
well climbed under earlier and managed to get it cleared. I think the reason why I was confused was it was a trap as such, it was a normal pipe with a black plastic insert to make the trap.

Cheers for the help Jacka
 

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