Blocked toilet/drain

Phil_aka_Pip

amarok1971 said:

if it is your bit that is blocked then chuck a one shot drain cleaner down it, that stuff is incredible.. it even eats nappies

^ This ^

Not used it on a sewage outlet, but I love the mini explosion you get when you tip caustic soda down the sink/washbasin plughole and the pour boiling water in afterwards

Rocker

johnswiss said:

EricTheWeary said:

£3 on a toilet plunger.

£14 on a set of drain rods. Just use them thoughtfully otherwise you'll end up with sections of rod stuck in the drain. Speaking as the least DIY competent person alive even I can do this ( oddly satisfying). 

@EricTheWeary are the rods flexible enough to go down the toilet, right round the u bend and out the other side? I think it's just beyond there where the issue is.

No. Outside manhole, run a rod without any end fitting both ways. You will (usually) dislodge the blockage fairly easily.

Roland

grungebob said:

Probably the main drain outside has a blockage. 
Do any other properties drains cross your land ie is it a shared drain, if so local water company has to fix for you for gratis. 

First step is to check the external drain outside the property. If that is blocked then it’s a water company problem and, since it’s caused sewage flooding within your property you will get an emergency response. Ask me how I know. 

If if not then work backwards, checking each access point. 

I wouldnt use chemicals. If they don’t sort the problem, which they won’t if it’s not a grease build up, then they make matters worse. If left because the block is not cleared then they can erode clay pipes. 

57Deluxe

you can hire drain rods etc from a tool hire

shuikit

Legionreturns said:

You could try (carefully) sending a caustic soda mix down. Be aware it'll melt a lot of things once mixed with water, so make a solutionin a Pyrex jug and pour it down

This!!

I do this every now and again down the bath/shower drain when it starts to slow down.  Apparently it's a mix of hair and hair conditioner that clogs up most bath/shower drains.  I make up a bit of solution, fill the bath with water, give it 15mins or so then drain the water.  Works great and caustic soda is cheap!  

boogieman

Roland said:

grungebob said:

Probably the main drain outside has a blockage. 
Do any other properties drains cross your land ie is it a shared drain, if so local water company has to fix for you for gratis. 

First step is to check the external drain outside the property. If that is blocked then it’s a water company problem and, since it’s caused sewage flooding within your property you will get an emergency response. Ask me how I know. 

If if not then work backwards, checking each access point. 

I wouldnt use chemicals. If they don’t sort the problem, which they won’t if it’s not a grease build up, then they make matters worse. If left because the block is not cleared then they can erode clay pipes. 

All the drains inside the property boundary are the responsibility of the home owner. The water company is only responsible for the main sewer pipe work, so I don’t think they’d clear any blockage inside the house boundary. Or they might, but they’ll charge you for it. 

As others have said, the first job is to lift any manhole covers outside the house and see what’s blocked and where. If you can bear rodding out a pipe-full of shite yourself, you’ll save a load of money on a call out charge to DynoRod. It’s not a particularly difficult job, just a nasty one. 

Roland

Yeah, but you need to eliminate the possibility that the blockage is outside the boundary

Emp_Fab

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8Qt95KUOX_8

shrinkwrap

There's a wire spring type thing you can get for putting down loos - about 2 metres of sprung wire, around 10 mm diameter and a sort of crank twister handle. Good for pulling out paper blockages and goes round every corner, so you can poke it up down pipes as well. Wickes have them.http://www.wickes.co.uk/Wickes-Flexible-Coil-Drain-Cleaner---4-65m/p/500594

shrinkwrap

dbl post

johnswiss

shrinkwrap said:

Wickes drain thing: http://www.wickes.co.uk/Wickes-Flexible-Coil-Drain-Cleaner---4-65m/p/500594

Just bought some rods, but that looks like it might suit the job better. Apparently Mrs Swiss was telling me about these earlier - I wasnt listening!

johnswiss

Thanks for all the great advice and tips guys. Hoping I can DIY it and not get too covered in the brown stuff in the process. This place has some strange drainage features I know, original bits are 1890 with a few later add ons. Man hole is on the other side of the neighbours property and quite a way away.

west

Had this very problem today , 4 private houses with a drain on each drive , in the past our responability , neighbour called severn trent who sent dynorod , who cleared them for free , the cause was wet wipes and they took a photo and pushed dont block yer drain leaflets through the letterbox  , we were told the is some charge on the water bill to account for this , of course nobody uses wet wipes , yeah right lol ...

grungebob

boogieman said:

Roland said:

grungebob said:

Probably the main drain outside has a blockage. 
Do any other properties drains cross your land ie is it a shared drain, if so local water company has to fix for you for gratis. 

First step is to check the external drain outside the property. If that is blocked then it’s a water company problem and, since it’s caused sewage flooding within your property you will get an emergency response. Ask me how I know. 

If if not then work backwards, checking each access point. 

I wouldnt use chemicals. If they don’t sort the problem, which they won’t if it’s not a grease build up, then they make matters worse. If left because the block is not cleared then they can erode clay pipes. 

All the drains inside the property boundary are the responsibility of the home owner. The water company is only responsible for the main sewer pipe work, so I don’t think they’d clear any blockage inside the house boundary. Or they might, but they’ll charge you for it. 

As others have said, the first job is to lift any manhole covers outside the house and see what’s blocked and where. If you can bear rodding out a pipe-full of shite yourself, you’ll save a load of money on a call out charge to DynoRod. It’s not a particularly difficult job, just a nasty one. 

Not true. If the drains are serviced by more than one household it’s a water authority problem. Laws changed 2012. 

spark240

Did you get it sorted?....

johnswiss

spark240 said:

Did you get it sorted?....

My wife is picking up one of those flexible coil drain cleaners tomorrow so I'm going to start with that when she's back

shrinkwrap

grungebob said:

Not true. If the drains are serviced by more than one household it’s a water authority problem. Laws changed 2012. 

What grungebob said - though I beleive it only refers to older buildings, pre 1930 or something - but sounds like a job for your water board - Thames do ours for free as its shared over 4 properties - we have the man hole, but the lowest house has the blockage pong.

johnswiss

Well, this morning the blockage has completely cleared by itself. I might have hoped for a partial breakthrough but it's gone from completely blocked to completely unblocked.
Can't help but think the power of the collective thoughts of Fretboarders made this so. In light of this about 30k would be really handy in my life right now - and so your collective thoughts on this would be appreciated too.

johnswiss

EricTheWeary said:

Sat on the loo at work flicking through drain rod videos on YouTube. I never thought my life would turn out like this...

They all seem to show roughly the same thing. There's probably an instruction leaflet with the rods anyway.

Good luck. 

@EricTheWeary this act alone played a big part I think in the great unblocking miracle of 2018!

Jalapeno

You must be flushed by a sense of relief !