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| Thread ID: 60296 | 2005-07-28 00:40:00 | Down and dirty in drains | Laura (43) | PC World Chat |
| Post ID | Timestamp | Content | User | ||
| 376263 | 2005-07-28 00:40:00 | This is a reaallly basic question... life in the raw, you might say... I have a blocked drainpipe. This is an old house & the blocked section carries both the bathwater & toilet sewage - which is now creeping rather than flowing. I'm here by myself considering options. As this has happened in the past, I know some of the old solutions. They've ranged from hiring draintape for a clear-it-yourself, digging up a section of pipe & clearing tree roots which had cracked/blocked it & mending broken bits with special waterproof sealing stuff. But my part usually consisted of keeping out of the way while Mr Laura did the job. The logical thing now would be to call in a tradesman, but my plumber doesn't do drains & the drainlayer I know is away. Also, I suspect this isn't a tree-root-type major blockage - more a solid-chunks-of-toilet-paper one (Small people visited recently & the stock went down suspiciously fast) No, I'm not planning to dig things up myself, but my question is: Does anyone have experience of any product I can pour into it to help clear? Seem to remember people used caustic soda or somesuch once - but no doubt this is now environmentally unsound & possibly illegal? I've established that the blockage is further along the pipe than just between the toilet & exterior drain, so it's an outside problem - with unfortunate inside results. So bring on your jokes (Yes, I know it's a perfect subject) and with luck I may get some useful advice among them. |
Laura (43) | ||
| 376264 | 2005-07-28 01:23:00 | Caustic Soda is definatley a good option if the problem is as simple as effluent blockage (legalities - what people dont know dont hurt!) . Failing that you may want to contact the local sewage/stromwater contractor and they may be able to rod your drain (stick lengths of rods down the drain to clear the blockage), this may cost you however. Prior to that you may want to contact the council to ensure it isn't a problem with the sewer main outside your house, which in this case is their problem not yours. Ask your neighbours if they have similar problems. Veale |
Veale (536) | ||
| 376265 | 2005-07-28 01:27:00 | Do we not have Draino in NZ?, they marketed it heavily in Aus. You can get the rods froms any Hire Centre, no need to pay someone to do it, or just ram your garden house down the drain, if its not robust enough to move the blockage along then turn the sucker on full..... |
Metla (12) | ||
| 376266 | 2005-07-28 01:48:00 | It can be a problem alright, been having blocked drains periodically now since we moved into this house 28 years ago, and so did the previous owner. A lot depends upon what sort of access to the sewer pipe you have. If it's via a manhole then rods will be ok. If it's by way of a drain that your waste bath/sink water runs into, then there is the problem of getting rods around the S trap. I use a plunger, and it has always worked...eventually. Our problem is probably where the sewer pipe turns through 90°. It should have a sump and inspection cover there, but the job must have been done on the cheap. |
Terry Porritt (14) | ||
| 376267 | 2005-07-28 02:00:00 | terry, you definitely do not want a sump on your sewar line, stormwater yes, poo no. What you do want is a cleaning eye (no Metla, not a brown eye) which should be installed at all junctions and sharp changes in direction/fall. Laura, take it easy if you intend pocking a hose down there. If the blockage is stubborn you'll be inspecting the backlog more closely than you really want to be if you chuck lots of water down there. If it doesn't look like succeeding, back off, get the plunger out and go to town with that, follow up with the hose, repeat. If no go after several attempts, get local drain man in. |
Murray P (44) | ||
| 376268 | 2005-07-28 02:07:00 | Yes you can get drano here...... we use it regularly to keep the showers and sinks clear from lots of unknown use by customers.....it works well and it manages to cut through the water, wont be instant success but it will so some help. Caustic soda seems to work to. plunger and hose idea sounds lots of work, got gloves Laura??? :yuck: Any luck yet Laura? beetle |
beetle (243) | ||
| 376269 | 2005-07-28 02:13:00 | Caustic soda is normally used to unblock drains that are blocked by congealed fat. The caustic dissolves in the water, generating heat which melts the plug of fat and also may react with it (to form soap) to soften the blockage. I don't think it will help with paper/sewage blocks. |
user (1404) | ||
| 376270 | 2005-07-28 02:21:00 | Caustic Soda will do great. Mix it up in a bucket and pour down the bath drain and flush down the loo. Repeat it a few times in rapid succession. | Greg (193) | ||
| 376271 | 2005-07-28 02:25:00 | Agree with the above suggestions . Draino so far as I know contains caustic soda (sodium hydroxide) . Keep off your skin . I'd try plunging the toilet and basin first, then run warm water and Draino into the system . The warm water gives energy to the caustic soda and excites it to do a good job . Beyond that, you can attach a hose to a water blaster and go to town - but as Murray warns - wear some old clothes . Available from hire firms . But really Laura, if you have to hire stuff, you are better to get a drainlayer in to do the job properly . Is this in Central Otago or Dunedin? |
Winston001 (3612) | ||
| 376272 | 2005-07-28 02:32:00 | Laura, take it easy if you intend pocking a hose down there. If the blockage is stubborn you'll be inspecting the backlog more closely than you really want to be if you chuck lots of water down there. This is best learned by experience....Muhahahaha. |
Metla (12) | ||
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