Quick respite for your families obstructed drains and advice on how to unblock drains.

Do you know what the best way to unblock drains is? Using a plunger is the most effective and fastest way to solve this common household problem. What’s involved is very clear, cover the drain pipe with the plunger and push to have the best chance to unblock drains. But remember you should avoid applying unnecessarily too much force to the plunger when pulsating it up and down. To ensure that the plunger works effectively, wholly cover the drain pipe with its bell-shaped head, and gently push it down once, and immediately come up, so that suction is created. In theory the suction created by pulling up quickly will dislodge the material that is clogging your bathtub, toilet or sink. Note that some tubs and sinks are fitted with overflow holes that must be closed with a sponge or wet towel before proceeding with the plunger.

You could use a drainage clearance chemical that is designed to break down the material instead of the more conventional plunger to unblock drains. However this option should be used only after you have tried to use the plunger to unclog your drainpipe. Let the chemicals stay in the drainage pipe for some time and then wash them out with hot water, do this slowly to ensure that the water is flowing away. Because these chemicals can be corrosive or contain bleach you should only wear clothes that you are happy to be damaged when you unblock drains. Putting on eye cover will be a good idea if you intend to plunge again and prevent the splattering of left over chemicals into your eye. Also remember to read and follow the manufacturer’s instructions carefully so that you do not create new problems.

The next thing to unblock drains you can attempt to use if your plunger is ineffective is to loosen the nuts holding the P-trap in place with pliers or a pipe wrench. This will create quite a mess so be ready with a towel and pail. In order to avoid scratching the chrome surface of your pipes while at the same time getting a tight hold up them, you can cover the metal jaws of your wrench with electrical tape. After you have removed the P-trap, clean it thoroughly to eradicate any solid material that may be blocking the pipe opening. If you don’t find anything on the P-trap, then it means that the problem lies deeper somewhere between the trap and soil stack.

A deep clog in the toilet can be loosened by a toilet auger. If you are attempting to unblock drains and clean the drainage of your tub or sink, you should use a drain snake. Plumbers drainpipe snakes have been specifically designed to enter deep into the narrow pipes. A plumbers drain snake has an adjustable handle which is used to make a drill into the clog, it then becomes easy to remove the obstruction by pulling it upwards. When you are sure that all the clogging material is cleared, replace the P-trap and test the drainpipe with hot water. Make certain the whole thing is tightly closed and check for any leakage in the P-trap and ensure that the water flows well.

If the drainpipe is still blocked after all these measures, or if you need to unblock drains chronically, employ a competent plumber or drainage contractor to fix it. Some common problems that are beyond the capabilities of the common homeowner are blockages in the soil stack or the sewer service by tree roots or even a collapsed pipe which could be the result of old age or deterioration of the pipes because of Mother Nature or an unforeseen Act of God.

The recommended approach to unblock drains at home or in a business.

Drains when clogged, serve to be the most difficult problem of all the household emergencies and there is a need to be able to unblock drains. Like many emergencies, there is often no warning before they occur. A stinky home, flooded floors and power knocked out – these are the worst scenarios that can be caused by stubborn drains. Blocked drains can also effect your business prospects by cutting down on the sales and productivity and reducing the number of customers.

Being able to unblock drains is important. Prevention is always better than cure and here are some steps you can take to prevent blocked drainage caused by structural kinks or foreign matter:.

Keep a habit of removing any trapped hairs from the drain plug immediately.

Small sized objects like combs, medicine bottles and toilet rolls should be carefully placed to prevent their accidental slipping into the toilet.

Regularly flush the wash basin and bath or shower pipework with hot water and a disinfectant to clear soap residue and prevent build up over time.

Dont flush away large and disposable items such as sanitary towels, nappies or product wrapping as they can become caught in the drainage pipe.

Instead of disposing the waste food scraps and cuttings down the drain they can rather be used as a compost.

You should not try too hard to pull out any vegetable material that might have fallen into the plug hole to unblock drains for it can worsen the blockage.

Fats used in cooking should never be put down the drainpipe, as they become hard when they make contact with cold water. If you have no alternative means of disposal, mix the fats with detergent and hot water to cause their dilution and emulsification to unblock drains. After flushing the drain, run the tap for sometime, at least a minute, to ensure that there are no more blocked materials.

Many regular maintenance activities are available to lower the chances of blocked drains.

Rain downpipes and roof gutters are prone to getting blocked so they should be checked at least two times in a year.

Use a trowel to remove unwanted debris and leaves when working at a height to unblock drains or gutters.

Making sure that the drains are free flowing on a regular basis is important and this can be done by lifting the inspection covers and making sure that they are easily accessible.

Make sure that garden matter, such as leaves or moss, are kept out of the outside drainage grids.

As with the internal drains you should regularly wash external drains with hot water and disinfectant.

Technology like a CCTV drain inspection service can be implemented to decide the best approach to unblock drains, especially if you are running a business, to monitor the drainage systems on a regular basis ensuring complete freedom from worries. Such an inspection will indicate sludge buildup in the pipework if any, and also inform you of the structural condition of the drainage system.

The obligatory approach for unblocking your drains

Amongst the worst kinds of household emergencies are the ones related to blocked drains. Similar to other household emergencies, they just occur unexpectedly. The worst aspect of a drains problem however is that it can cause unpleasant odours, result in flooding of your home and loss of power. Drainage problems can loose customers for a business and demotivate employees thereby severely affecting business output, sales and income.

Listed below are some easy steps you can take to minimize the chance of a drain becoming blocked, whether due to the introduction of foreign object or a structural fault.

The hair trapped in the waste plug hole should be regularly removed.

Hair-combs, toilet rolls, medicinal bottles and other small items should not be kept near the toilet, or they may fall into it.

Using a disinfectant and hot water to clear the soap residues and regularly flushing the wash basin and shower pipework will prevent accumulation over time.

Do not put away baby’s nappies, commercial wrappings, sanitary towels or similar large items down the drainpipe; they may clog it.

Do not throw the kitchen waste into the sink as composting is a better option for them.

In the event of such material falling into the sink, do not push the matter through the plughole as this may impact and worsen the blockage; instead, try to extract the matter.

Never dispose of cooking fats down the drain system, as they hit cold water they will solidify. But if you really have to do that, then do so after breaking up the fats with a little detergent in hot water. After you have diluted the fat, turn on the tap and let the water flow freely for some time.

Many regular maintenance activities are available to lower the chances of blocked drains.

Check the house roof gutters and rain downpipes twice a year.

Take care when working at height but remove any accumulated debris and leaves with a trowel.

Lift the inspection covers on a regular basis to ensure that your drains are freely flowing, and check that these are easily accessible.

Keep external drain grids free of fallen leaves, autumn moss and other garden materials.

Washing the extremal drains with hot water and detergent as regularly as the internal drains is a good practice.

For business purposes, you can use a CCTV monitored drain inspection service which performs checks on a regular basis. This will give early warning of any potential blockages and also enables you to keep an eye on the structural condition of the drainage pipework.

Do this before you start drains pipes installing

Before you undertake DIY plumbing and drains work it is essential to understand the national rules and rules formulated by the local authority.

If you are considering altering your existing drainage, or installing a new sewage system you will almost certainly need to present some detailed plans of the work that you intend to undertake and it will need to be inspected as the work progresses making sure that it complies with the local building rules. In most cases they do not need to be notified for a simple replacement of broken parts.

The water which you see on the surface is basically rain. This surface water can seep into sewers, watercourse and become a part of the sewage system in older housing developments. Air escape from the drains is stopped when rainwater pipes are discharged into the foul water drains through gully traps in an older combined system. However with the new drainage systems, the foul and the surface water can be kept apart. It’s absolutely crucial that you keep the dirty water sewage system apart from the one for surface water. If you have doubts about your house’s drainage system, you can get help from the Building Control Department before you begin any work.

Designing the path of the waste passageways will be your first task. The basic thing which you have to care about is to keep the route as straight and short as you can while designing the route of a waste or soil pipe, this will help to reduce the likelihood of stoppages. You must avoid making your pipe runs too steep. A surveyor’ site level should be used to work out the fall of a drain pipe. In the absence of one of these, create a datum point and set levels with a hosepipe filled with water and compute the fall from the datum in this manner.

When installing your drain trench, you will need to make sure that you do not impair the stability of the building. The substructure of the building should not be undermined by your digging if the drainage runs parallel to it.

The pipes should be laid before too long a trench is dug as a new ditch can be unstable. Excavate a part of the sewage system, install and test the pipework, and then back fill and compact the earth before moving on to the next part.

Because of different depth and soil conditions the trench will probably need to be supported. Do not take any risks. It is better to provide support to the ditch walls than allowing the ditch to collapse. Keep the trench as narrow as you can but of course make sure that there is enough room to work in the trench including any plan, machinery or tools you require. Be sure to remove any stones or bricks from the ditch bed and make it as even as possible. You may need to import a suitable material for the base of the trench if the existing material is unsuitable.

You should definitely not use hard materials such as bricks to support the pipe in the trench. This should not be used as support for the short or the long run because it will damage the pipe, the pipe needs to be fully supported over its full lenght. Consolidate the bottom with a small roller or rammer and provide grooves in the bed to support the joints properly. The support should be smooth and even, from the beginning of the pipe to its end.

Make sure that your plans are made in such a way that drain rods are within reach of every part of the network of pipes. So that is why a run of drains should be as straight as possible between two points or inspection chambers. An inspection chamber should be present at places where the pipework changes its direction, this is important so that it remains accessible to drain rods and they do not need to go around corners.

Keeping these points in mind, you can carry out your own drainage and plumbing work smoothly and almost professionally.