Plumbing... Ooh, What A Palaver!

[niall Y]

Well Saturday started out as any other day. Except that my partner greeted me at breakfast with the news that the kitchen sink was blocked. Not a major problem, but it meant a small delay to my spending a day in the workshop. No luck with the plunger, and from a further inspection,it appeared that the manhole was blocked, Which I then duly rodded.

Still no joy,so I inserted one of those flexible pipe cleaning wires into where the kitchen waste pipe appears in the manhole.and turned it with its hollow 'dog-legged' handle, to negotiate all the multiple bends and turns in the run. This is a fairly tedious process, on my hands and knees with my head poked down the manhole. An additional complication was that that the free end kept twisting and snagging in the grass. Problem solved by placing this in some sections of spare down-pipe from behind the workshop. All was going well, until my partner told me there was water pouring over the kitchen floor. From hereon in things started to unravel

I had filled the sink so that when the blockage cleared I could see by the flow of water. However, it had found an alternative way to exit the sink. And,this turned out to be from a crack in the plastic welded pipe behind the dishwasher.

 

[Hugh M.]

I can feel your pain. We are the lowest house in a run of four. The drainage dates back to late 30s and is a combined sewer. At least 2 or 3 times a year something goes wrong and I have to reach for the rods. Not a fun task that always seem to catch me feeling, delicate shall we say?
Lately it has been due to totally inappropriate things being flushed.

I know who is doing it and am seriously tempted to return it to them via their letterbox!

 

[niall Y]

I can feel your pain. We are the lowest house in a run of four. The drainage dates back to late 30s and is a combined sewer. At least 2 or 3 times a year something goes wrong and I have to reach for the rods. Not a fun task that always seem to catch me feeling, delicate shall we say?
Lately it has been due to totally inappropriate things being flushed.

I know who is doing it and am seriously tempted to return it to them via their letterbox!

Mind you, you should tell them, otherwise they will never really know.

 

[woodieallen]

Slightly off-topic...the wash-basin in the bathroom had got very slow to empty. The trap was one of those you unscrew but since it hadn't been unscrewed for donkey's it was impossible for me to release it. I'd tried poking things down it. Those flexible curtain wire-thingummies aren't bad but then

I've got a Wet'n'Dry vacuum with a good suck. Sorted. Plus you get instant nasal feedback when all's clear.

 

[Bingy man]

For future reference I recently purchased a long hose and injector that attaches to my pressure washer ( Nilfisk core 140) for an external drain that refuses every attempt to unblock it . It’s on an old clay s bend so I fed the pipe as far as possible then let the jet washer do the rest . It cost me about £25/30 so a lot cheaper than dyno rod etc ..I known you can get them for karcher too so probably others ..

 

[niall Y]

For future reference I recently purchased a long hose and injector that attaches to my pressure washer ( Nilfisk core 140) for an external drain that refuses every attempt to unblock it . It’s on an old clay s bend so I fed the pipe as far as possible then let the jet washer do the rest . It cost me about £25/30 so a lot cheaper than dyno rod etc ..I known you can get them for karcher too so probably others ..

The drain clearing aspect was in the end, fairly straightforward. It was the fact that a seemingly unrelated crack in a waste pipe caused water to pour everywhere. I get that it only came to light whilst I was clearing the pipe - but why should it have failed ?

I've kept the section of pipe in question, (which I may post a photo of later) but I can't work out how it could possibly have failed in this way given its sheltered location. I'm hoping others, more experienced, might be able to venture an explanation.

 

[Bingy man]

Hairline cracks are often present and can easily go un noticed until a blockage occurs, the winding snake tool may have found that weak point in your attempt to clear the blockage . Also we subject these pipes to grease, chemicals, hot water , then cold water over many years and at some point -well you know the next part . Better it happens while your there than out at work etc and the washing machine then empty’s it guts out while it goes through its cycle … below is a faulty soldered joint that I repaired at a friends house in the corner of the loft .. just a very slight damp patch on the ceiling below found while they were decorating

 

[Dabop]

I can feel your pain. We are the lowest house in a run of four. The drainage dates back to late 30s and is a combined sewer. At least 2 or 3 times a year something goes wrong and I have to reach for the rods. Not a fun task that always seem to catch me feeling, delicate shall we say?
Lately it has been due to totally inappropriate things being flushed.

I know who is doing it and am seriously tempted to return it to them via their letterbox!

I got two plumbers on my youtube subscriptions (yes really lol) Drain Addict and The Drain Unblockers (lol- I know- I'm weird...) and poor gradient, tree roots and bloody 'wipes' are the biggest cause of drain blockages- as both channels regularly say- DON'T flush WIPES!!! (or 'white mice' ie tampons) as they will inevitably require a call to the plumber in the end....

A more recent trend on both channels is those plastic 'toilet cleaner balls' you hang off the side of the bowl- another thing that often seems to end up disappearing down the loo and getting caught up...
In particular the '3 small balls side by side' brand seems to be a particular 'find' in the pipes on both channels... best avoided unless you tie them off with a bit of fishing line or similar!!!

 

[Dave Moore]

Hairline cracks are often present and can easily go un noticed until a blockage occurs, the winding snake tool may have found that weak point in your attempt to clear the blockage . Also we subject these pipes to grease, chemicals, hot water , then cold water over many years and at some point -well you know the next part . Better it happens while your there than out at work etc and the washing machine then empty’s it guts out while it goes through its cycle … below is a faulty soldered joint that I repaired at a friends house in the corner of the loft .. just a very slight damp patch on the ceiling below found while they were decorating

Looks like the flux wasn’t wiped off on initial soldering and the flux has corroded the pipe

 

[KeenToLearn]

I got two plumbers on my youtube subscriptions (yes really lol) Drain Addict and The Drain Unblockers (lol- I know- I'm weird...) and poor gradient, tree roots and bloody 'wipes' are the biggest cause of drain blockages- as both channels regularly say- DON'T flush WIPES!!! (or 'white mice' ie tampons) as they will inevitably require a call to the plumber in the end....

A more recent trend on both channels is those plastic 'toilet cleaner balls' you hang off the side of the bowl- another thing that often seems to end up disappearing down the loo and getting caught up...
In particular the '3 small balls side by side' brand seems to be a particular 'find' in the pipes on both channels... best avoided unless you tie them off with a bit of fishing line or similar!!!

Yes..... those plastic clip on ball cleaner things are the bane of my life. Have had to remove more than one toilet entirely when they have got stuck round the U bend and resist all efforts to dislodge. Particularly nasty, sh!tty and smelly job!!!! Don't buy them folks use the drop in tablets in the cistern or the Toilet Duck gel you stick in the pan!!! Stick with clip ons at your peril!

 

[pe2dave]

Thinks. What do non- DIYers do?
Call out the plumber and get on with breakfast?

 

[woodieallen]

Thinks. What do non- DIYers do?
Call out the plumber and get on with breakfast?

Next day, call the plumber again. Continue to bale out bath.
Next day, Google for another plumber. Get larger saucepan to bale out bath.
Two weeks hence....still waiting for plumber No 4 to reply

 

[Spectric]

Don't buy them folks use the drop in tablets in the cistern or the Toilet Duck gel you stick in the pan!!! Stick with clip ons at your peril!

Or just eat more fibre in your diet and have more flexable output that will go round the U bend.

 

[Bingy man]

Or just eat more fibre in your diet and have more flexable output that will go round the U bend.

There’s a lot to be said for a good curry and a few beers

 

[Spectric]

There’s a lot to be said for a good curry and a few beers

I was told many years ago that the pipes in india are smaller than here in the UK and the reason they avoid blockages is their diet !

 

[Bingy man]

Yes..... those plastic clip on ball cleaner things are the bane of my life. Have had to remove more than one toilet entirely when they have got stuck round the U bend and resist all efforts to dislodge. Particularly nasty, sh!tty and smelly job!!!! Don't buy them folks use the drop in tablets in the cistern or the Toilet Duck gel you stick in the pan!!! Stick with clip ons at your peril!

Oh how ironic, a builder friend of mine has a problem he says this morning at 9.am can I help him out . Sure where’s the problem-at the mosque he says all the toilet are blocked . Get there and start rodding away , the 1st item to emerge from the main pipe is exactly what you described followed by wipes and you know what .. ended up counting at least 6 of those toilet fresheners things .. nasty nasty job ..

 

[duke]

Drain issues, spend thanksgiving day with a full house of guests waiting to eat. Only one offered to help. Someone from the group flushed paper towel down the toilet , it doesn't break down quickly. Two hour work, needed to cut the abs pipe 4" to get at it. Other guy held the garbage can I freed the blockage and got a good face washing. Put it back together and we needed to have a shower of course. The missus catches me coming out of the shower and said not to complain about it. I said ok under the condition we won't be hosting another occasion.

 

[Duncan A]

I worked on a big old house many years ago that the owner was having refurbished (a lot of work) and the owner had the septic tank pumped out as a routine job.
However, this plus the other work ongoing exposed the fact that there were no problems with sewage leaving the house because, although the clay pipes were totally blocked for many metres of length with feminine hygiene products, the sewage had forced its way through assorted gaps and breaks and found its own way.
The house was floating on a lake of sewage and no one had noticed!
A lot of very expensive digging and trenching ensued.....
Duncan

 

[duke]

I worked on a big old house many years ago that the owner was having refurbished (a lot of work) and the owner had the septic tank pumped out as a routine job.
However, this plus the other work ongoing exposed the fact that there were no problems with sewage leaving the house because, although the clay pipes were totally blocked for many metres of length with feminine hygiene products, the sewage had forced its way through assorted gaps and breaks and found its own way.
The house was floating on a lake of sewage and no one had noticed!
A lot of very expensive digging and trenching ensued.....
Duncan

Wow, I have had my share of field bed (tile bed ) repairs. It is amazing what gets flushed. Yea, fixing these problems can be very expensive.!

 

[cowtown_eric]

Many years ago I worked for my uncle whom not only installed septic tanks and fields, but also pumped them. I did get to play with FE loaders, back-hoes etc, but s I was the smallest guy, I got the job of going into the septic tanks to clear out the bacon grease out of the inflow pipes in the non-functional systems.

It did take me a few years to figure out why my uncle kept asking me if "I was OK"

Many years later, a client had out in low-flow toilets, in their offices, only to have to get their sewer pipes cleaned out annually, as the "low flow" was "insufficient" flow to clear various debris from their pipes.

Now, I know I'm too old to die young!