There is no doubt that blocked drains are a huge inconvenience. However, if they are dealt with early enough, they are usually quick and easy to fix. Timely drain unblocking also helps to prevent the occurrence of leaks or any other future damage.
There are several causes of blocked drains. The most common ones relate to the build-up of silt, sewage, and general debris in water pipes.
Fat and grease washed down the kitchen sink is one of the primary causes of blocked drains, because the thick substances stick to the pipe walls and build up over time, eventually constricting the water flow to the point that nothing can pass through.
Natural debris like leaves and twigs can be a disaster for outside drains, especially in the autumn and winter. While maintenance is advisable to prevent drains becoming blocked, sometimes it is unavoidable, and the drain becomes clogged, needing more specialist attention.
Tree roots can be another nuisance for drains, as they tend to grow in search of water, which of course drains provide in abundance. Once there, they not only block the drain, but can damage and crack pipes, leading to much more severe problems and costly repairs.
Drainage Plus can fix and unblock your drain — call us on 01243 282 818
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Sometimes a drain blockage is the result of household objects being shoved down the loo. You would not believe the things we find – cutlery, children’s toys, toothbrushes, pets (yes really), jewellery – even a gun.
Always remember that fat, oil and grease (FOG), and nappies, wipes and sanitary products should never be flushed. Wipes and nappies are made to be absorbent so they become enlarged when immersed in water. In a small space such as a water pipe, this quickly becomes a problem, as the item inflates to the point that water flow is blocked. Sanitary products are also a serious issue, as they do not break up when flushed.
How to unblock a drain depends on the nature of the blockage, and we have different equipment for clearing different blocked drains.
Although rodding a drain using drain rods is quite a popular method for unblocking drains, it can compact the blockage and make it worse. One of our favourite and most effective techniques we use to unblock drains is high pressure water jetting. This will blast away any blockage in your drainage system, by breaking up the blockage and flushing it out safely. High pressure water jetting is great for most types of blockages. It is so powerful that most obstructions are completely cleared in a matter of minutes. It can even remove tree roots and foreign objects. The jet can also work round bends in the pipes, which is perfect for reaching further down, difficult to remove blockages that couldn’t be reached using other removal methods.
A few ways we can unblock your drains are:
- For a blocked outside gully, we can use high pressure water jetting to break up the fat in the u-bend.
- If fat is blocking a drain, we can use high pressure water jetting to break down the fat and wash it away.
- If wet wipes block a drain, we can use high pressure water jetting to unblock the drain, manually removing the wet wipes as they do not break up.
- For foreign objects flushed down the toilet, we can use electro mechanical equipment to retrieve the object from the drain.
- If roots are blocking a drain we can cut them out using electro mechanical equipment.
