Blocked Drain

Blocked Drain - The waste pipes leading from sinks, basin, baths and showers can become blocked with all sorts of things - hair, food scraps, grease and so on - so that water will no longer drain freely. There are tools with which to clean them. Larger soil pipes, to which waste pipes may be connected, and the soil pipe leading from the toilets can also become blocked and need bigger versions of the same tools.

Pluging: A rubber basin pluger, a rubber cup on the end of a long handle is used to clear blocked waste pipes by using water pressure. With the basin, sink or similar, full and overflow blocked with a damp cloth, hold the pluger over the waste outlet and pump it up and down. This will force water down the waste pipe and should clear the blockage. A force pump and anaerosol clearer work on the same principle, but create more pressure and can be used with the sink empty.

Sink Auger: A sink auger, or plumber's snake, is a s flexible steel cable with a specially shaped head at one end and sometimes a turning handle at the other. It is passed down through the waste outlet and along the waste pipe until it reaches the blockage, where the head is turned to dislodge the blockage and allow water to flow freely. It cannot be used with a bottle-type trap.

Removing The Trap: If plunging or using a sink auger does not work, or if the trap is of the bottle type, you will have to remove tue trap itself. Place a bucket beneath it and simply unscrew the connections by hand. If the blockage is in the trap, you should be able to cler it out, dismantling the trap if necessary. If it is farther down the waste pipe, removing the trap will give you a clearer run with a sink auger. Refit the trap, making sure that it is tight.

Blocked Toilet: You can obtain larger version of sink plungers and force pumps to use in toilets, and also a larger auger. The business end of the auger should be passed round the U-bend until you reach the blockage, when rotationg the auger should clear it.

Blocked Drains And Soil Pipes: A larger auger can also be used to clear blocked underground drains. It should be passed down through an open gully and along the drain until you reach the blockage. The main soil pipe will run vertically either inside or outside the house. If it is blocked, you best chance of clearing it will be to unscrew an inspection hatch and then either use an auger or drain tods to dislodge the blockage.

These are used for clearing drains when there is a blockage between one (full) inspection chamber and the next (empty) one. When you discover the empty chamber, go back to the last full one and rod from there. Drain rod sets come with a choice of heads - plungers to push the blockage along the pipe, scrapers to pull it back and wormscrews or cleaning wheels to dislodge it.

Start with a wormscrew connected to the two rods, lowering it to the bottom of the chamber. Feel for the half-round channel at the bottom of the chamber and push the wormscrew along this until it enters the drain at the end. Push it along the drain, add more rods to the free end and only turn the rods clockwise, otherwise they may become unscrewed. Keep working at the obstruction until water flows into the empty chamber then use the scraper and plunger to clear the underground drain section.

With these tips, you should be able to free your Blocked Drain without having to pay someone to do it for you. Good luck.