Blocked drains can be a thing of the past with these essential tips
Blocked drains can be a thing of the past with these essential tips
Blocked drains can be one of the worst type of household emergencies. As with most emergencies they happen without any warning. Nevertheless, the awful feature of blocked drains is that they can give out foul smells and lead to overflow of waste water into your home. When this problem arises in business areas, customers are lost, workers are inconvenienced and your operations and turnover are badly hit.
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.
One of the commonest thing to get stuck in the plug hole are the hair, so make it a point to remove them regularly.
Small sized objects like combs, medicine bottles and toilet rolls should be carefully placed to prevent their accidental slipping into the toilet.
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.
Avoid flushing big items like nappies or sanitary towels as they can block the drains.
Do not dispose of waste food scraps and cuttings down the kitchen sink, these are much better composted.
In case some item falls accidentally into the sink poking at it instead of pulling will make its removal more difficult and in the process further complicate the drainage problem.
Cooking fats have a tendency to solidify when contacting cold water and should not be disposed of in the drainage system. However in case cooking fats are stuck into the drain, you can try to emulsify and dilute them by using detergent with warm water. Having done this, a proper water flow should be maintained by running the water for a short period of time.
There are also a set of regular maintenance activities which can reduce the likelihood of a drains problem.
Check the house roof gutters and rain downpipes twice a year.
Exercise due caution when working at height and use a trowel to clear the debris and leaves that have been accumulated over the year.
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.
Remove garden debris from the external drain grids so that rain or garden water does not wash leaves and moss down into the pipework.
Washing the extremal drains with hot water and detergent as regularly as the internal drains is a good practice.
A business can request that drains are regularly surveyed and the drainage system checked by a CCTV inspection service, to alleviate any anxieties. By employing CCTV inspections it gives you enough time to implement precautionary measures against any potential blockages, and by this way you can keep a constant check on the structural condition of the drainage pipe also.