Homeowners guide to looking at blocked drains
Homeowners guide to looking at blocked drains
A drainage block is considered to be one large problem for the house owner. They can occur in the most unexpected way. 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. If you run a business, loss of productivity and sales revenue can lead to a loss in customer and staff goodwill especially if your business is impacted by this disruption.
Listed below are some easy methods to avoid drainage blocks that are caused due to structural defects in the drainage system or foreign objects.
Regularly remove any hairs that get trapped in the waste plug hole.
Certain objects like combs, toilet rolls and medicine bottles can also block the drains so you need to keep them away from the toilet.
You can use a disinfectant to flush your wash basin and shower pipework so that no soap residue gets stuck in them.
Do not put away baby’s nappies, commercial wrappings, sanitary towels or similar large items down the drainpipe; they may clog it.
Instead of disposing the waste food scraps and cuttings down the drain they can rather be used as a compost.
If food matter does fall into the sink, try to carefully pull it from the drain hole as pushing it will only jam the pipe further.
Never dispose of cooking fats down the drain system, as they hit cold water they will solidify. However in case cooking fats are stuck into the drain, you can try to emulsify and dilute them by using detergent with warm water. To have a clear water flow through the drains after doing this you should keep the water running for about a minute.
The chance of a drainage problem can also be reduced by carrying out some regular maintenance measures.
Inspect the rain downpipes and house roof gutters for any blocks at least twice annually.
Whilst taking care when working in places at elevation, use a gardening implement to clear any debris or leaves that collect.
Keep a regular check on the drains so that they allow free-flow of materials by a periodic check of the inspection covers, also ensure that these have easy accessibility.
To expel out the fallen leaves, autumn moss and other garden materials one should keep the external drain grids clean.
Rinsing off the external drains using hot water and disinfectant should be a regular maintenance activity.
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.