Almost every british household has one in their bathroom, and theres no need to be ashamed of it. What makes having a plunger easier these days is the range of plastic, metal or even decorative plungers that are available in the retail market today! More information available at this website on this subject.
From everyone at Drain Clear UK – your blocked drain specialist, we wish you a happy New Year. The question is though – what will be your 2013 New Year’s resolution? Losing weight? Stopping Smoking? Seeing your family more? More Holidays? The list is endless really – but there are some issues that could be right underneath your nose that should be a part of your new year’s resolution – for example – not abusing your drainage system!
Because your drains are underneath the ground – and you can’t see how dirty they get – you tend not to ever clean them. You wouldn’t leave your carpet a mess if there were crumbs everywhere, or leave your bed un-made after you have slept in it, or even let your grass grow like a jungle – this because you can see the mess. If you leave any of the above to get more and more worse – they may cause you a problem – and it is exactly the same with your drainage pipes. Over time build-ups of all sorts of things that you put down your drain pipes form, but the real problem lies in the fact that you can always hoover your carpet yourself, cut your grass yourself (albeit a monster job) but what you can rarely do – is unblock your own drain if you have left it long enough.
Let’s consider this scenario. Over the festive period – you have had more people in your property than you would usually have and you have done more cooking than you usually would. This means more bath’s/shower’s, more toilets being flushed and more waste food and cooking oil/fat disposed of down the kitchen sink – putting an excessive amount of stress on your drain pipes. This means much more toilet paper, and unfortunately baby wipes in some occasions down the toilet, getting stuck in your pipes, more oil getting stuck in the drain pipes after being put down the sink – causing a sticky and leaner drain pipe than it would usually be. Maybe you can see now how over just a small amount of time – a build-up and blocked drain could be inevitable.
Fear not – you can do your best to flush your drains out by simply leaving your hot tap running for 10/15 minutes – something which can break down anything which is blocked in your drain.
Make ‘A clean drainage system’ one of your New Year’s Resolutions now! Or we may be meeting you sooner than you would have liked to…
Happy New Year
Drain Clear UK
We hope you had a very Merry Christmas and a relaxing festive period – but unfortunately – now it is almost over. Yes – we have new year on it’s way, but most of you will agree that this is the most OVER rated night of the year – meaning the majority of people will be spending their new years at home with family or friends.
Whatever your plans – you will know if you have a problem with your drains or not – and even through you may think that it may – it usually won’t go away.
Blocked toilets, sinks or drains start off with a slower moving water flow, which is ignored by most people. When this is the case, if you continue to treat your drains as you have to get you to the stage that you are at, then there is a very low chance that the blocked pipe will pass. There is a higher likelihood that the problem will simply get more and more serious.
There are the old traditional techniques to try and identify and clear the problem, but 9 times out of 10 you are normally better off calling in one of the experts. Because of the flooding over the festive period, Drain Clear UK have been called out to many areas over essex such as Romford, Dagenham, Ilford, and Chelmsford – to help clear drains which have been blocked by the water dragging obstacles down the drain which are not designed to disperse down there.
This means that getting hold of us to clear your drain may be more difficult than normal, so waste no time and give us a call via our website to give yourself the best chance of uf being able to reach you in good time.
Drain Clear
Drain Clear UK would like to wish everyone a very merry christmas, and give some valuable advice as to how you can avoid having a blocked drain in this festive period.
Firstly, do NOT put anything down the drains that shouldn’t go down there, for example, any cooking oil/fat, as this can solidify in your drain and lead to a build up.
Ensure that excessive toilet paper is not used when using the toilet, or even worse, avoid using baby wipes which you may put down the toilet, as they are not designed to disperse down your toilet and can get stuck there & cause a blocked drain.
Keep children away from toilets, the last thing you need is their new christmas present to find its way down the toilet.
Ensure that if family/friends are using the bath, then they pick any hair that has malted – out of the plug hole, because hair is a well known causer of blocked drains.
Why don’t you give your drains a flush out before all of the festivities start? Buy some drain cleaner and follow the instructions – or if you don’t have the time to get to the shops, simply run your hot tap for 10/15 minutes at a time, followed by vinegar and baking soda, followed by more water, this will help you to break down any blockages which have started in the drain.
If however you do find yourself with a blocked drain, then give us a call on 0800 980 7282 and we will be with you within the hour, no matter what day it is.
Our coverage over the bank holiday period will be
blocked drains basildon
blocked drains southend on sea
blocked drains grays
blocked drains chelmsford
blocked drains colchester
For any more information visit the website at http://www.drainclearuk.co.uk
It can be as simple and easy as you like to keep your drains clear, but understanding the top 5 reasons why drains become blocked could help you much further than simple drains maintenance via drain cleaner etc.
1. Baby’s Items
This includes baby wipes put down the toilet, nappies, and even toys which kids dump in toilets and flush without you knowing. Baby wipes are no designed to disperse in water like toilet paper is, so unless it finds its way cleanly through your drains, it could snag on obstacles on the inside of your drain pipes, causing a build up and leading to a blockage. Nappies also are not designed to be put down toilets, and knowing how nappies work, e.g. Holding water and increasing in size when it holds more and more water, this should give you an indication as to what will happen when completely submerged in water – it expands to its maximum size possible, far too big to fit down your lean drain pipes in most cases.
2. Fat/Grease
Disposing of used cooking fat/grease down your kitchen sink seems like the most simple and easy thing to do – however – the next you have finished cooking, put the oil/fat into a jug of cold water and see what happens to its consistency. The runny consistency turns into a gloopy slow moving and sticky form. This is usually what happens when you put it down your kitchen sink, even if you flush it down with hot water, because the water will only cool down quickly… The sticky substance sticks to the inside line of the pipes, creating a feeding ground for more articles/items to be caught, even toilet paper. More expert information on this here at www.plumbdrainuk.co.uk/blocked-drains
3. Toilet Paper
Toilet paper is designed to be put down the drain, however, not in excessive amounts. Toilet paper can stick together, and quite easily snag on anything causing an obstruction in your drain pipe. Be careful as to how much paper you use, if in the worst case scenario – flush in 2 stages to ensure the worst doesn’t happen
If you steer clear of any of the above finding it’s way down your drain, then you will be sure to keep your drains free flowing with water. If you would like to read more information such as this, you can do by visiting our website by clicking here, or by visiting our blocked drains page, which goes in to more depth about the causes of blocked drains which may be out of your control.
As leaves fall in and around drains, there is a high chance that they can cause a blockage. If you notice a buildup of leaves around any of the drains in and around your house, do your best ot ensure they are kept clean and clear to stop them from becoming blocked, because if they are linked to your house, not only could it cause a backup of water in the pipes in your property, but you could also be liable to the unblocking of the drain.
More recently Drain Clear have been called out to Wickford, Southend and Rayleigh to undergo works on domestic properties, all blocked drains caused by the owners mistreatment of the drains. However, all 3 customer’s had their drains unblocked in under 60 minutes of us arriving on the site, the customer paid a fixed fee for their unblock, and have had a guarantee left behind in case the drain blocks again in the near future – Happy Christmas.
Blocked drains can come at the worst of times, so don’t leave your toilet or sink if they are slow flowing over the Christmas period, give Drain Clear UK a call and we will come and unblock the drain as we have done for our 3 clients in the areas above.
Contact us via our website at http://www.drainclearuk.co.uk
For more information on blocked drains, click here
Drain cleaners which are biochemical often use bacteria to clear drains, and can normally be used by the everyday man or women. Even though these are generally not caustic, they still need to be observed carefully. These sorts of cleaners can often cause irritations to skin and eyes, so must be used with the utmost care.
As above, the chemicals which are available on the market to clean your drains can often be extremely effective, but along with the chemical, comes a few reasons for caution. You must ALWAYS read the instructions and cautions on the label of the bottle, including any other instructions that come with the product. 9 times out of 10 the cleaner will come with some further instructions, however, if it doesn’t, then you can usually find these listed on the manufacturer’s website on the internet, or perhaps on a relevant forum. As with any product, some are mostly safe, but some can be quite dangerous if misused. Some can react with water and give off poisonous fumes, which if inhaled, can cause serious injury, so please be careful. There are other reasons as to why you need to be careful in your choice of drain cleaner; For example, if you call a drainage company out to unblock your drain and you have already used chemical cleaners to clear the blockage yourself, the cleaner could in fact damage the drainage engineer’s equipment. Not only could it damage the engineer’s equipment, it could also cause injury to the engineer himself! If you do not advise the engineer of the chemicals you have used, and the engineer becomes ill from the chemicals you have used, then you may in fact be held responsible.
What is more worrying is that some chemicals produce colour and odourless fumes, such as Sodium Hydroxide, which can be harmful to human beings. As well as fumes, heat can be produced from some drain cleaning products, which can again cause injury to humans, and can even melt plastic drain pipes.
If the drain cleaner that you have used doesn’t clear the blockage, then a drain jetting machine may be required to blast the blockage away. If the chemical is still active when water is blasted into the drain, then this may cause a further reaction and could unearth further problems, these could include the following:
It is worth mentioning that some of the gases that are produced from these chemicals can cause death, not just to humans, but more easily to small animals. It is essential that the area where the chemical is added to, is adequately ventilated e.g. not in confined spaces. A good idea would be to ensure that the person who administers the chemical does so without an audience, reducing the risk of multiple problems.
Burns can be caused in some cases if chemicals are misused, as drain cleaners are manufactured to work on organic material to break it down, and your skin being organic material, would be easily broken down by the chemical causing burns to your skin.
Let’s bear in mind that most drain cleaners have little dangers, and even chemical cleaners you would use to unblock your drain which are dangerous can be safe, if used correctly.
Find more information such as how to unblock your drains and toilets, including how to prevent a blockage in the first place, at http://www.drainclearuk.co.uk
Everyone has the problem of a blocked drain at least once in their lifetime, and usually at the most inconvenient of times. Blockages can be slow moving, but if the water isn’t moving in your toilet, sink or bath at all, this would mean that the drain is completely blocked. If the blockage is letting through slowly, then there may be a chance that they would be able to clear the blockage on their own. However, if the drain is completely blocked, then the property owner would more likely than not, not be able to clear the blockage on their own. The next step would be to call a professional drainage company in, usually incurring a cost. The cost is usually dependent upon how long the company is at your property, and the more stubborn the blockage is, the higher the cost will usually be. You can help to prevent your drains from becoming completely blocked by taking care of them in the first instance.
Blocked drains are usually caused by carelessness in the home. Toilets can be blocked very easily, from something even as simple as flushing too much paper down the toilet in one go. The main reason though, is for using the toilet for anything other than what its main purposes are – e.g. putting anything other than waste or toilet paper down the drain. These would include baby wipes, sanitary ware and even nappies. Nappies would cause a blockage quite quickly, however, the other items build up over time, slowing the water flow down, eventually blocking the drain. Kitchen sinks can become blocked when there is no guard around the plug hole, allowing particles of food and other articles to enter the drain. Bathtubs and shower can end up blocked when items such as hair and soap aren’t caught by the drain hole protector.
You can be as careful as you like, but sometimes, you cannot avoid your drain becoming blocked. Other issue such as broken/cracked pipes cause by subsidence in land, or a tree root infiltrating the walls of the pipe can cause blockages. These however, require immediate attention, as the damage would need to be repaired by a professional only.
If you do come across a blocked pipe/drain within your property, you can try to clear it yourself using purchasable products including chemicals or acids, however, these can often do more damage than good. Some chemicals do damage to the actual pipes, while others can even harm yourself if they come into contact with your eyes. There are some old traditional remedies for cleaning your drains. They start by simply running hot water through your drains on a regular basis. This can help clear any buildup of fat or grease, because as we know, fats and greases become more fluid when warmed up, helping them to move down the drain. If you see the start of a small clog in the drain, you could also pour vinegar & baking soda down the sink, leaving it for a short while, before flushing it down with hot water. On many occasions, this will clear a small blockage, however, you may need to seek further advice if the problem remains.
You should look at your house drainage and plumbing system as you do your car. You wouldn’t keep on driving your car for an endless amount of miles without having it serviced, or in fact putting it through and MOT to ensure it is still safe. This should be the same as your drainage system. Regular maintenance should be carried out, to ensure that you don’t ever need to find yourself in the position of having to call a professional out, incurring yourself high drainage fees. You can start by understanding what is, and what is not meant to be flushed down the toilet or put down the sinks. If you are not familiar with what you can and can’t put down the drain, then take a look online, just so that you are sure. You could, as a preventative measure, have a drainage company take an inside look of your drains every 12 months, to ensure that there are no unwanted articles in your drain, including tree roots.
If you don’t follow any of the above advice, then you may just end up with a severely blocked/broken drain which requires excavation to reach the drain, and this could be very costly, so please – give it a go, all you have to do is leave the hot tap running.
I hope this article helps, you can find more at plumbdrainuk
Knowing that your drains and plumbing are functioning properly gives you peace of mind so that you can spend your time doing something more beneficial in your spare time! There really isn’t any need at all for you to wait, over and over, for slow draining baths and sinks to empty. You will find within this information, some helpful long term steps that will help your drains run freely. This will mean that you won’t need to come into contact with any dangerous drain cleaning products, or the dreaded plunger!
To start, being careful in what you put down your drain pipes matters most. The number one problem in drain blockages is cooking grease. You must always dispose of grease in your household bins, in a suitable container so it doesn’t leak. Some other articles which are well known for causing blocked drains are soap, hair, and even coffee grounds. Hair most commonly, because of the nature of what hair is, snags on the drain pipes, catching other elements in it – causing build ups.
A slow draining sink could possible hair a hair ball in its tailpiece, which lies just under the sink where the stopper link operates. If you remove the stopped, there is a good chance you will find a clump of hair. If the stopped is locked into the drain, then unscrew the lift arm retaining nut, removing the lifter arm altogether, then remove the stopper. You could even use an old toothbrush to clear out any remaining hair or obstructions. Similarly, a slow draining bath could have hair in the strainer.
Some simple and more traditional techniques to keep the drain free flowing are dropping a large pinch of baking soda down there, washed out with hot water. And also you could pour a cup of household vinegar down the drain, and then let it stand for a short period, once again to be flushed out with hot water.
If from the above you are unsuccessful, you could try the following. Try putting, half a cup of salt, and half a cup of baking soda, followed by half a cup of vinegar down the drain, once again washed down with hot water, followed by a quick use of the good old plunger.
These are simple old traditional maintenance steps. If you still have drain problems after carrying out the above, then you will most likely need to take further action. You would hope that all drainage systems are installed to only the highest of standards when they are first built, but unfortunately, our experience has shown us that this is not always the case. We find all too often, in removing old sinks and related plumbing, that many drain P-trap arms are actually sloped backwards, not allowing water to flow away properly.
Neglect in the installation process can also being within the houses plumbing system. A slope of a quarter of an inch should be allowed per foot of run to allow water flow to carry itself and any debris away from the property, but unfortunately we have come across many improperly installed drain pipes behind walls where there is in fact NO slope. These sorts of occurrences are due to inexperienced and unqualified plumbers carrying out work.
This same rule applies to drain wall trap arms to keep the water running freely. The gooseneck curve of pipe under your sink is what is knows at the P-Trap. This is design to hold water to provide a barrier from unpleasant smells and gasses arising from down below. When added water from the sink rises in the P-trap, it will drain out of a properly sloped wall trap arm to the drain plumbing in the wall.
To gain the correct slow and to inspect the P-Trap, it will need to be removed. You should position a small bucket under the trap to collect any water. An old towel would come into use well here to wipe your hands; including rubber gloves to try and keep your hands clean as best as you can, and also another towel or old rag on the floor to catch any excess water. This is quite a difficult thing to do, so make sure you are comfortable as you may need to squeeze yourself into a small area to manipulate this as best as you can. Using a pipe spanner, remove the two washers which attached the P-Trap to the sink and wall arm. After you have done this, you will be able to identify if the tailpiece is too long, preventing the P-Trap from being installed a high enough point to allow a proper slope. You should, if this is the case, cut the tailpiece to the correct size. Then piece it all back together, ensuring that you don’t tie the nuts to loose, or in fact too tight.
If the above doesn’t seem to be the cause of the blocked drain, then try using a small drain snake in the pipe outlet after removing the trap assembly. Old homes with iron drains use fittings that have very shape in terms of their bends, which can cause blockages very easily.
Do yourself a favor and make sure that you clean your hands soon after carrying out the above work. Yes, it is all a bit disgusting, but don’t worry, as bacteria will be present in the buildup, it will have helped in breaking down the dirt, but still, make sure you’re clean!
The above is all you can really do yourself. If you get to this point and you still haven’t had any success, then you will have no choice but to call a company who are experts in unblocking drains . The blockage could be too built up to be removed or broken down by hand, it may need blasting away, or there could be a totally different problem, maybe a broken pipe further down the line which you can’t see, this would require a CCTV drain survey.
Find More Helpful Topics at http://www.drainclearuk.co.uk
There is always an answer for a drainage problem – but dont you just hate having problems with your drains?? Some drains which are blocked only need attention to the trap itself to remove hair/soap/any other debris that is trapped, but sometimes it takes more than just a little clean to fix the problem. Often you can purchase cleaning aids from your local merchants that will assist you in fighting even the toughest of blocked drain. You can find commercial cleaners liquid form, or indeed granular, or pressurised. Granular and liquid cleaning products rely on lye to dissolve the blockage and pressurized cleaners uses chlorofluorocarbon propellant and pressure to remove the blockage.
Drainage DO’S!
* Clean your drain traps on a regular occasion
* Don’t want until the drain is blocked completely, fix the issue even as soon as when the water starts draining slowly,
* You can help the breakdown of fat and grease by boiling hot water down the drain, followed by baking soda, followed by more hot water.
* Always ensure that you have a plunger to hand
* Don’t be proud, as soon as you come to the conclusion that you cannot fix – call a professional company in before the issue spirals out of control.
* Ensure that extreme care is taken when using commercial drain cleaners – they can be harmful to eyes and skin if come into contact with.
DRAINAGE DON’TS!
* Don’t wait until your drain is COMPLETELY blocked. Seek advice earlier.
* Don’t empty any food down your drain, its meant for water, and water only.
* Again, your drain is meant for water and water only, don’t empty any fats, oils, or greases down your drain.
* Don’t leave any chemical cleaner on the porcelain around the toilet – it will cause eventual damage.
* Dont’ ever mix two types of drain cleaners together.
* Ensure that you completely wash away any old drain cleaner, before you use a second one.
* Come the time that you need to call in a professional – ensure you advise him of any drain cleaner you have used first.
TOP TIP
If you have a drain which is moderately clogged, a great tip would be to pour half of a cup of baking soda, followed by half of a cup of vinagre down the blocked drain. This will cause a reaction which may help relieving the drain of any blockage. Wait about 3 hours then flush the drain with water.
For More Information Contact Drain Clear UK
Drain Clear UK 