Toilets and shower keep blocking at the inspection chamber

kinger8938

kinger8938

kinger8938

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Hey guys, wondering if anyone may have any tips.

Every week or so lately the shower base will start to fill up when in use (i.e drain slowly)

At the same time the toilet will start to gurgle and then fill up when flushed.

We have an inspection chamber in the garden and it's always here that the blockage sits. Vile lifting the hatch and finding it full of tissue and other nasty stuff.

I grab a stick, poke it /stir it about and it flows through and clears. Gross. Then next week it will probably happen again. Any tips? It's like 2 pipes come together in the chamber and go down to 1 which then takes it away.

I'm assuming it's just ours and not connected to our neighbours too?
 
The pipe downstream sounds like it needs rodding to clean out any fats or other stuff sticking to the pipe. It probably does intersect with one from one or more houses in the street before collecting in a larger pipe below the road. You can try and trace the run by the manholes along the line.
 
Definitely not flushing stuff like that.

Is there a chance that the inspection chamber in my garden is also that of our next door neighbour?

I don't want to be stirring their poop every time it clogs up :D

I've suggested to the family to hold the flush down for longer to help push it through maybe, and checked that out 7 year old isn't being over the top with the tissue but pretty sure he's not.. he'd sooner not wipe at all :D
 
Our London house had the inspection hatch for both our kitchen and downstairs toilet soil pipe and that of our nextdoor neighbour. Combine baby wipes/make up removal pads, lots of cooking grease and a less than idea drop to the sewer main and blockages where a monthly occurrence for a while once their daughter reached her teens and was applying slap with a trowel before going out and then wiping it off before bedtime.

Luckily, the neighbour heard me using the rods the 3rd time it was needed and popped round to see what was up as he’d suspected his womanfolk had been flushing junk for a while. He asked me for a carrier bag and took the greasy lump poo-covered of wipes back home to show his wife and daughter. His parting words were “Sorry about this, if it happens again, the girls will be clearing it by hand.”

Never happened again.
 
We had the same issue earlier this year. Got Southern Water out to investigate - and it turned out to be roots that had grown into the pipe. They used a powerful cutting jet wash - and cleared them out. I suspect this will likely be an ongoing thing - but at least I know where the location is and how to remedy it.

If you suspect the blockage isn't on your property, the water company will send someone pretty promptly to clear it - using all the proper equipment.
 
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It's definitely on our property, just in my patio inspection hatch where 2 pipes go down to one to leave the property.

I'm going to message the neighbour or pop round and just ask if they are getting a blockage too to identify if it's linked, if so it's likely them jamming to much down as I've locked it down my end!

Funnily enough they are moving this weekend, so may just leave it and see if it stops next week!

It's weird though, I swear when I flush the loo, water comes into the inspection chamber from both pipes. Hard to explain! I'd photo it but... No one deserves that
 
Have a similar issue in my downstairs loo. When previous occupant built the extension they didn't allow enough of a drop to the main sewer, tends to get clogged up couple times a year...
 
I thought I knew about DIY things but... Inspection chamber? Do you just mean a manhole you lift to get to where your house drains incase of blockages? Need pics. Coz we all love to see poo
 
I was picturing like a museum style piece with a transparent perspex cube and pipe with beautifully formed turds drifting through.
 
kinger8938 said:
It's definitely on our property, just in my patio inspection hatch where 2 pipes go down to one to leave the property.

I'm going to message the neighbour or pop round and just ask if they are getting a blockage too to identify if it's linked, if so it's likely them jamming to much down as I've locked it down my end!

Funnily enough they are moving this weekend, so may just leave it and see if it stops next week!

It's weird though, I swear when I flush the loo, water comes into the inspection chamber from both pipes. Hard to explain! I'd photo it but... No one deserves that
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My understanding is (although my knowledge is not **** hot on this subject) if a sewer doesn't only serve your property it is the responsibility of the water board unless it is clearly a private sewer.

I had one on my property when I first moved in that had blocked up where my property drains into. There is a manhole in my back garden that only serves my property and this feeds into another which is in my front garden which also only serves mine, they had both backed up due to where they drain into having also blocked up (I believe) but they didn't raise these as they are in the road, they just cleaned mine and pushed the issue downstream I guess.
 
Hyburnate said:
My understanding is (although my knowledge is not **** hot on this subject) if a sewer doesn't only serve your property it is the responsibility of the water board unless it is clearly a private sewer.
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may be correct we had blockages on ours years ago , up and downstairs drop into a chamber the builder fitted and because it was multi inlet with one out the erm pooh used to get caught on the other inlets. easily solved by educating kids:).
then it goes to the top of our drive ,and then about 25 metres to a chamber at the bottom.
always used to get blockages on the drive , had a drain company out yep roots and partially collapsed earthenware pipe so they fitted a liner after getting the roots out.
the chamber at the bottom was about 6 feet down and they had to climb in (not for the faint hearted) when i commented about the depth he told me the one mine linked into in the middle of the main road was a proper chamber 2 person about 10 feet depth and because the neighbours pipe joined ours it would be waterboard only to touch yuch.
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My in laws kitchen sink for the last 5 years was draining very slowly despite doing all the U bend checks and unblocking products which help periodically. Then finally earlier on this year it became fully blocked, so we finally called one of those drain companies to check. Turns out the pipes running from the house to main drains were clogged with fat, literally blocks and blocks of it were coming out when they were rodding the drains.
 
Kill_Phil said:
Have a similar issue in my downstairs loo. When previous occupant built the extension they didn't allow enough of a drop to the main sewer, tends to get clogged up couple times a year...
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I also have lazy drains -we just tip a bowl of washing up water down loo when we think about it.
Also when dumping just turn round and flush it then again when you have finished. If you are not on a meter just flush it when you walk past sometimes.
All this has come about since they introduced these low flush toilets -in the old days a 2 gallon flush shifted everything.
 
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