Unblocking outside drain

stick a full bottle of bleech in it late at night when people aren't likely to be unloading water down the drain :p
actual bleech, don't get that "better than bleech" gel crap it doesn't even melt turd stains from the side of a bowl.
 
If you use drain rods they don't necessarily have to reach the blockage themselves. The circular rubber attachment is designed so you can use it in a similar way to a plunger. It forms a seal in the bit of pipe you can get at, and you are using the pneumatics of the water that you can get at to cause a very powerful force against the blockage further down the pipe to try to force it through.
 
Merlin5 said:
I have a Nilfisk. I'll see if they do a similar attachment.
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Search for - Nilfisk Drain & Tube Cleaner 8M


I've also got these - https://www.screwfix.ie/p/bailey-19mm-blue-brass-jointed-drain-rod-set-9-14m/79897

Which are excellent. As bazzabear says using the attachments to build pressure to push away the blockage is what you're working to do. They were a lot cheaper when I purchased them and I'm not sure what the difference between the black and blue version is.


Regarding the water company, in general if you share a waste connection then anything under ground is for them to deal with. I'm not sure if that applies to flats though, best check with them.
 
arknor said:
stick a full bottle of bleech in it late at night when people aren't likely to be unloading water down the drain :p
actual bleech, don't get that "better than bleech" gel crap it doesn't even melt turd stains from the side of a bowl.
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Good idea doing it at night. I've got a yellow bottle of Tesco thick bleach so will throw that down the drain.

Kill_Phil said:
@Merlin5 seems they do. £32 on amazon
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Thanks. I see that's the 15 metre one. But the 8 metre is just over £20 so maybe I'll go for that one.

bazzabear said:
If you use drain rods they don't necessarily have to reach the blockage themselves. The circular rubber attachment is designed so you can use it in a similar way to a plunger. It forms a seal in the bit of pipe you can get at, and you are using the pneumatics of the water that you can get at to cause a very powerful force against the blockage further down the pipe to try to force it through.
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Thanks bazzabear, now I understand better.

Azza said:
Search for - Nilfisk Drain & Tube Cleaner 8M


I've also got these - https://www.screwfix.ie/p/bailey-19mm-blue-brass-jointed-drain-rod-set-9-14m/79897

Which are excellent. As bazzabear says using the attachments to build pressure to push away the blockage is what you're working to do. They were a lot cheaper when I purchased them and I'm not sure what the difference between the black and blue version is.


Regarding the water company, in general if you share a waste connection then anything under ground is for them to deal with. I'm not sure if that applies to flats though, best check with them.
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Thanks Azza for the link. I see the black are made of steel and the blue are brass, but the steel ones are a lot cheaper at £29 and the brass are £48. Do you think the steel rods will be sufficient?
I'll check with the water board. I live in an edwardian era terraced house which was converted years ago into two flats.

I think this is the correct Nilfisk Drain & Tube Cleaner?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Nilfisk-Cl...ocphy=1006886&hvtargid=pla-416425218440&psc=1
 
EvilRob said:
I have that one. Works well, although be careful to keep it well under the water line or you will end up with the drain deposits all over you.
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This isn't terribly relevant, but you've reminded me of a story. I once had the gutter overflowing at my old house, so I was investigating what was going on, and realised the bottom of the downpipe was completely blocked with something. (It was badly designed, with a flat end which was only a few mm above the grid to the drain.)

I failed to make some pretty obvious deductions at this point, and just set to with a screwdriver trying to wiggle out what was blocking the downpipe. It turned out to be a few stones, with an empty pill blister pack lying on top of them.

Of course, as soon as the pack was dislodged, suddenly I had a 20 foot tall pillar of water exerting pressure on a very small opening, and I got absolutely deluged with stinky, stagnant gutter water. It was such a surprise to me when this suddenly erupted that I gave out a little scream (well, manly yell obviously) so I got some of it in my mouth too.
 
bazzabear said:
This isn't terribly relevant, but you've reminded me of a story. I once had the gutter overflowing at my old house, so I was investigating what was going on, and realised the bottom of the downpipe was completely blocked with something. (It was badly designed, with a flat end which was only a few mm above the grid to the drain.)

I failed to make some pretty obvious deductions at this point, and just set to with a screwdriver trying to wiggle out what was blocking the downpipe. It turned out to be a few stones, with an empty pill blister pack lying on top of them.

Of course, as soon as the pack was dislodged, suddenly I had a 20 foot tall pillar of water exerting pressure on a very small opening, and I got absolutely deluged with stinky, stagnant gutter water. It was such a surprise to me when this suddenly erupted that I gave out a little scream (well, manly yell obviously) so I got some of it in my mouth too.
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Hehe :)
Thumbs up
 
bazzabear said:
This isn't terribly relevant, but you've reminded me of a story. I once had the gutter overflowing at my old house, so I was investigating what was going on, and realised the bottom of the downpipe was completely blocked with something. (It was badly designed, with a flat end which was only a few mm above the grid to the drain.)

I failed to make some pretty obvious deductions at this point, and just set to with a screwdriver trying to wiggle out what was blocking the downpipe. It turned out to be a few stones, with an empty pill blister pack lying on top of them.

Of course, as soon as the pack was dislodged, suddenly I had a 20 foot tall pillar of water exerting pressure on a very small opening, and I got absolutely deluged with stinky, stagnant gutter water. It was such a surprise to me when this suddenly erupted that I gave out a little scream (well, manly yell obviously) so I got some of it in my mouth too.
Click to expand...

Sorry about you getting covered in it, but excellent story :D
 
The white stuff in those photos look like my blocked drain when I first purchased my house, the idiot kitchen & bathroom fitter of the previous owner had emptied plaster and/or grout down the kitchen sink.
The upstairs neighbour hasn't poured similar down the bathroom sink maybe?...
 
If you get drain rods then make sure you read the instructions on which way to rotate them, if you turn the wrong way you could undo the rods while they're in the drain and then you'll have a proper blockage!
 
If it's white fatty stuff or human hair etc try using caustic soda. You'll have to Google for how much to use on an outside drain.

I use it to unblock plug holes quite regularly. Sprinkle a bit on the plug hole, pour some hot water on it and be treated to a fizzing/banging sound as it eats through all the material stuck in the plug/pipe in seconds.

(100% wear Goggles as this stuff can blind you, 100% wear gloves as it can burn your skin, but it's fine as long as you're careful)



nst68 said:
If you get drain rods then make sure you read the instructions on which way to rotate them, if you turn the wrong way you could undo the rods while they're in the drain and then you'll have a proper blockage!
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For the price difference it's worth buying a set of the Bailey lockfast rods. I don't think the Screwfix ones linked above are the lockfast version (even though they're also blue) but they allow you to rotate the rod either way without worry.

Basically rather than each rod (or end piece) screwing into each other it uses a separate locking nut (use an adjustable spanner) that is independent of the rod rotation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44rdKafiV9g demonstrates what I mean.

I have a set of these. Got me out of a pickle with a blocked drain:

https://www.baileysupplies.co.uk/products/1324-lockfast-3-4in-drain-rod-set-4-tools-straps
 
That drain is more than likely a trap so you would not get rods down there, the nilfisk drain attachment is a better option
 
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