How to clear outside blocked drain?

contentking

Hi Guys,

I have a blocked drain outside that is overflowing. It does this every now and again and I have to use the snake (thin spiral metal thing) and it sort of gets rid of, after a while. But obviously I am not getting to the root of the problem. What would you suggest I use?

Would the local hire company have anything?

Prenderb

This could be (I stress could be) a bigger problem.

How often do you have to unblock it? Is there another AJ (Access Junction) box downstream of the blockage that you can look in and see what comes down when you block it?

The spiral thing is probably as much as you can do yourself, to be honest. If it's a regular occurence, it may be worth a CCTV survey to see if there are roots in the way or a dip in the pipe. There's a lot more to think about in that.

But yeah, let us know how often you have to do it, and if you can see what is causing the blockage, might be more to it.

Martron

ok firstly i would try a few more things before the cctv as that can be pricey.

we need more information. what type of pipe is it? how old is the house?

basically if its a clay pipe it could be anything from roots to a collapsed pipe . if its relatively new plastic pipe i would say that there is just something caught in it.

if you house is relatively new i would imagine it could even be construction debris stuck there. what i would recommend is rods. like the old chimney sweeps. this has a rubber disk on the end whick will push any blaockage to the next manhole. you need to find also the next access down stream and see the distance. you would ideal need a rod that lenght but it should not be too far.

not sure if you can rent rods but you could pick a set up for 30 euro or so ( i did)

its not a pretty job but once you have cleared it proper;y it should not happen again providing there is not a sag in the pipe

fat liar

Try caustic sode from your nearest co-op

Joey the lips

When using sewer rods there is a type on the market that lock together and dont come apart easy. They are about 10 more expensive but are a lot better than the standard rods. I would most certainly use them to avoid the DIY experience of loosing the rods down the sewer

Martron

the ones i have screw together. they should be fine. but abviously avoid twistign.

Joey the lips

Martron wrote: »

the ones i have screw together. they should be fine. but abviously avoid twistign.

Marton I have no doubt they are fine but i have seen 4 threads in the past year of people trying to remove the rods. The best solution i seen is a backwards push. Not easy if your contending with a blockage.

Prenderb

The way to avoid the rods getting stuck is to twist as you push and as you pull, in the same direction as you would twist to tighten them. It may seem I got a bit serious in the first post but I misinterpreted "the snake" as meaning that you'd already tried rodding...

Martron

Joey the lips wrote: »

Marton I have no doubt they are fine but i have seen 4 threads in the past year of people trying to remove the rods. The best solution i seen is a backwards push. Not easy if your contending with a blockage.

i know what you are saying.

backwards push however pushes everything upstream of the blockage onto your patio or garden. just be careful when doing it.

but if he posted back more information we can give a better idea whats wrong

PatcyMcl

If roots are getting in, copper sulfate crystral;s work well.

Have RotoRooter look inside with their pipe camara

looksee

I bought a cheapo pressure washer - about €40 from Woodies, and it has already paid for itself by clearing two drains. One was a rainwater drain which had filled up with leaves and muck, I put the long 'spout' down the drain and blasted it, and it has been clear since last Autumn. The other was the kitchen drain, it isn't very accessible but I cleared it with the pressure washer.
I also use it about once or twice a year to clear the sewer junction at the back of the house which blocks on a regular basis, you can jet it from a safe distance (!).
It does depend on what kind of problem it is, but the pressure washer might be worth a try, for occasional use you do not have to spend a lot of money.