Neighbour has poured fat down the drain. Pour hot water on it?

pipkin71

As title really.

Neighbour has poured fat down our shared drain [ which the gutter pipe leads to] and it has solidified. It's in my garden, but is now between two fences, as I had my own fence put up to the existing one, which created a small space between our fences IYSWIM.

Will it be ok if I just get DDs to pour boiling water on it or will that cause more problems further down the drain?

If I call the council out, they will ask me to remove my fence so they can access it, and I can't actually physically remove my fence.

Any suggestions?

brumbrum

What a idiot your neighbour is! boiling water might be worth a try but fat seems to get stuck in the oddest places in drains so it might not reach it all. When this happened to us (not just fat though, there was a big stick down ours with all stuff stuck to it:eek:) we ended up having to use drain rods to knock the fat off the drain walls. good luck in getting this sorted and i hope your neighbour has more sense in future.

Yategirl

maybe try hot water and washing up liquid -- perhaps make it up in a bucket (or similar!) and pour down.. might take a few attempts....

wondering about a solution of dissolved washing soda..... maybe someone else will know if that will work?

Pink.

Hi Pipkin,

I agree with Yategirl, I'd go for lots of very soapy hot water.

Pink

pipkin71

Thanks guys.

I've got a fair size bucket, so will do a mix of soapy water.

I have thought about speaking to her, but don't think they're bothered, tbh, and it could just lead to an argument, which I don't want.

The other option is just reporting her to the council, and dealing with taking the fence off, if it comes to it. I wonder if they would take the fence off, or say I had to because it isn't council property?

ladykath

A tip that I have used to good effect on a couple of occasions, as well as putting boiling water and washing soda down first, you can then make up a sort of plunger by filling a heavy duty plastic carrier with other smaller bags. You then put your arm in this and whilst holding onto it tightly, push it up and down like a sort of huge sink plunger. It should force a way through the blockage. WARNING, remember to pull out all the plastic bags and dispose of them afterwards. It is a nasty smelly job but cheaper than dynorod etc.

brumbrum

it also may be worth trying old fashioned soda crystals and boiling water mixed together as i think this breaks down fat, and at least they are cheap.

pipkin71

ladykath wrote: »

A tip that I have used to good effect on a couple of occasions, as well as putting boiling water and washing soda down first, you can then make up a sort of plunger by filling a heavy duty plastic carrier with other smaller bags. You then put your arm in this and whilst holding onto it tightly, push it up and down like a sort of huge sink plunger. It should force a way through the blockage. WARNING, remember to pull out all the plastic bags and dispose of them afterwards. It is a nasty smelly job but cheaper than dynorod etc.

A good suggestion ladykath.

Not one I could do, unfortunately, due to disabilities.

I feel really annoyed that the neighbour has done this. She can see that it has solidified, but still just left it :mad:

valk_scot

Can you actually see the fat sitting down inside the drain? If so, get a garden cane or something and see if you can hoik it out, or at least break it up a bit. You really have to get it out, I'm afraid. If you pour boiling water+ detergent+washing soda onto it this may well soften it up and get it moving again but then it will almost inevitably resolidify somewhere further down the pipe and that will be a far more expensive job to fix, trust me.

If you can't get it out due to mobility problems then why not get the neighbour to do it, I ask myself? If you're going to have to get DynaRod out to clear the drain you'll presumably be asking her to pay. Give her the option for a DIY job first.

marygoodwife

hi there, i have many in my house and someone is always pouring fat where they shouldnt i always use hot water and a LOt of stardrops its very foamy but it cuts through the fat, hope this helps, I sympathise on the stupid neighbour front, I have one myself, takes me all my time to ignor them and pray one day they may go away!

pipkin71

valk_scot wrote: »

Can you actually see the fat sitting down inside the drain? If so, get a garden cane or something and see if you can hoik it out, or at least break it up a bit. You really have to get it out, I'm afraid. If you pour boiling water+ detergent+washing soda onto it this may well soften it up and get it moving again but then it will almost inevitably resolidify somewhere further down the pipe and that will be a far more expensive job to fix, trust me.

If you can't get it out due to mobility problems then why not get the neighbour to do it, I ask myself? If you're going to have to get DynaRod out to clear the drain you'll presumably be asking her to pay. Give her the option for a DIY job first.

It's all over the top of the drain, valk - thick yellow solidified fat. It's also over my paving slabs and hers.

I live in council housing, so wouldn't have to pay myself, to sort the problem and it would be up to the council, to charge her, if they wanted to.

As for asking, I may have a word, but when they were playing loud music, for example [at 4 in the morning] I asked them to turn it down, they didn't bother.

If I do have a word, it could just lead to a neighbour conflict, which I don't want. On the other hand, she might just actually see that I'm not complaining for the sake of it, and realise that this could cause problems, especially if we have the predicted downpour this weekend.