Blocked sink

bristleposh

That makes it sound simpler than it is. We have tried plungers, just about every chemical known to mankind, we called out Dyno-Rod, who put their wires down (electrical) photographed it from the other end, and then kindly made our bank balance £145 lighter without fixing the problem. They then told us we needed to have a jet wash which was going to cost £135 + VAT per hour and would probably take two hours, therefore north of another £300. Any suggestions would be welcomed.

Skint_yet_Again

My wastewater company (Southern Water) will visit me for free in some circumstances and spend up to 30 minutes trying to clear the blockage for free provided its the first time they have been called out. Have you considered your water company ?


Is it a private or public drain ?


EDIT - just a thought have you got any drains cover on your house insurance policy ?

phil24_7

But WHY is it blocked?

If you pay for a jet wash will it block up again?
Do you have too many tight turns close together?
Does it not have the right fall/no fall/actually rise in some places?
How hard is the pipe to get at?

Perhaps replacing the blocked section of pipe will be the cheapest and easiest thing to do?

Have you tried caustic?

Regards
Phil

bristleposh

phil24_7 wrote: »

But WHY is it blocked? ----a build up of silt over the years

If you pay for a jet wash will it block up again? --- no idea, won't know if we don't try
Do you have too many tight turns close together? --- again no idea there seems to be a few turns
Does it not have the right fall/no fall/actually rise in some places?
How hard is the pipe to get at? --- the sink outflow is probably one meter above ground, the drain it drains into is about two meters underground, so probably three meters in total

Perhaps replacing the blocked section of pipe will be the cheapest and easiest thing to do? --- as I have said above the pipe goes out of the property and down to a depth of about two meters at a distance of four meters away, so to dig up a concrete patio and replace a piece of pipe would be too expensive

Have you tried caustic? --- we have tried every substance known to mankind including baking soda and vinegar

Regards
Phil

Thanks for your reply, sorry for the delay in response, this time I intend to press the submit button instead of the preview button as I did this afternoon :mad:

phil24_7

Regardless of the overall drop in the pipe, there may be a section that does not have enough fall from inside the house. It is worth investigating before shelling out £300 quid! Have you tried using a plunger to 'suck' (push it down gently and form a seal, then yank it upwards quickly) the crap back up the pipe?

bristleposh

phil24_7 wrote: »

Regardless of the overall drop in the pipe, there may be a section that does not have enough fall from inside the house. It is worth investigating before shelling out £300 quid! Have you tried using a plunger to 'suck' (push it down gently and form a seal, then yank it upwards quickly) the crap back up the pipe?

First thing we tried

jk0

Can you take apart all the piping you can reach, and remove the gunge?

For the bits you can't reach, maybe put a drain snake down from the nearest accessible joint.

Edit: Take a photo before disassembling, so you know how to reassemble.

pendragon_arther

The caustic soda route worked for me, plus boiling water (but not at the same time).

getmore4less

Where is the blockage, from your description is in the drains outside the house not in the domestic bit.

Where is this silt coming from.

A common cause of blockages in the winter is a build up of fat/oil solids as the waste exits the house then everything else sticks too it.

But if yours is in the main drains and silt then no domestic solutions are going to shift silt.

if it is outside there should be a access cover you can then borrow/buy a jet wash and buy the drain accessory if no one you know has one

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VLIy5n1q1I

bristleposh

getmore4less wrote: »

Where is the blockage, from your description is in the drains outside the house not in the domestic bit.

Where is this silt coming from.

A common cause of blockages in the winter is a build up of fat/oil solids as the waist exits the house then everything else sticks too it.

But if yours is in the main drains and silt then no domestic solutions are going to shift silt.

if it is outside there should be a access cover you can then borrow/buy a jet wash and buy the drain accessory if no one you know has one

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VLIy5n1q1I

Thanks for that, our neighbour has the jet wash I'll go visit my friends at Amazon to see how much the accessory is thanks again

ispookie666

I had my bath and washbasin bunged up and used Pro-Kleen Sink & Drain Blitz Unblocker - it is available from a large online retailer

I can vouch for the product - give it a try.