Blocked drain (gully trap) outside

linc1464

Dear all,

I noticed today the outside drain that the kitchen sink drains into was blocked. I rolled up my sleeves and got stuck in! I emptied all of the water plus some leaves and sludge and had a good feel around. It seems that it is blocked with fat (we've only just bought the house) as white clumps of fat were everywhere.

I have a small metal coil that I use to rod out plug holes from inside but even this cannot reach the outlet pipe from our outside blocked drain. A bit of internet research revealed that this is a gully trap and so the outlet pipe is probably not possible to reach without removing the drain/trap lining which is cemented in place.

The final problem is that we are on a septic tank and soakaway system so I'm not sure about using very strong chemical drain unblocker such as "one shot", which I've seen recommended. I tried a dozen rounds of boiling water, which did not work. Would anyone have any suggestions or do I need to attempt to remove the liner to access the drainpipe?

Many thanks
Steve

missile

You could try Dyno rod?

Apodemus

Can you push a garden hose down it, firstly acting as a flexible rod, and then to jet through the pipe?

Are you sure there isn't a removable cover somewhere to allow you to access the trap?

linc1464

Thanks for the tip. I stuck the hose down there on full blast and, after a few attempts, whatever was blocking it seems to have dislodged and water is flowing again!

Cheers
Steve

Apodemus

Glad it worked! I should have offered to do it for a third of Dino rod's estimate!