Drain

TheProfessional

Hi all,

I've recently bought a new house and there are some very knowledgeable and helpful people on these boards. I have a few questions so I will start different threads as they are different topics.

I want to make sure I keep the house up to a high level of maintanance so I thought I had better get to grips with the drainage. The front of the house has a shared downpipe from the roof going into a drain on our side of the boundary wall. It seemingly is full of leaves and once leaves removed, soil.

I took the round grill off and the soil/root material go into the drain. I poured 2-3 L of water down and it sits for a while but does slowly drain over 5-10 minutes. 

I am thinking the soil is coming from under the patio, the leaves and roots from the bush next door (see pics)

Is there any benefit to get getting a £150-£200 CCTV drain survey to check as much as they can and then pressure wash down there or does the blocked soil have to be scooped/hoovered out?

Thanks

chrisw

The soil will form over time from silt and leaves sitting in the u bend of the drain and decomposing.

In the first instance I either roll up my sleeves or use one of those arm length rubber gloves to scoop out as much soil or silt as I could and then chuck a bucket of water down. It should be relatively 'clean' dirt if that's any consolation.

If that doesn't clear it, then is the time to get somebody in to survey the drains. 

McKneff

Google how to clear a drain. 
Get as much muck out as you can . 
Put a hosepipe down. Put a scrumpled up old sheet down stamp it in, so no air can escape. Turn your tap on full blast. 
Ours was really blocked and we cleared it at the 2nd attempt.

Hasbeen

Dig /scoop out until you get to the bottom where the u bend trap is. If you have a garden hose let it run. If it fills back up with water or is slow to drain you may have to plunge it with drain rod plunger.

Plenty available and invaluable to property owners.:  Bailey 19mm Blue Brass Jointed Drain Rod Set 9.14m | Drain Rods | Screwfix.com

Jeepers_Creepers

That's a very professional attitude to take with your new house - what did you say your name was?

Everything as said by others above. Try and get everything you possibly can out of that drain first, so you don't end up pushing it further down the pipe. So, up to your elbows as much as possible...

Something to consider - especially if you think you can make good use of it afterwards (do you have a garage or shed?) - is a wet vac. Not expensive (eg: https://www.screwfix.com/p/titan-ttb774vac-1300w-16ltr-wet-dry-vacuum-220-240v/826kh ) and I'd use this slowly, with the drain still very wet. You might even want to keep a hose flowing in there at a slowish rate whilst you suck, so that you draw out a slurry rather than lumps.

Absolutely try and clear/draw/suck out everything you possibly can from that drain - before then going for the 'push'. If you do invest in a drain rod set, hopefully it'll include a rodding 'disc/plunger with a rubber surround. If you then run a fast hose into the drain to keep it filled, first lower the disc slowly so as not to push stuff forwards, but to get it down as far as it'll go - then pull it upwards briskly. Try and pull up - loosen - whatever is still in there. If it feels as tho' a lot of stuff has loosened, then go back to your wet vac and suck...

I'd only be happy pushing down when confident that whatever you dislodge will carry on flowing away.  As well as your hose, have a couple of buckets pre-filled with water handy for mega-flushes.

As said by Chris, that 'soil' is likely to be just dirt, dust and debris blown and washed in from the slabbed area, not actually 'soil' as such. So don't worry that 'soil' is being washed in from somewhere.

TheProfessional

Thanks all!

I will give it a go with some longer gloves and try as you all suggest and pull it out and see if I can clear it.  

Will also keep a watch on the bush next door as it's roots do creep in through the wall. I'm sure if the roots persisted in coming through and causing any issues I could chat to the neighbour. We have already had a chat about being happy to have any joint maintanance done as required. 

I can see it is a clay/ceramic type 

Drain. If I put my hand down, would I expect to hit the bottom of a u-bend full of dirt, with the opening obviously facing toward the pavement?

Also there is a chance that the drain it goes into might also be the drain which takes the waste from an en-suite (no building regs) where the enclosed pipes go down the middle of the house. The front drain in question would be lined up with the covered pipes down the middle of the house which then seem to line up to a roof gutter drain at the rear of the house. If that is the case it's not how I would have done it but I don't want it to have problems!

grumbler

TheProfessional said:

I can see it is a clay/ceramic type 

Drain. If I put my hand down, would I expect to hit the bottom of a u-bend full of dirt, with the opening obviously facing toward the pavement?

Also there is a chance that the drain it goes into might also be the drain which takes the waste from an en-suite (no building regs) where the enclosed pipes go down the middle of the house.

It can go to the same manhole.

TheProfessional

Cheers, just wanted to make sure I knew what I was feeling for!

frogglet

grumbler said:

TheProfessional said:

I can see it is a clay/ceramic type 

Drain. If I put my hand down, would I expect to hit the bottom of a u-bend full of dirt, with the opening obviously facing toward the pavement?

Also there is a chance that the drain it goes into might also be the drain which takes the waste from an en-suite (no building regs) where the enclosed pipes go down the middle of the house.

It can go to the same manhole.

Not ever having rodding anything.  Will the rods bend round that bend?

Jeepers_Creepers

I doubt it. But that is shallow, so t'Pro's hands will :-)  

Jeepers_Creepers

The drain heads towards the road, Pro? Any manhole covers on the pavement? I'd hope there would be another access point before it hits the main sewer, so that's another way to unblock if needed - with a rod with a twirly thing on the end, or the flappy thing. I know what I mean.