Okay to pour boiling water into drain cleaner in blocked gully?

sourpuss2021

FreeBear said:

sourpuss2021 said:

Also is that pipe 10cm from the top of the gulley really the only way water has of exiting it? There won’t be something else near the bottom?

(I know I should just google it…)

Where the OP has shoved the rod looks like a pipe coming from the inside of the building. The outlet of the gully is probably on the opposite side and below the water.

Edit  On second thoughts, it is the grey pipe(s) going in to the ground, with a 90° bend in to the back of the pot gully. A bit of bodgery there methinks....

Thanks!

I noticed that there’s also a discharge pipe from the combi boiler (behind the drainpipe) that would also go into the silt trap.

sourpuss2021

Apodemus said:

I really can't see that pipe at the back being the exit from the pot.  I think you need to try again with the ladle until you get to the very bottom of the gulley and can see the full structure.

Thanks and I agree, I think the exit is far lower down and on the opposite side.   Though I’m done for today .

Apodemus

sourpuss2021 said:

Apodemus said:

I really can't see that pipe at the back being the exit from the pot.  I think you need to try again with the ladle until you get to the very bottom of the gulley and can see the full structure.

Though I’m done for today .

Understandably so!  

sourpuss2021

MikeJXE said:

sourpuss2021 said:

MikeJXE said:

sourpuss2021 said:

Here’s another action shot.  Should I be able to push this auger all the way through?  As presumably it goes through into some underground cavern.

There was definitely quite a bit of rice when I ladled out the gulley.   Enough for a nice minestrone soup .

That is not a gully it's a silt trap

Foul water gully wouldn't have a hole that high with access to the drain and consequentially the sink or washing machine shouldn't be in there 

A gully that is designed to stop the smell has a U bend similar to toilet, the water covers the hole thus stopping the smell. Plus  and you cannot get rods around it

Ah, interesting!

It’s a Victorian house converted into flats.  Though curiously this kitchen would have been the original one.   So I’m not sure where else it could have drained to.

The kitchens and bathrooms of the flats on other floors feed into the soil pipe which is some way away.

Not just interesting it's a health hazard and illegal 

The black pipe I assume is rain water from the roof

The grey pipe is from the kitchen and should not be into that silt trap it should be in the SVP

Had it been a trapped gully leading to a dual sewer it would have been ok

There doesn't seem to be a way of getting over the problem because the outgoing drain is too high 

Thanks, that’s very informative! I’ve long suspected there might be something up with it, but not known quite what.   And although I say that this is the location of the original kitchen, actually when it was converted into a flat the room was cut in half to create a lounge.  

So it could be that the original kitchen in the unconverted Victorian house fed into the soil pipe not into this silt trap.

Now there is a bay window and a side return door in the way.  I suppose it could be rooted across at near ground level, though it may be hard to convince landlord the work is necessary when it’s been as it currently is for about 25 years.

MikeJXE

sourpuss2021 said:

plumb1_2 said:

sourpuss2021 said:

plumb1_2 said:

Why are you messing about with it ? Just get your LL to deal with it. Unless he’s gonna charge you for putting fat/grease down the drain ?

It’s long established that he never comes here and never organises anything, but rent is well below what it should be.  He’s freeholder of the whole building.

But if I do need to get someone out then yes I’ll deduct it from the rent.

A good plumber would be cheaper than a drain contractor. It’s only a 10 minute job. Unless you have a  collapsed drain, then a dig up.

Thanks, there’s a small plumbing company I could try.  They charge VAT and are not as cheap as the sole trader I used to use, but I think they’re to a better standard and will actually try to solve a problem.   Would they just turn up with the £30 drain rods and give it some welly, or something else?

Why do you need to waste your money on a plumber unless it's to relocate the pipe from the kitchen to the SVP ? 

You have cleared the silt trap so only rainwater should go down that drain even if it goes anywhere 

The boiler pipe is fine where it is

sourpuss2021

FreeBear said:

sourpuss2021 said: But if I do need to get someone out then yes I’ll deduct it from the rent.

Make sure you get his agreement in writing first. You wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of an eviction notice.

Thanks, that’s good advice.   He is extremely relaxed about me making changes to the property, but rather less relaxed about anything that involves spending his money!

sourpuss2021

By the way the drain cleaner I used was Mr Muscle Drain Gel, which I presume is less lethal than e.g. One Shot.  That may explain why I didn’t get knocked out by the fumes when I poured a kettle of boiling water on top.

GDB2222

There’s an interesting assumption in this thread, namely that it is the landlord's responsibility to clean the drain. If the drain is not fit for purpose, then I agree that it is his responsibility. But, if the tenant has put stuff down that has blocked it, surely that’s the tenant’s responsibility?

We are very careful what we put down our drain, and we don’t have a problem with the gully. 

sourpuss2021

MikeJXE said:

sourpuss2021 said:

plumb1_2 said:

sourpuss2021 said:

plumb1_2 said:

Why are you messing about with it ? Just get your LL to deal with it. Unless he’s gonna charge you for putting fat/grease down the drain ?

It’s long established that he never comes here and never organises anything, but rent is well below what it should be.  He’s freeholder of the whole building.

But if I do need to get someone out then yes I’ll deduct it from the rent.

A good plumber would be cheaper than a drain contractor. It’s only a 10 minute job. Unless you have a  collapsed drain, then a dig up.

Thanks, there’s a small plumbing company I could try.  They charge VAT and are not as cheap as the sole trader I used to use, but I think they’re to a better standard and will actually try to solve a problem.   Would they just turn up with the £30 drain rods and give it some welly, or something else?

Why do you need to waste your money on a plumber unless it's to relocate the pipe from the kitchen to the SVP ? 

You have cleared the silt trap so only rainwater should go down that drain even if it goes anywhere 

The boiler pipe is fine where it is

Ah, yes, understood!  Okay so I won’t bother with a plumber for now.  This silt trap hasn’t always been blocked up/overflowing.  I was just thinking a plumber could do a better job at getting it back to how it was a few months back.

The LL is both knowledgeable (though perhaps out of date) and uninvolved.  He did the conversion himself back in the day.

I will tell him would be a good idea to move the kitchen waste pipe so that it goes in to the soil stack not the silt trap.

But it may be one of those things like when I was told by a roofer that we would be better off with deep flow gutters.  It gets noted by LL, but since it doesn’t affect whether he can rent out the property, nothing happens.  However if the trap continues to still flow into the side return path then it will need to be sorted out.

sourpuss2021

GDB2222 said:

There’s an interesting assumption in this thread, namely that it is the landlord's responsibility to clean the drain. If the drain is not fit for purpose, then I agree that it is his responsibility. But, if the tenant has put stuff down that has blocked it, surely that’s the tenant’s responsibility?

We are very careful what we put down our drain, and we don’t have a problem with the gully. 

Yes that’s a good point.  Another example would be if a bath/shower gets clogged up with hair.   Or a sink with hair trimmings and shaving soap.   Most landlords would complain about having to pay in those circumstances.

Though perhaps this is different as it’s on the outside of the property, and as stated by a previous poster is possibly illegal, too…