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

plumb1_2

sourpuss2021 said:

MikeJXE said:

How do I know the drain runs under the floor

By your photo the direction you are Roding is towards the house 

It's obvious it don't have a trap or you wouldn't be able to rod it 

Silt trap was probably there originally and whoever did the conversion thought it was a gully 

You do as you wish I'm just telling you what I see 

Not sure if this was aimed at me or another poster.  

Yes the pipe, not far down, that I got the drain augur into goes under the house.

But surely that can’t be the only exit as it’s so high up.  I think there must be another drainage point near the base on the opposite side, and which goes under the path.

Anyway landlord has got back to me saying I should put my arm down there or use drain rods.  No expense spared!!

Aimed at me I think
is the hole at the top 4” in dia?
google Victorian back inlet gully 


as the hole is high up, it’s a inlet not a outlet. the outlet is further down ie the trap.I dought if
you’ll not unblock it with that tiny spring, you might make a hole in the blockage but you need to get it round the bend at the bottom 
If and when you get it unblocked there will still be water in the bottom, as that forms the air seal,just like the trap underneath a sink,bath etc.

stuart45

As plumb1_2 has suggested, it's normally cleared in a few seconds with a rod and plunger. 

Mutton_Geoff

If you've got or can borrow a pressure washer, the drain cleaning attachment for them works really well, literally a powered rat up a drainpipe!

sourpuss2021

GDB2222 said:

Is there a rectangular drain cover nearby?

No, would that help?  All there is, is one of these and it’s some distance away at the very start of the side return:

sourpuss2021

plumb1_2 said:

sourpuss2021 said:

MikeJXE said:

How do I know the drain runs under the floor

By your photo the direction you are Roding is towards the house 

It's obvious it don't have a trap or you wouldn't be able to rod it 

Silt trap was probably there originally and whoever did the conversion thought it was a gully 

You do as you wish I'm just telling you what I see 

Not sure if this was aimed at me or another poster.  

Yes the pipe, not far down, that I got the drain augur into goes under the house.

But surely that can’t be the only exit as it’s so high up.  I think there must be another drainage point near the base on the opposite side, and which goes under the path.

Anyway landlord has got back to me saying I should put my arm down there or use drain rods.  No expense spared!!

Aimed at me I think
is the hole at the top 4” in dia?
google Victorian back inlet gully 


as the hole is high up, it’s a inlet not a outlet. the outlet is further down ie the trap.I dought if
you’ll not unblock it with that tiny spring, you might make a hole in the blockage but you need to get it round the bend at the bottom 
If and when you get it unblocked there will still be water in the bottom, as that forms the air seal,just like the trap underneath a sink,bath etc.

Thanks, yes, looks like 4” across.   I came down this morning to find it had drained clear, apart from as you say the water at the bottom.   Then I tried filling it up again briefly with the hose, went away for 30 minutes and it had drained away.  But when I tried running the hose down there for longer it flowed over.   So clearly it is draining but slowly and not enough to cope with the kitchen and rain water it will get.

I tried another poke around with the auger but couldn’t actually find the lower outlet pipe.  So will wait till in the week when I can get hold of some drain pipes.

sourpuss2021

Mutton_Geoff said:

If you've got or can borrow a pressure washer, the drain cleaning attachment for them works really well, literally a powered rat up a drainpipe!

Thanks for the tip!  Will look in to hiring one if the drain rods don’t work.  There’s also a patio that could do with a clean so could do that as well.

Apodemus

sourpuss2021 said:

GDB2222 said:

Is there a rectangular drain cover nearby?

No, would that help?  All there is, is one of these and it’s some distance away at the very start of the side return:

Perhaps just a trick of the light, but the water level in that one looks pretty high, too!  Perhaps your blockage is actually further out towards the street?

I'd be tempted to whip that cover off and have a push down the pipe with the hose while I'm playing around with the other gulley.

plumb1_2

sourpuss2021 said:

Ok, now it’s a clearer picture that gully is about 1950’s or so not Victorian . It looks like it has SF item 63513 drain stopper. That will be the Roding point that connects to the back of the trap where you can rod straight into the 4” drain.
You will need some grips to pull it out as it’s rusted, and replace it with a 4” rubber bung. Otherwise you will get drain smell coming out of it.

sourpuss2021

plumb1_2 said:

sourpuss2021 said:

Ok, now it’s a clearer picture that gully is about 1950’s or so not Victorian . It looks like it has SF item 63513 drain stopper. That will be the Roding point that connects to the back of the trap where you can rod straight into the 4” drain.
You will need some grips to pull it out as it’s rusted, and replace it with a 4” rubber bung. Otherwise you will get drain smell coming out of it.

Wow thanks!  So it’s the pipe that I had the auger into, that is rusted and needs replacing?  Not what’s below the water line and presumably blocked with silt?

Couldn’t find the part on the Screwfix site, do you have the link?

Think if it’s anything more than rodding I may get a plumber in after all…

silvercar

At what point do you say to the landlord that you have done what you can and it is time for them to call in a professional?