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Check back each week to find fresh new content on helpful guides within the plumbing community.
1st November 2018
The Most Common Things That Block Pipes
There are certain objects which are a real challenge when it comes to maintaining unblocked pipes. Some troublesome household ‘objects’ (many of them aren’t objects per se, but we will stick with this word for now!) which turn up again and again when we are looking to see what has blocked a pipe.
What follows is a list of some of the objects which block your pipes, and some methods to avoid letting them get down there!
1 – Hair
We have all been there – stepping into the shower after someone with particularly long hair and seeing the dreaded clump sitting in the plughole! We shed on average one hundred hairs from our head every day, and the vast majority of these will end up being washed away down the plug hole.
Hairs can clump up and lead to pipe blockages and can be somewhat stubborn to remove. Things like enzyme cleaners can make short work of the hair as it is organic, and it will not hurt the pipes. Alternatively, there are many little devices on Amazon which will gather the hair before it even gets down the drain, allowing you to quickly dispose of it properly.
2 – Fats and Grease
Fats and grease ending up down the plughole in the kitchen are a huge problem not just for your drain, but for nationwide pipelines. The water company claims it clears around 100,000 blockages each year across the country and half of these are caused by greases and fats!
In domestic settings greases and fats are by far the worst offender, so make sure that you aren’t putting any form of grease, fat, or oil down your plughole. Just pour the grease into a disposable container, let it set, and throw it away.
3 – Soap Scum
There is no practical way of stopping soap scum building up on the sides of your pipes. When the soap bonds with water it will harden creating a hard substance on the side of the drainage system which can prove hard to get rid of.
Soap is meant to go down the drain, so don’t feel bad about it, but if you are worried about the build-up you can try the hot water method of cleaning it away in just a couple of steps:
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Boil a large pot of water and pour it down the drain, which should begin to melt the scum clinging to the side of the pipe.
- Follow this up by running hot water for a few minutes which should wash the remaining residue away.
Unfortunately, this standard blockage problem is mostly out of your control. Apart from gathering as many leaves off of your property as you can, there is not a lot else you can do to stop the leaves finding their way into your system.
There is one thing that can tackle the build-up of leaves, and any other pollutant discussed in this blog, which I have outlined in this separate post.
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1st December 2018
The Importance of Water Jetting
You can be as diligent as you like when it comes to controlling what goes down your drains, but the fact of the matter is there will always be pollutants which make it down there that can gather up and lead to problems. The only way to combat these potential blockages before they become a problem is to undertake regular professional cleaning.
This involves specialist water jetting equipment which will flush your system forcing anything that is starting to stick to the sides away down the drain. This blog will summarise precisely what water jetting is, and why it is important!
What Is Water Jetting?
High-pressure water jets have wildly different implementations. From cutting steel and stone blocks to washing chewing gum off of city streets, using different pressures will make the stream have a different effect.
Water jetting involves blasting water at very high pressures through drainage piping. The force of the water unclogs drains by forcing them out the way, cleaning the inside of the pipes without using corrosive and damaging chemicals.
The jetting not only forces existing blockages away but makes the inside of the pipe absolutely spotless making it harder for further pollutants to gather.
Why Is Water Jetting Preferable?
There are many products available to clear up blockages in your drain. However, there are certain limitations to these chemical solutions.
Chemical drain cleaners will make quick work of a lot of blockages however they will also make quick work of the surrounding piping. The nature of the chemical means it will corrode indiscriminately, and with extended use, it can cause cracks and collapses within the piping system.
Enzyme cleaners will not harm the pipes, but they only work on organic pollutants. This means that there are many blockages that will remain entirely unscathed by enzyme cleaners, meaning they may not help at all.
Water jetting will make short work of all blockages, regardless of what it is made of.
How Often Should I Arrange Water Jetting?
This largely depends on how meticulous you want to be. Many companies will try and get you to schedule jetting every three months, although this is excessive. Having your drain system cleaned every six to twelve months is more than enough to keep blockages to a minimum and significantly reduce the chance of needing emergency blockage clearances.
How Much Does It Cost?
This largely depends on what company you use and how large a system you are asking them to clean. As such, I cannot give you an exact figure here.
However, it is worth considering how much repairs can cost in comparison to maintenance. If blockages build up and cause water to cause significant damage and flooding throughout your property, the resulting damage can be incredibly significant. Sometimes it will waterlog your garden requiring landscapers, other times it can cause significant aesthetic and even structural damage within your home.
You just have to ask yourself, do you want to spend a bit of money and have your drain working at full capacity at all times, or risk facing an incredibly costly and disruptive emergency further down the line?
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6th December 2018
Do I Need a Plumber or a Drain Technician?
My business often gets calls from customers who in reality need a plumber, and I know many plumbers who direct people to us because the people phoning them really need drainage technicians.
These jobs have a bit of crossover but they aren't interchangeable, and it is crucial you get the right person for the job!
So Who Does What?
If you have a problem with water flowing into your home, then it is generally a good idea to call a plumber. For example, leaking taps, faulty flushing mechanisms in toilets and low water pressure are some traditional reasons as to why you would require a visit from the plumber.
When there is an issue with water flowing out of your home, then it is time to call for drainage technicians. If you notice damp inside your home, or notice water draining out of your sinks and bath slowly or know for a fact that there is an issue with your piping such as a collapse or blockage, then the problem may well be outside of the skills of plumbers.
Can Plumbers Deal with Pipes Outside?
I’m sure there are plumbers who have a good idea of how drainage systems work, but there is a reason specific drainage technicians exist. It is not enough to understand the process; you need to have the specialist equipment to get the job done.
Plumbers don’t have high-pressure water jets, CCTV Survey equipment, or the tools for excavation. However, good drainage technicians will have this necessary equipment on them at all times so that they can complete a job upon arrival without having to wait on specialist equipment (if you are going to book a drainage technician, make sure that they are a company prepared to do any job they come across).
Plumbers can sort out some of the pipe issues within your home, although dealing with sewage pipes and things like that is just not their speciality.
You should also consider that on large-scale commercial projects, plumbers might not have the equipment necessary to work on the areas in need of repair.
CCTV Surveys
A lot of modern drainage system repair relies on CCTV surveys to locate and diagnose the problem. Otherwise, technicians would need to carry out widescale excavation to find out exactly where the issue lay. Plumbers don’t regularly, if ever, use this equipment (and if they did I would argue they weren’t strictly plumbers!).
When you are faced with a drainage dilemma, make sure whoever you bring in to fix things up is able to carry out a full CCTV survey. Otherwise, the problem could take a lot longer to address and require much more disruptive processes to diagnose.
In Summary
Plumbers do their job, and drainage technicians like me do ours. There is some crossover and it is easy to see why people get confused, but it is fundamental that in a drainage emergency you contact the right people.
That isn’t to say that we are any better or more capable than plumbers though – we couldn’t do their job either!
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