robgraham wrote:
I put in a query just now about the frequency of pumping tanks and
remembered afterwards that I should have put in a warning based on my
own experience. Unless the drains have been replaced, all older
properties have porcelain drains and very often a distinct lack of
access points for rodding. In my own case the run from the bathroom at
the back of the house goes all the way round and down to the tank
without access - a distance of pushing 100 yards with one right angle
bend.

When I redid the bathroom I fitted a low flush loo. After 6 months
when there was no bath in use the drains blocked - I had to excavate !
It was purely the lack of flow as I switched the loo to full flush and
the problem never reappeared. The bath was not refitted for several
years. New neighbours had exactly the same problem after a bathroom
refit.

Rob

YOU SHOULD have a manhole at every direction change these days..
building regs.

Occasional tipping of buckets of water down the toilet is a Good Thing too.

Plus a yearly 'leave the taps running for an hour' to see whether water
is flowing freely and cleanly.

I always think opening up the drains and running hoses around annually
is no bad thing. Preferably on a warm spring day, rather than in the
depths of winter, in an emergency, when someone has flushed the electric
toothbrush and a pair of tights down the loo by mistake