Hi All,

We've got a problem with our drains!

Am I worrying to soon? Toilet, sink and bath are all taking a long
time drain/flush. It has been like this for the last week or so.

Do you think if I leave this it might fix itself or should I take a
look sooner rather than later? I've no previous experience with
drains.

The next question, should there be a manhole on our property? If so,
then I can't find it!!

Below is (hopefully) a link to a noddy diagram I've done to illustrate
our layout. Any idea where I should look?

[IMG]http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee113/klkbloke/
HouseDrains.jpg[/IMG]

For some reason, I think there may be a drain in the bottom right hand
corner but this is a raised bed (lots of slate) with no obvious
manholes. Short of digging random holes I'm not sure where to look.

Do the council maintain plans of drains?

The house is ~1910 with an extension dating from ~1930 at the back.And
it's corner plot.

Any suggestions welcome!

Cheers.

beamer wrote:
Hi All,

We've got a problem with our drains!

Am I worrying to soon? Toilet, sink and bath are all taking a long
time drain/flush. It has been like this for the last week or so.

Worry! It won't get .better. Only call a 'drain expert' company as a last
resort, they cost a bloody fortune.

Do you think if I leave this it might fix itself or should I take a
look sooner rather than later? I've no previous experience with
drains.

Sooner.

The next question, should there be a manhole on our property? If so,
then I can't find it!!

Not necessarily, could be shared with a neighbour on a property that age.
If you find one next door, put some food die in your bog, flush & watch :-)

Below is (hopefully) a link to a noddy diagram I've done to illustrate
our layout. Any idea where I should look?

[IMG]http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee113/klkbloke/
HouseDrains.jpg[/IMG]

For some reason, I think there may be a drain in the bottom right hand
corner but this is a raised bed (lots of slate) with no obvious
manholes. Short of digging random holes I'm not sure where to look.

Unlikely IME to have an inspection cover on the 'wrong' side of the house
especially in a raised bed.

Do the council maintain plans of drains?

Not sure, I guess so, give them a call.

Sounds like a single blockage is causing everything to slow down. Do the
wastes from bath & basin empty into a hopper or are they connected to the
soil pipe? I'd guess the latter. Photo of the outside?

Try some caustic soda (B&Q) it might shift things. Nasty stuff, follow the
instructions.

Biggest blockage causes IME - (1) female sanitary products, (2) plastic
smelly things, (3) toddlers stuffing all sorts down loo.


--
Dave - The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk
01634 717930
07850 597257

Hi
In fullagreement with TMH do something now.
You say 1910 build unless you are in a big city most urban houses had shared
toilets in those days and rven in 1930 outside loo's were the norm'.
If your toilet soil pipe is plastic then you have had a conversion done and
if done correctly the builder would have had to fit a man hole to connect
into the outside toilet.
Unfortunately IME most simply ran into the underground hopper of the outside
loo ,put a slate or flag over the top and filled it in.
After a while this erodes and the hopper fills with soil bricks etc which
trap paper etc(you get the picture)

HTH

CJ

On Mon, 10 Dec 2007 13:43:28 -0800 (PST) someone who may be beamer
wrote this:-

Am I worrying to soon? Toilet, sink and bath are all taking a long
time drain/flush. It has been like this for the last week or so.

Do you think if I leave this it might fix itself

It might, but the chances of it doing do are probably under 5%.

or should I take a look sooner rather than later?

Sooner. Don't leave it until the weekend.

The next question, should there be a manhole on our property? If so,
then I can't find it!!

There should be at least one, but to some extent this depends on the
drains. Does the "drain for bathroom" take the toilet? Does the
"drain for kitchen" go directly into the ground, or does it
discharge into a gully? Is the "soil pipe" connected to any
appliances? Where is the road (the sewer is usually there)?

At a guess there should be one or two manholes at the back of the
house, they are often provided where one or more drains join. They
are also provided at major changes in direction, so if the sewer is
at the front then there will be one to the right of the house, where
the drain turns through a right angle to go down the right side of
the house. If the grey thing to the right of the drawing is the road
then the drain probably goes directly to it from the back of the
house.

At the edge of your property there is probably an intercepting trap,
in a manhole. These are often the source of trouble and are
sometimes revealed by an above ground air vent, though many of these
have been removed by misguided DIYers.

You may also find that the drains of your house are combined with
those of an adjacent house and so go in an unexpected direction.
Does a neighbour have the same problem?

Over the years someone may have "improved" the property by removing
or covering over the "unsightly" covers. The way to deal with this
is to know where the drains are likely to run and look in likely
places.

Once you have found where the drains run, which is best done before
it becomes urgent (I mention this so others can learn the lesson),
raise the inspection covers and see which chambers are full, or
partly full. A blockage lies between the full one and the empty one.
Hire or buy some rods and rod from the full chamber towards the
empty one. If the last one is full rod from there to the public
sewer. If there is an intercepting trap try using the plunger to
clear the obstruction from the trap, as it is usually something in
the trap. If this doesn't clear it rod through the rodding arm,
after removing the stopper if it is still there. Use a search engine
to find a drawing of an intercepting trap if you need one, I'm not
describing one.

This has been discussed in previous posts, which you can find with a
search engine, for full details.

Also visit your library and find a book that covers drains. The
drawings in it should be worth a thousand words here.






--
David Hansen, Edinburgh
I will *always* explain revoked encryption keys, unless RIP prevents me
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2000/00023--e.htm#54

wrote:
On 10 Dec,
David Hansen wrote:

Over the years someone may have "improved" the property by removing
or covering over the "unsightly" covers. The way to deal with this
is to know where the drains are likely to run and look in likely
places.

Are there any spots that thaw quicker in snowy/icy weather? The Inspection
chamber may be lurking there.

The problem won't go away. It may appear spectacularly in your garden ,or
that of a neighbour, depending on how the land lies. Otherwise you'll be in
the .....




If the drain is shared and the house built pre 1930 then it ain't your
problem. It'll either be the council's or the water company. In my case
it's Thames Water and pretty damned efficient they are too.

On 11 Dec, 12:02, Stuart Noble
wrote:
wrote:
On 10 Dec,
David Hansen wrote:

Over the years someone may have "improved" the property by removing
or covering over the "unsightly" covers. The way to deal with this
is to know where the drains are likely to run and look in likely
places.

Are there any spots that thaw quicker in snowy/icy weather? The Inspection
chamber may be lurking there.

The problem won't go away. It may appear spectacularly in your garden ,or
that of a neighbour, depending on how the land lies. Otherwise you'll be in
the .....

If the drain is shared and the house built pre 1930 then it ain't your
problem. It'll either be the council's or the water company. In my case
it's Thames Water and pretty damned efficient they are too.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Hi All,

Thanks for the many replies. I expected this sort of response! Better
get off my backside and deal with it ASAP.

I'll try and cover everything.

- I tried the council and water company - very very prompt reply
(within 30 mins!) but they don't hold detailed plans.
- I've spoken to neighbours on all sides. No one else is having
problems. I'm guessing that this means they aren't shared but this is
no guarantee!
- manhole nextdoor is a long way from my house and has been replaced
approx 6 years ago so they know it isn't used by us.
- worked out the raised bed is not actually raised. I think it is the
old level and the rest of the driveway has been dug out easier to
drive up.
- soil pipe is clay
-soil vent pipe is cast iron.
- I can't see where the sink, toilet and bathroom waste link up. I've
only go access to two 6" (ish) square drains. I can't even see the
soil pipe outside the house.
- grey bit on the right hand side of the picture is a side road
(houses about 1960s).
- main road runs left to right at the bottom of the picture.
- judging by the water co plan there is a sewer running down the
middle of the main road and a smaller one running down the centre of
the side road.
- logically I would expect we are using the sewer in the main road??


My plan as it stands is......
Tonight I bought some caustic soda* and put a healthy amount into both
of the accessible drains. I don't think this will work but for the
money it's worth a go.
If this hasn't worked by the morning, I'm going to sneak out of work a
couple hours early and have an exploratory dig in the 'raised' area.
If that fails, I'll then have to start taking up the 6m * 6m decking
to see if there is a manhole under there. Eck.
If that fails, I go to the pub and contemplate (and use their
bathroom!!)

Thanks for all tyour suggestions!

* Not called caustic soda anymore apparently. Few to choose from but
picked one with the most health warnings.

beamer wrote:

* Not called caustic soda anymore apparently. Few to choose from but
picked one with the most health warnings.

Caustic Soda is Caustic Soda - Sodium Hydroxide.

B&Q sell it.


--
Dave - The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk
01634 717930
07850 597257

On Tue, 11 Dec 2007 14:54:57 -0800 (PST) someone who may be beamer
wrote this:-

- worked out the raised bed is not actually raised. I think it is the
old level and the rest of the driveway has been dug out easier to
drive up.

The original drain may well have been under or near the drive.

- logically I would expect we are using the sewer in the main road??

Almost certainly.

If that fails, I'll then have to start taking up the 6m * 6m decking
to see if there is a manhole under there.

You didn't mention that befo-) If it is at the back of the house
it probably covers what you are looking for.



--
David Hansen, Edinburgh
I will *always* explain revoked encryption keys, unless RIP prevents me
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2000/00023--e.htm#54

- I tried the council and water company - very very prompt reply
(within 30 mins!) but they don't hold detailed plans.

At least they can't tell you it's *not* a shared drain then.

- I've spoken to neighbours on all sides. No one else is having
problems. I'm guessing that this means they aren't shared but this is
no guarantee!

Indeed. If you're at the end of the run, you'll probably get the
symptoms first.

- manhole nextdoor is a long way from my house and has been replaced
approx 6 years ago so they know it isn't used by us.
- worked out the raised bed is not actually raised. I think it is the
old level and the rest of the driveway has been dug out easier to
drive up.
- soil pipe is clay
-soil vent pipe is cast iron.
- I can't see where the sink, toilet and bathroom waste link up. I've
only go access to two 6" (ish) square drains. I can't even see the
soil pipe outside the house.
- grey bit on the right hand side of the picture is a side road
(houses about 1960s).
- main road runs left to right at the bottom of the picture.
- judging by the water co plan there is a sewer running down the
middle of the main road and a smaller one running down the centre of
the side road.
- logically I would expect we are using the sewer in the main road??

Bugger it. I'd get the water board out. They've got the gear to flush it
from the road if necessary. If they can't find the access, then you know
it isn't in an obvious place.


My plan as it stands is......
Tonight I bought some caustic soda* and put a healthy amount into both
of the accessible drains. I don't think this will work but for the
money it's worth a go.
If this hasn't worked by the morning, I'm going to sneak out of work a
couple hours early and have an exploratory dig in the 'raised' area.
If that fails, I'll then have to start taking up the 6m * 6m decking
to see if there is a manhole under there. Eck.
If that fails, I go to the pub and contemplate (and use their
bathroom!!)

Thanks for all tyour suggestions!

* Not called caustic soda anymore apparently. Few to choose from but
picked one with the most health warnings.

On Wed, 12 Dec 2007 08:35:58 +0000, David Hansen
wrote:

On Tue, 11 Dec 2007 14:54:57 -0800 (PST) someone who may be beamer
wrote this:-

- worked out the raised bed is not actually raised. I think it is the
old level and the rest of the driveway has been dug out easier to
drive up.

The original drain may well have been under or near the drive.

- logically I would expect we are using the sewer in the main road??

Almost certainly.

If that fails, I'll then have to start taking up the 6m * 6m decking
to see if there is a manhole under there.

You didn't mention that befo-) If it is at the back of the house
it probably covers what you are looking for.

Yes, logically, I would expect to see the manhole somewhere near to
where all those gullies and soil pipe are and all of them discharging
into it. If there is decking there ir does sound as if it may be under
it. Who the hell put the decking down?

Who the hell put the decking down?


Not TMH I hope!

Stuart Noble wrote:
Who the hell put the decking down?


Not TMH I hope!

TMH has the common sense to build in access hatches!


--
Dave - The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk
01634 717930
07850 597257

The Medway Handyman wrote:
Stuart Noble wrote:
Who the hell put the decking down?

Not TMH I hope!

TMH has the common sense to build in access hatches!



I saw one that was a children's sand pit, so you knew where the manhole
was but would have to lift 50kgs or so to get to it

On Dec 12, 4:58 pm, Stuart Noble
wrote:
The Medway Handyman wrote:
Stuart Noble wrote:
Who the hell put the decking down?

Not TMH I hope!

TMH has the common sense to build in access hatches!

I saw one that was a children's sand pit, so you knew where the manhole
was but would have to lift 50kgs or so to get to it

Hi All,

Sorry. I forgot to mention the decking. I pulled up every 3 or 4 plank
and dug around with an old screwdriver. No sign of any drain. Also had
a look at the 'raised' area with no sucess. Possibly it's buried
deeper but who knows?

Very heavy frost this morning and no warmer parts of the garden were
evident.

Tried proper caustic soda as well with no success. The B&Q nearest to
me said they didn't stock it? Had to resort to HomeBase.

Not sure what to try next. Reluctant to call out water board at £111
per hour. Visions of them standing around having a smoke at nearly £2
a minute!

Not sure what to do next but run out of daylight to do any more today.
Probably spend a bit more time on it tomorrow before I finally admit
defeat.


Thanks for all the suggestions so far!

P.S. It wasn't me that laid the decking in case you're wondering

On Dec 11, 10:54 pm, beamer wrote:
- I've spoken to neighbours on all sides. No one else is having
problems. I'm guessing that this means they aren't shared but this is
no guarantee!
- manhole nextdoor is a long way from my house and has been replaced
approx 6 years ago so they know it isn't used by us.

Am no expert on drains but I'd try to find out where the manholes are
on either side of you.

I'd expect the manholes are where each house drain tees into the main
line, so might be able to find out how it runs across your property
and look for likely places where yours might be.

cheers,
Pete.

On 12 Dec, 18:27, Pete C wrote:
On Dec 11, 10:54 pm, beamer wrote:

- I've spoken to neighbours on all sides. No one else is having
problems. I'm guessing that this means they aren't shared but this is
no guarantee!
- manhole nextdoor is a long way from my house and has been replaced
approx 6 years ago so they know it isn't used by us.

Am no expert on drains but I'd try to find out where the manholes are
on either side of you.

I'd expect the manholes are where each house drain tees into the main
line, so might be able to find out how it runs across your property
and look for likely places where yours might be.

cheers,
Pete.

Hi,

Thanks for the suggestion but I have already considered that. On one
side, they have had all the drains replaced (at a cost of £6K!!) so
they know I'm not using it. The other side of the house is a side road
(we're on a corner plot) and the house to the rear has also had
problem in the past and insist that their drain only serves their
house.

Eck.

Tried proper caustic soda as well with no success. The B&Q nearest to
me said they didn't stock it? Had to resort to HomeBase.

Caustic is overrated as a drain cleaner. It very gradually dissolves oil
and fat but does nothing if the problem is something else.

Not sure what to try next. Reluctant to call out water board at £111
per hour. Visions of them standing around having a smoke at nearly £2
a minute!

But they must do it for free if it's shared. They don't exactly
publicise the fact though. It's a shame we can't establish whether
that's the case.

Not sure what to do next but run out of daylight to do any more today.
Probably spend a bit more time on it tomorrow before I finally admit
defeat.

Try shoving a length of garden hose round the toilet U bend.
Good luck.

Hi
Another though considering the new info' you say the house at the rear had
problems ?
Is there (or was there) a path between you?
If so look there you may have shared a 'Tipler' outside loo years ago (these
were up to 12feet deep) .
You also mention cast iron fittings ,as an end house check the rainwater run
offs these connect to the same main drain but were dropped into when inside
plumbing took off.

Failing that get out the devining rods .(really does work only trouble is
doesn't just sense drains) or borrow ground radar from 'Time Team' (hehe)

sorry
CJ

On 12 Dec, 22:01, "cj" wrote:
Hi
Another though considering the new info' you say the house at the rear had
problems ?
Is there (or was there) a path between you?
If so look there you may have shared a 'Tipler' outside loo years ago (these
were up to 12feet deep) .
You also mention cast iron fittings ,as an end house check the rainwater run
offs these connect to the same main drain but were dropped into when inside
plumbing took off.

Failing that get out the devining rods .(really does work only trouble is
doesn't just sense drains) or borrow ground radar from 'Time Team' (hehe)

sorry
CJ


Hi All,

Thanks for the suggestions. I may have made a small amount of
progress. I (ok it was the wife) had the idea of contacting the
house's previous owner.

Eventually, with the help of the Companies House website I tracked him
down and paid him a visit. He is pretty sure that there is a vent pipe
in the 'raised' area at the front. I can't see anything so I'm
assuming it has to be buried.

He was also responsible for putting in the decking and turfing the
whole back garden and is 100% sure there are no manhole covers to be
found.

Saturday morning will be spent digging up all the slate, membrane and
whatever else I find. Fingers crossed.

Cheers.

On 12 Dec, 17:34, beamer wrote:


Not sure what to try next. Reluctant to call out water board at £111
per hour. Visions of them standing around having a smoke at nearly £2
a minute!


If you have been quoted £111 then that's what you have been quoted -
but it seems steep to me.

My mother's drains had a similar problem. A local "specialist" firm
quoted £120 per hour (or part thereof). Following suggestions from
this group, I contacted mother's water company. They quoted £65 / hour
(Thames Water). Young lad was round in under 2 hours. He lifted the
inspection cover - plunged for 30 seconds and no more block. Best £65
I had spent because if problem had been with public sewer he could
have rodded and hosed from the road at no cost to me. After clearing
the block, we mixed Caustic Soda and water ( from Homebase, I think)
in the sink and pulled the plug - just to clean any residual "gunge".

It is possible (I'm guessing here) that if you can't show someone
where the inspection cover is on your property they can turn round and
say they can't fix the problem.

I recognise it's really difficult to know what to do when you can't
see the problem. Two ideas where the inspection cover may be

1. Where do your soil pipe and other waste water pipes go underground?
Surely there will be an inspection chamber near there?

2. Can you see a little metal "cube" with a grille at the front? I
think that's an "odour vent" (don't know correct term) from inspection
chamber. At my mother's house it was almost completely buried by the
paving that has been laid 30 years ago.

Drains. Ugh, horrid. Good luck

Clive

On Dec 13, 11:17 pm, Clive wrote:
On 12 Dec, 17:34, beamer wrote:



Not sure what to try next. Reluctant to call out water board at £111
per hour. Visions of them standing around having a smoke at nearly £2
a minute!

If you have been quoted £111 then that's what you have been quoted -
but it seems steep to me.

My mother's drains had a similar problem. A local "specialist" firm
quoted £120 per hour (or part thereof). Following suggestions from
this group, I contacted mother's water company. They quoted £65 / hour
(Thames Water). Young lad was round in under 2 hours. He lifted the
inspection cover - plunged for 30 seconds and no more block. Best £65
I had spent because if problem had been with public sewer he could
have rodded and hosed from the road at no cost to me. After clearing
the block, we mixed Caustic Soda and water ( from Homebase, I think)
in the sink and pulled the plug - just to clean any residual "gunge".

It is possible (I'm guessing here) that if you can't show someone
where the inspection cover is on your property they can turn round and
say they can't fix the problem.

I recognise it's really difficult to know what to do when you can't
see the problem. Two ideas where the inspection cover may be

1. Where do your soil pipe and other waste water pipes go underground?
Surely there will be an inspection chamber near there?

2. Can you see a little metal "cube" with a grille at the front? I
think that's an "odour vent" (don't know correct term) from inspection
chamber. At my mother's house it was almost completely buried by the
paving that has been laid 30 years ago.

Drains. Ugh, horrid. Good luck

Clive

Ok.......I've just had a phonecall from my wife.

She heard a very loud gurgling noise in the house which made her panic
a bit as she thought the bathroom was flooding. Upon investigation,
the toilet now flushes perfectly!!!!

It *seems* that the drain has cleared itself!?!?!

I danced a little jog but I'm still a little suspicious.

Could the caustic soda finally worked it's magic?

I recommended she clean flushes the toilet a few times to clear away
any remnants of the blockage. I'm also planning to do a few more
precuationary doses of caustic soda and to try and find flippin'
missing manhole.

Is there anything else I should be doing do you think?

Thanks for all the help.

(wahey!)

beamer wrote:
On Dec 13, 11:17 pm, Clive wrote:
On 12 Dec, 17:34, beamer wrote:



Not sure what to try next. Reluctant to call out water board at £111
per hour. Visions of them standing around having a smoke at nearly £2
a minute!
If you have been quoted £111 then that's what you have been quoted -
but it seems steep to me.

My mother's drains had a similar problem. A local "specialist" firm
quoted £120 per hour (or part thereof). Following suggestions from
this group, I contacted mother's water company. They quoted £65 / hour
(Thames Water). Young lad was round in under 2 hours. He lifted the
inspection cover - plunged for 30 seconds and no more block. Best £65
I had spent because if problem had been with public sewer he could
have rodded and hosed from the road at no cost to me. After clearing
the block, we mixed Caustic Soda and water ( from Homebase, I think)
in the sink and pulled the plug - just to clean any residual "gunge".

It is possible (I'm guessing here) that if you can't show someone
where the inspection cover is on your property they can turn round and
say they can't fix the problem.

I recognise it's really difficult to know what to do when you can't
see the problem. Two ideas where the inspection cover may be

1. Where do your soil pipe and other waste water pipes go underground?
Surely there will be an inspection chamber near there?

2. Can you see a little metal "cube" with a grille at the front? I
think that's an "odour vent" (don't know correct term) from inspection
chamber. At my mother's house it was almost completely buried by the
paving that has been laid 30 years ago.

Drains. Ugh, horrid. Good luck

Clive

Ok.......I've just had a phonecall from my wife.

She heard a very loud gurgling noise in the house which made her panic
a bit as she thought the bathroom was flooding. Upon investigation,
the toilet now flushes perfectly!!!!

It *seems* that the drain has cleared itself!?!?!

I danced a little jog but I'm still a little suspicious.

Could the caustic soda finally worked it's magic?

I recommended she clean flushes the toilet a few times to clear away
any remnants of the blockage. I'm also planning to do a few more
precuationary doses of caustic soda and to try and find flippin'
missing manhole.

Is there anything else I should be doing do you think?

Thanks for all the help.

(wahey!)

Wahey indeed. Some things right themselves. Caustic is slippery so,
apart from breaking down paper and stuff, it lubricates.
Yes, do find the manhole cover. Everybody should know where that and the
water company's stopcock are.

beamer wrote:
Ok.......I've just had a phonecall from my wife.

She heard a very loud gurgling noise in the house which made her panic
a bit as she thought the bathroom was flooding. Upon investigation,
the toilet now flushes perfectly!!!!

It *seems* that the drain has cleared itself!?!?!

I danced a little jog but I'm still a little suspicious.

Could the caustic soda finally worked it's magic?

I'm claiming that one as a miracle :-)


(wahey!)

Wahey indeed.


--
Dave - The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk
01634 717930
07850 597257

On Dec 14, 10:18 am, beamer wrote:
On Dec 13, 11:17 pm, Clive wrote:





On 12 Dec, 17:34, beamer wrote:

Not sure what to try next. Reluctant to call out water board at £111
per hour. Visions of them standing around having a smoke at nearly £2
a minute!

If you have been quoted £111 then that's what you have been quoted -
but it seems steep to me.

My mother's drains had a similar problem. A local "specialist" firm
quoted £120 per hour (or part thereof). Following suggestions from
this group, I contacted mother's water company. They quoted £65 / hour
(Thames Water). Young lad was round in under 2 hours. He lifted the
inspection cover - plunged for 30 seconds and no more block. Best £65
I had spent because if problem had been with public sewer he could
have rodded and hosed from the road at no cost to me. After clearing
the block, we mixed Caustic Soda and water ( from Homebase, I think)
in the sink and pulled the plug - just to clean any residual "gunge".

It is possible (I'm guessing here) that if you can't show someone
where the inspection cover is on your property they can turn round and
say they can't fix the problem.

I recognise it's really difficult to know what to do when you can't
see the problem. Two ideas where the inspection cover may be

1. Where do your soil pipe and other waste water pipes go underground?
Surely there will be an inspection chamber near there?

2. Can you see a little metal "cube" with a grille at the front? I
think that's an "odour vent" (don't know correct term) from inspection
chamber. At my mother's house it was almost completely buried by the
paving that has been laid 30 years ago.

Drains. Ugh, horrid. Good luck

Clive

Ok.......I've just had a phonecall from my wife.

She heard a very loud gurgling noise in the house which made her panic
a bit as she thought the bathroom was flooding. Upon investigation,
the toilet now flushes perfectly!!!!

It *seems* that the drain has cleared itself!?!?!

I danced a little jog but I'm still a little suspicious.

Could the caustic soda finally worked it's magic?

I recommended she clean flushes the toilet a few times to clear away
any remnants of the blockage. I'm also planning to do a few more
precuationary doses of caustic soda and to try and find flippin'
missing manhole.

Is there anything else I should be doing do you think?


Don't neglect the simple approach: buy a plunger and whack it up and
down in the recently flushed and full loo. make sure it seals well
against the sides of the loo so that you move the whole water column
up/down.

Robert

You lucky B*^*&R ,still try and find the drain layout and access points
though.
You may not be as Jammy next time.

Seems Xmas has come early..ho ho ho!

CJ

On 14 Dec, 16:03, RobertL wrote:
Don't neglect the simple approach: buy a plunger and whack it up and
down in the recently flushed and full loo. make sure it seals well
against the sides of the loo so that you move the whole water column
up/down.

Robert

A trick I was given (on uk.diy, methinks) is if you can't get a good
seal with a plunger in the toilet bowl, buy a mop, one of those with
strips of fabric is fine or a traditional "string" one. Then insert
the mop (business end first !) into the pan (alongside whatever
"material" is in the pan. Push the mop in well to block the whole of
the exit pipe. Fill the toilet with a bucket of water - you can flush
the loo but then you lose control of the amount of water going in ...
you get the idea of the outcome ...

Then when the toilet bowl is full of water (and the rest) , "pump" the
handle of the mop up and down. This tries to force the blockage out
and if even a little moves, creates a syphon to pull the water in the
bowl through. You get a really satisying whoosh or gurgle (I think the
op heard one of those) as the blockage clears. I have had to do this
up to 4 times to clear a blockage (on a toilet with an incredibly
badly installed outlet pipe) and it does work.

I would do this a second time after success, maybe even once a month,
even in the absence of an apparent block, if your loo is susceptible
to blocking, to stop anything building up.

Clive

On Thu, 13 Dec 2007 13:51:57 -0800 (PST) someone who may be beamer
wrote this:-

He is pretty sure that there is a vent pipe
in the 'raised' area at the front. I can't see anything so I'm
assuming it has to be buried.

Then there should be an intercepting trap there. It may have been
deeper than you dug.

However these should be inspection hatches at corners in the drains
and since there are not perhaps they run straight to the
intercepting trap.

As others have suggested, find out where things are now as you may
not be so lucky next time.


--
David Hansen, Edinburgh
I will *always* explain revoked encryption keys, unless RIP prevents me
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2000/00023--e.htm#54

On 16 Dec, 20:08, David Hansen
wrote:
On Thu, 13 Dec 2007 13:51:57 -0800 (PST) someone who may be beamer
wrote this:-

He is pretty sure that there is a vent pipe
in the 'raised' area at the front. I can't see anything so I'm
assuming it has to be buried.

Then there should be an intercepting trap there. It may have been
deeper than you dug.

However these should be inspection hatches at corners in the drains
and since there are not perhaps they run straight to the
intercepting trap.

As others have suggested, find out where things are now as you may
not be so lucky next time.

--
David Hansen, Edinburgh
I will *always* explain revoked encryption keys, unless RIP prevents me
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2000/00023--e.htm#54

I've tried the plunging (and plunging and plunging and more plunging)
without success but not using the aforementioned method.

Definitely will try and locate the drain - was going to do it this
weekend but got distracted by my new car project ('66 Sunbeam). Ooops.

Now my boiler is playing up! Grrrhhhh....

Should have some free time over Xmas so will try and find the drain
then.

On 17 Dec 2007, 20:30, beamer wrote:
On 16 Dec, 20:08, David Hansen
wrote:





On Thu, 13 Dec 2007 13:51:57 -0800 (PST) someone who may be beamer
wrote this:-

He is pretty sure that there is a vent pipe
in the 'raised' area at the front. I can't see anything so I'm
assuming it has to be buried.

Then there should be an intercepting trap there. It may have been
deeper than you dug.

However these should be inspection hatches at corners in thedrains
and since there are not perhaps they run straight to the
intercepting trap.

As others have suggested, find out where things are now as you may
not be so lucky next time.

--
* David Hansen, Edinburgh
*I will *always* explain revoked encryption keys, unless RIP prevents me
*http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2000/00023--e.htm#54

I've tried the plunging (and plunging and plunging and more plunging)
without success but not using the aforementioned method.

Definitely will try and locate the drain - was going to do it this
weekend but got distracted by my new car project ('66 Sunbeam). Ooops.

Now my boiler is playing up! Grrrhhhh....

Should have some free time over Xmas so will try and find the drain
then.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

HI All,

I thought those of you that have helped with this may be interested to
hear the latest.

Predictably the drain blocked again except this time it was far worse.

I called up the local water company again. Instead of saying it was my
problem (which is what they said last time) they sent someone out to
investigate!!

They found a manhole roughly in the area I was hoping to find it. The
reason I didn't find it was that it was buried far deeper than I
expected. They used a metal detector.

After a fair bit of digging the manhole was opened up and rodded. Took
a significant amount of swearing before it eventually cleared. Problem
(hopefully) solved. No evidence of roots or anything else causing
problems just "stuff" blocking both the u-bend and the rodding hole
(I'm sure there are proper terms for these).

Needless to say I got charged £90, but to get a working toilet again
at 11pm it was worth every penny.

Cheers.