My drain from the kitchen to the main drain is blocked. It looks like
it’s down to hard fat … AGAIN……….

Last time, I removed the fat by putting on a long glove and putting my
hand down the drain and then up the u bend and scraping the fat with a
piece of old electric cable from an old shower. This worked, but was
especially nasty when I got some of the drain water up my glove.
Despite telling swimbo not to wash fat down the kitchen drain the drain
is blocked again. Not wanting to repeat the experience I made the
mistake of believing the guy in the diy store when they recommended a
chemical to pour down the drain to clear the fat, despite several
attempts no luck. Subsequently I have added 1KG of caustic soda, still
nothing.
My problem is now I don’t have the option of putting my hand down the
drain. What can I do?
I tried jet washing from the man hold last time to no avail. All I can
think of is digging up the patio and drilling a hole in the pipe to
allow me to put a piece of metal in the pipe to break up the fat.

Any other ideas, apart from replacing the pipe.

Thanks

Exhausted wrote:
My drain from the kitchen to the main drain is blocked. It looks like
it�s down to hard fat � AGAIN���.

Last time, I removed the fat by putting on a long glove and putting my
hand down the drain and then up the u bend and scraping the fat with a
piece of old electric cable from an old shower. This worked, but was
especially nasty when I got some of the drain water up my glove.
Despite telling swimbo not to wash fat down the kitchen drain the drain
is blocked again. Not wanting to repeat the experience I made the
mistake of believing the guy in the diy store when they recommended a
chemical to pour down the drain to clear the fat, despite several
attempts no luck. Subsequently I have added 1KG of caustic soda, still
nothing.
My problem is now I don�t have the option of putting my hand down the
drain. What can I do?
I tried jet washing from the man hold last time to no avail. All I can
think of is digging up the patio and drilling a hole in the pipe to
allow me to put a piece of metal in the pipe to break up the fat.

Any other ideas, apart from replacing the pipe.

Thanks

http://www.wiki.diyfaq.org.uk/index....nblock_a_Drain


NT

wrote:
Exhausted wrote:
My drain from the kitchen to the main drain is blocked. It looks like
it�s down to hard fat � AGAIN���.

Last time, I removed the fat by putting on a long glove and putting my
hand down the drain and then up the u bend and scraping the fat with a
piece of old electric cable from an old shower. This worked, but was
especially nasty when I got some of the drain water up my glove.
Despite telling swimbo not to wash fat down the kitchen drain the drain
is blocked again. Not wanting to repeat the experience I made the
mistake of believing the guy in the diy store when they recommended a
chemical to pour down the drain to clear the fat, despite several
attempts no luck. Subsequently I have added 1KG of caustic soda, still
nothing.
My problem is now I don�t have the option of putting my hand down the
drain. What can I do?
I tried jet washing from the man hold last time to no avail. All I can
think of is digging up the patio and drilling a hole in the pipe to
allow me to put a piece of metal in the pipe to break up the fat.

Any other ideas, apart from replacing the pipe.

Thanks

http://www.wiki.diyfaq.org.uk/index....nblock_a_Drain


NT
any others, as not a lot of these are workable due to the caustic soda

"Exhausted" wrote in message
...
My drain from the kitchen to the main drain is blocked. It looks like it’s
down to hard fat … AGAIN……….

Last time, I removed the fat by putting on a long glove and putting my
hand down the drain and then up the u bend and scraping the fat with a
piece of old electric cable from an old shower. This worked, but was
especially nasty when I got some of the drain water up my glove.
Despite telling swimbo not to wash fat down the kitchen drain the drain is
blocked again. Not wanting to repeat the experience I made the mistake of
believing the guy in the diy store when they recommended a chemical to
pour down the drain to clear the fat, despite several attempts no luck.
Subsequently I have added 1KG of caustic soda, still nothing.
My problem is now I don’t have the option of putting my hand down the
drain. What can I do?
I tried jet washing from the man hold last time to no avail. All I can
think of is digging up the patio and drilling a hole in the pipe to allow
me to put a piece of metal in the pipe to break up the fat.

Any other ideas, apart from replacing the pipe.

Thanks

If all else fails, use heat. A hose pipe connected to the hot tap used in
the same way as rodding may shift the offending fat.

any others, as not a lot of these are workable due to the caustic soda

Tell your missus to pay for the a call from a drain company...

It might be worth investing in a set of drain rods with a spiral so
you can hack away at the blockage from downstream.

You really will have to be careful as regards the caustic soda though,
as I believe the blockage can be prone to clearing quite quickly once
breached. Goggles would be advisable as a minimum anyway at a guess !

Colin Wilson wrote:
any others, as not a lot of these are workable due to the caustic soda

Tell your missus to pay for the a call from a drain company...

It might be worth investing in a set of drain rods with a spiral so
you can hack away at the blockage from downstream.

You really will have to be careful as regards the caustic soda though,
as I believe the blockage can be prone to clearing quite quickly once
breached. Goggles would be advisable as a minimum anyway at a guess !
trouble is the fat appears to be at the top of the ubend, so access from
the man hole end will not touch it(i.e just below the pipe, and from the
drain end its quite a route through caustic soda,

Fredxx wrote:
"Exhausted" wrote in message
...
My drain from the kitchen to the main drain is blocked. It looks like it’s
down to hard fat … AGAIN……….

Last time, I removed the fat by putting on a long glove and putting my
hand down the drain and then up the u bend and scraping the fat with a
piece of old electric cable from an old shower. This worked, but was
especially nasty when I got some of the drain water up my glove.
Despite telling swimbo not to wash fat down the kitchen drain the drain is
blocked again. Not wanting to repeat the experience I made the mistake of
believing the guy in the diy store when they recommended a chemical to
pour down the drain to clear the fat, despite several attempts no luck.
Subsequently I have added 1KG of caustic soda, still nothing.
My problem is now I don’t have the option of putting my hand down the
drain. What can I do?
I tried jet washing from the man hold last time to no avail. All I can
think of is digging up the patio and drilling a hole in the pipe to allow
me to put a piece of metal in the pipe to break up the fat.

Any other ideas, apart from replacing the pipe.

Thanks

If all else fails, use heat. A hose pipe connected to the hot tap used in
the same way as rodding may shift the offending fat.


If it is outside, then tipping in a large bucket of hot water from as
high as possible will often clear the blockage, as the hot water goes to
the bottom and helps to soften the fat, and also the water pressure
pushes the blockage at the same time. Might need a few attempts. Failing
that leave it overnight to see if the caustic has worked.

Fredxx wrote:
"Exhausted" wrote in message
...
My drain from the kitchen to the main drain is blocked. It looks like it’s
down to hard fat … AGAIN……….

Last time, I removed the fat by putting on a long glove and putting my
hand down the drain and then up the u bend and scraping the fat with a
piece of old electric cable from an old shower. This worked, but was
especially nasty when I got some of the drain water up my glove.
Despite telling swimbo not to wash fat down the kitchen drain the drain is
blocked again. Not wanting to repeat the experience I made the mistake of
believing the guy in the diy store when they recommended a chemical to
pour down the drain to clear the fat, despite several attempts no luck.
Subsequently I have added 1KG of caustic soda, still nothing.
My problem is now I don’t have the option of putting my hand down the
drain. What can I do?
I tried jet washing from the man hold last time to no avail. All I can
think of is digging up the patio and drilling a hole in the pipe to allow
me to put a piece of metal in the pipe to break up the fat.

Any other ideas, apart from replacing the pipe.

Thanks

If all else fails, use heat. A hose pipe connected to the hot tap used in
the same way as rodding may shift the offending fat.


forgot to say been running as much hot water as possible , but there is
not room for much.about 6L max i guess

Exhausted wrote:
My drain from the kitchen to the main drain is blocked. It looks like
it’s down to hard fat … AGAIN……….

Last time, I removed the fat by putting on a long glove and putting my
hand down the drain and then up the u bend and scraping the fat with a
piece of old electric cable from an old shower. This worked, but was
especially nasty when I got some of the drain water up my glove.
Despite telling swimbo not to wash fat down the kitchen drain the drain
is blocked again. Not wanting to repeat the experience I made the
mistake of believing the guy in the diy store when they recommended a
chemical to pour down the drain to clear the fat, despite several
attempts no luck. Subsequently I have added 1KG of caustic soda, still
nothing.
My problem is now I don’t have the option of putting my hand down the
drain. What can I do?
I tried jet washing from the man hold last time to no avail. All I can
think of is digging up the patio and drilling a hole in the pipe to
allow me to put a piece of metal in the pipe to break up the fat.

Any other ideas, apart from replacing the pipe.

Thanks

What about a plumbers snake? If you undo the u-bend / trap wearing
gloves to avoid any caustic, then you could push the snake into the
waste pipe and slowly rotate it as you push it in. It should push
straight through the fat and hopefully dislodge it, or at least make a
hole the caustic soda can get through. After that maybe some very hot
water would soften it enough to clear it out.

Wickes sell the plumbers snakes, probably other sheds too and they
aren't too expensive. A lot less hassle and cheaper than digging up the
drive!

--
David in Normandy.
To e-mail you must include the password FROG on the
subject line, or it will be automatically deleted
by a filter and not reach my inbox.

"Exhausted" wrote in message
...

trouble is the fat appears to be at the top of the ubend, so access from
the man hole end will not touch it(i.e just below the pipe, and from the
drain end its quite a route through caustic soda,

Heat is good.

Getting rid of all that caustic soda is another good idea - shoving 1KG of
it in there was a _really_ bad idea, but with any luck you know that now.

I'd be getting a hose with warm water down there. Flush the nasty caustic
stuff out, and be careful about it.

Here's another really bad idea - brick acid. Will react with the caustic
soda and get very hot, and start splashing horrible nasty stuff all over the
place. OTOH if you're insanely careful, it might work - the heat could melt
the fat. But don't slosh it in like you did with the caustic - use tiny
quantities, otherwise you _will_ end up in hospital with horrific burns and
no sight. Should I mention that this is a really bad idea and should only be
attempted if you're prepared to be properly careful in the way you haven't
been so far?

Vernon wrote:
Fredxx wrote:
"Exhausted" wrote in message
...
My drain from the kitchen to the main drain is blocked. It looks like
it’s down to hard fat … AGAIN……….

Last time, I removed the fat by putting on a long glove and putting
my hand down the drain and then up the u bend and scraping the fat
with a piece of old electric cable from an old shower. This worked,
but was especially nasty when I got some of the drain water up my glove.
Despite telling swimbo not to wash fat down the kitchen drain the
drain is blocked again. Not wanting to repeat the experience I made
the mistake of believing the guy in the diy store when they
recommended a chemical to pour down the drain to clear the fat,
despite several attempts no luck. Subsequently I have added 1KG of
caustic soda, still nothing.
My problem is now I don’t have the option of putting my hand down the
drain. What can I do?
I tried jet washing from the man hold last time to no avail. All I
can think of is digging up the patio and drilling a hole in the pipe
to allow me to put a piece of metal in the pipe to break up the fat.

Any other ideas, apart from replacing the pipe.

Thanks

If all else fails, use heat. A hose pipe connected to the hot tap
used in the same way as rodding may shift the offending fat.


If it is outside, then tipping in a large bucket of hot water from as
high as possible will often clear the blockage, as the hot water goes to
the bottom and helps to soften the fat, and also the water pressure
pushes the blockage at the same time. Might need a few attempts. Failing
that leave it overnight to see if the caustic has worked.
Nice ideas but the Ubend is in the way hopefully the text drawing below
will make things clearer

GROUND[ DRAIN ]GROUND GROUND GROUND GROUND GROUND GROUND GROUND
GROUND[ DRAIN ]GROUND -----------------------------------------
GROUND[ DRAIN ]GROUND [ FAT FAT DRAIN DRAIN eventually man hole
GROUND[ DRAIN ]GROUND [ FAT FAT DRAIN DRAIN eventually man hole
GROUND[ DRAIN ]GROUND [ DRAIN ]---------------------------------
GROUND[ DRAIN ]GROUND [ DRAIN ] GROUND GROUND GROUND GROUND
GROUND[ DRAIN DRAIN DRAIN [ DRAIN ] GROUND GROUND GROUND GROUND
GROUND[ DRAIN DRAIN DRAIN [ DRAIN ] GROUND GROUND GROUND GROUND
GROUND[ DRAIN ----------------- GROUND GROUND GROUND GROUND
GROUND{ ]GROUND GROUND GROUND GROUND GROUND GROUND GROUND
GROUND--------------GROUND GROUND GROUND GROUND GROUND GROUND GROUND
GROUND GROUND GROUND GROUND GROUND GROUND GROUND GROUND GROUND GROUND

David in Normandy wrote:
Exhausted wrote:
My drain from the kitchen to the main drain is blocked. It looks like
it’s down to hard fat … AGAIN……….

Last time, I removed the fat by putting on a long glove and putting my
hand down the drain and then up the u bend and scraping the fat with a
piece of old electric cable from an old shower. This worked, but was
especially nasty when I got some of the drain water up my glove.
Despite telling swimbo not to wash fat down the kitchen drain the
drain is blocked again. Not wanting to repeat the experience I made
the mistake of believing the guy in the diy store when they
recommended a chemical to pour down the drain to clear the fat,
despite several attempts no luck. Subsequently I have added 1KG of
caustic soda, still nothing.
My problem is now I don’t have the option of putting my hand down the
drain. What can I do?
I tried jet washing from the man hold last time to no avail. All I can
think of is digging up the patio and drilling a hole in the pipe to
allow me to put a piece of metal in the pipe to break up the fat.

Any other ideas, apart from replacing the pipe.

Thanks

What about a plumbers snake? If you undo the u-bend / trap wearing
gloves to avoid any caustic, then you could push the snake into the
waste pipe and slowly rotate it as you push it in. It should push
straight through the fat and hopefully dislodge it, or at least make a
hole the caustic soda can get through. After that maybe some very hot
water would soften it enough to clear it out.

Wickes sell the plumbers snakes, probably other sheds too and they
aren't too expensive. A lot less hassle and cheaper than digging up the
drive!

Thanks by the ubend is underground ,can't be undone i.e is not on the sink

"Exhausted" wrote in message
...
Fredxx wrote:
"Exhausted" wrote in message
...
My drain from the kitchen to the main drain is blocked. It looks like it’s
down to hard fat … AGAIN……….

Last time, I removed the fat by putting on a long glove and putting my
hand down the drain and then up the u bend and scraping the fat with a
piece of old electric cable from an old shower. This worked, but was
especially nasty when I got some of the drain water up my glove.
Despite telling swimbo not to wash fat down the kitchen drain the drain
is blocked again. Not wanting to repeat the experience I made the
mistake of believing the guy in the diy store when they recommended a
chemical to pour down the drain to clear the fat, despite several
attempts no luck. Subsequently I have added 1KG of caustic soda, still
nothing.
My problem is now I don’t have the option of putting my hand down the
drain. What can I do?
I tried jet washing from the man hold last time to no avail. All I can
think of is digging up the patio and drilling a hole in the pipe to
allow me to put a piece of metal in the pipe to break up the fat.

Any other ideas, apart from replacing the pipe.

Thanks

If all else fails, use heat. A hose pipe connected to the hot tap used
in the same way as rodding may shift the offending fat.


forgot to say been running as much hot water as possible , but there is
not room for much.about 6L max i guess

I would hope sloshing hot water around the fat would eventually melt it.
Put the hose as far as you can up along the dran. A hot pipe is very
flexible

Clive George wrote:
"Exhausted" wrote in message
...

trouble is the fat appears to be at the top of the ubend, so access from
the man hole end will not touch it(i.e just below the pipe, and from the
drain end its quite a route through caustic soda,

Heat is good.

Getting rid of all that caustic soda is another good idea - shoving 1KG of
it in there was a _really_ bad idea, but with any luck you know that now.

I'd be getting a hose with warm water down there. Flush the nasty caustic
stuff out, and be careful about it.

Here's another really bad idea - brick acid. Will react with the caustic
soda and get very hot, and start splashing horrible nasty stuff all over the
place. OTOH if you're insanely careful, it might work - the heat could melt
the fat. But don't slosh it in like you did with the caustic - use tiny
quantities, otherwise you _will_ end up in hospital with horrific burns and
no sight. Should I mention that this is a really bad idea and should only be
attempted if you're prepared to be properly careful in the way you haven't
been so far?


Clive thanks for the idea, I had though about that but mixing acid and
alkalis together is too risky for me, for the exact reason you stated

Clive George wrote:
"Exhausted" wrote in message
...

trouble is the fat appears to be at the top of the ubend, so access from
the man hole end will not touch it(i.e just below the pipe, and from the
drain end its quite a route through caustic soda,

Heat is good.

Getting rid of all that caustic soda is another good idea - shoving 1KG of
it in there was a _really_ bad idea, but with any luck you know that now.

I'd be getting a hose with warm water down there. Flush the nasty caustic
stuff out, and be careful about it.

Here's another really bad idea - brick acid. Will react with the caustic
soda and get very hot, and start splashing horrible nasty stuff all over the
place. OTOH if you're insanely careful, it might work - the heat could melt
the fat. But don't slosh it in like you did with the caustic - use tiny
quantities, otherwise you _will_ end up in hospital with horrific burns and
no sight. Should I mention that this is a really bad idea and should only be
attempted if you're prepared to be properly careful in the way you haven't
been so far?




Clive, sorry forgot to mention i would live to flush the caustic soda
away , but i can't the drain is blocked, To be fair though the mixing
ration of the caustic soda was 1KG to 10 L of water, so i don't believe
i was too over the top ( well ok just a little)

Exhausted wrote:
David in Normandy wrote:
Exhausted wrote:
My drain from the kitchen to the main drain is blocked. It looks like
it’s down to hard fat … AGAIN……….

Last time, I removed the fat by putting on a long glove and putting
my hand down the drain and then up the u bend and scraping the fat
with a piece of old electric cable from an old shower. This worked,
but was especially nasty when I got some of the drain water up my glove.
Despite telling swimbo not to wash fat down the kitchen drain the
drain is blocked again. Not wanting to repeat the experience I made
the mistake of believing the guy in the diy store when they
recommended a chemical to pour down the drain to clear the fat,
despite several attempts no luck. Subsequently I have added 1KG of
caustic soda, still nothing.
My problem is now I don’t have the option of putting my hand down the
drain. What can I do?
I tried jet washing from the man hold last time to no avail. All I
can think of is digging up the patio and drilling a hole in the pipe
to allow me to put a piece of metal in the pipe to break up the fat.

Any other ideas, apart from replacing the pipe.

Thanks

What about a plumbers snake? If you undo the u-bend / trap wearing
gloves to avoid any caustic, then you could push the snake into the
waste pipe and slowly rotate it as you push it in. It should push
straight through the fat and hopefully dislodge it, or at least make a
hole the caustic soda can get through. After that maybe some very hot
water would soften it enough to clear it out.

Wickes sell the plumbers snakes, probably other sheds too and they
aren't too expensive. A lot less hassle and cheaper than digging up
the drive!

Thanks by the ubend is underground ,can't be undone i.e is not on the sink

IF i dig up the pipe, and apply heat (blow torch) to the outside of the
clay pipe, will it crack, or melt the fat ?

"Exhausted" wrote in message
...

Clive, sorry forgot to mention i would live to flush the caustic soda away
, but i can't the drain is blocked, To be fair though the mixing ration of
the caustic soda was 1KG to 10 L of water, so i don't believe i was too
over the top ( well ok just a little)

Haven't you got other places you can put the waste? Is this an exterior
drain? Just let it overflow and flush with _loads_ of water. Homeopathy
doesn't work for chemistry - dilute it enough and it'll be fine :-)

If it's already dissolved, it'll be easier to deal with than if it were
still solid. Since I'm not terribly safety minded about these things I'd
have put the caustic in solid - means you get some heat as it dissolves too

Some way of heating the water looks like it might be worth considering. I
can think of dangerous solutions involving kettle elements :-) Blowtorch on
the pipe will be close to useless though.

Exhausted wrote:
Exhausted wrote:
David in Normandy wrote:
Exhausted wrote:
My drain from the kitchen to the main drain is blocked. It looks
like it’s down to hard fat … AGAIN……….

Last time, I removed the fat by putting on a long glove and putting
my hand down the drain and then up the u bend and scraping the fat
with a piece of old electric cable from an old shower. This worked,
but was especially nasty when I got some of the drain water up my
glove.
Despite telling swimbo not to wash fat down the kitchen drain the
drain is blocked again. Not wanting to repeat the experience I made
the mistake of believing the guy in the diy store when they
recommended a chemical to pour down the drain to clear the fat,
despite several attempts no luck. Subsequently I have added 1KG of
caustic soda, still nothing.
My problem is now I don’t have the option of putting my hand down
the drain. What can I do?
I tried jet washing from the man hold last time to no avail. All I
can think of is digging up the patio and drilling a hole in the pipe
to allow me to put a piece of metal in the pipe to break up the fat.

Any other ideas, apart from replacing the pipe.

Thanks

What about a plumbers snake? If you undo the u-bend / trap wearing
gloves to avoid any caustic, then you could push the snake into the
waste pipe and slowly rotate it as you push it in. It should push
straight through the fat and hopefully dislodge it, or at least make
a hole the caustic soda can get through. After that maybe some very
hot water would soften it enough to clear it out.

Wickes sell the plumbers snakes, probably other sheds too and they
aren't too expensive. A lot less hassle and cheaper than digging up
the drive!

Thanks by the ubend is underground ,can't be undone i.e is not on the
sink

IF i dig up the pipe, and apply heat (blow torch) to the outside of the
clay pipe, will it crack, or melt the fat ?
STOP Panicking!

Lay out some hose above ground from the blockage to the first manhole.
Mark the hose with some tape at the manhole.
Lift the manhole, push the hose back up the drain until the marker lines
up with the manhole. Now the end should be at the blockage.

Use the hose like drain rods pushing back and forth; when you can go no
further connect the water. Cold to start with to keep the hose stiff.
you might see some debris flowing back down the drain with luck. Switch
to hot water down the hose and this should start melting the fat. Get
your wife involved so she can see why fat must not be put down the
kitchen sink but instead left to solidify and then put in the dustbin.
We save ours and cook with it for the extra flavouring- I can't remember
the last time we bought any cooking fat/oil.

Bob

Clive George wrote:
"Exhausted" wrote in message
...

Clive, sorry forgot to mention i would live to flush the caustic soda away
, but i can't the drain is blocked, To be fair though the mixing ration of
the caustic soda was 1KG to 10 L of water, so i don't believe i was too
over the top ( well ok just a little)

Haven't you got other places you can put the waste? Is this an exterior
drain? Just let it overflow and flush with _loads_ of water. Homeopathy
doesn't work for chemistry - dilute it enough and it'll be fine :-)

If it's already dissolved, it'll be easier to deal with than if it were
still solid. Since I'm not terribly safety minded about these things I'd
have put the caustic in solid - means you get some heat as it dissolves too

Some way of heating the water looks like it might be worth considering. I
can think of dangerous solutions involving kettle elements :-) Blowtorch on
the pipe will be close to useless though.


yes its an exterior drain, although we do appear to think alike. I
remember i had this element you plugged into the car to boil a cup of
water when i was a kid, pity that's long gone.
Oh i did add the caustic as granules, i just guessed there was about
6L of water in the drain.
Although I was worried about over flowing the drain, and spreading the
stuff every where

Exhausted wrote:
My drain from the kitchen to the main drain is blocked. It looks like
it’s down to hard fat … AGAIN……….

Last time, I removed the fat by putting on a long glove and putting my
hand down the drain and then up the u bend and scraping the fat with a
piece of old electric cable from an old shower. This worked, but was
especially nasty when I got some of the drain water up my glove.
Despite telling swimbo not to wash fat down the kitchen drain the drain
is blocked again. Not wanting to repeat the experience I made the
mistake of believing the guy in the diy store when they recommended a
chemical to pour down the drain to clear the fat, despite several
attempts no luck. Subsequently I have added 1KG of caustic soda, still
nothing.
My problem is now I don’t have the option of putting my hand down the
drain. What can I do?
I tried jet washing from the man hold last time to no avail. All I can
think of is digging up the patio and drilling a hole in the pipe to
allow me to put a piece of metal in the pipe to break up the fat.

Any other ideas, apart from replacing the pipe.

Thanks



Does anything else empty into this drain?

Reason I ask is that the U bend in the gulley that serves our kitchen
sink collect a fatty deposit at the top of the outlet side of the U bend
exactly as shown in your txt drawing.

Now, my office has had some very serious drain lining activity taking
place for the last few months and, being nosey, I have been chatting to
the blokes doing the work. I mentioned the U bend problem and asked
what I should use to clear it - mentioning that I used Caustic Soda
solution with apparent success.

Apart from agreeing that Caustic Soda is a good, if not better, than any
of the clever products they asked if either a washing machine or
dishwasher used the same gulley. The reason being that the soap from
these machines can build up in a fat-like deposit - remember that
saponified fat is soap - which isn't carried away in the rinse water
away because of the low wash temperatures. Our dishwasher shares the
same gulley. QED.

The point being that it might not be cooking fat that is blocking the U
bend. And it will have to be done regularly - or you can increase your
wash temperature

HTH

Richard

Exhausted wrote:

GROUND[ DRAIN ]GROUND GROUND GROUND GROUND GROUND GROUND GROUND
GROUND[ DRAIN ]GROUND -----------------------------------------
GROUND[ DRAIN ]GROUND [ FAT FAT DRAIN DRAIN eventually man hole
GROUND[ DRAIN ]GROUND [ FAT FAT DRAIN DRAIN eventually man hole
GROUND[ DRAIN ]GROUND [ DRAIN ]---------------------------------
GROUND[ DRAIN ]GROUND [ DRAIN ] GROUND GROUND GROUND GROUND
GROUND[ DRAIN DRAIN DRAIN [ DRAIN ] GROUND GROUND GROUND GROUND
GROUND[ DRAIN DRAIN DRAIN [ DRAIN ] GROUND GROUND GROUND GROUND
GROUND[ DRAIN ----------------- GROUND GROUND GROUND GROUND
GROUND{ ]GROUND GROUND GROUND GROUND GROUND GROUND GROUND
GROUND--------------GROUND GROUND GROUND GROUND GROUND GROUND GROUND
GROUND GROUND GROUND GROUND GROUND GROUND GROUND GROUND GROUND GROUND

Drain rods with a "worm" on the end, shoved up from the manhole ought to
clean enough to get things flowing again. At which point the caustic
ought to deal with the rest...



--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/

Exhausted wrote:
My drain from the kitchen to the main drain is blocked. It looks like
its down to hard fat €¦ AGAIN€¦€¦€¦.

Last time, I removed the fat by putting on a long glove and putting my
hand down the drain and then up the u bend and scraping the fat with a
piece of old electric cable from an old shower. This worked, but was
especially nasty when I got some of the drain water up my glove.
Despite telling swimbo not to wash fat down the kitchen drain the drain
is blocked again. Not wanting to repeat the experience I made the
mistake of believing the guy in the diy store when they recommended a
chemical to pour down the drain to clear the fat, despite several
attempts no luck. Subsequently I have added 1KG of caustic soda, still
nothing.
My problem is now I dont have the option of putting my hand down the
drain. What can I do?
I tried jet washing from the man hold last time to no avail. All I can
think of is digging up the patio and drilling a hole in the pipe to
allow me to put a piece of metal in the pipe to break up the fat.

Any other ideas, apart from replacing the pipe.

Thanks
1kg of caustic PLUS a kettle of boiling water always works for me.

Clive George wrote:
"Exhausted" wrote in message
...

trouble is the fat appears to be at the top of the ubend, so access from
the man hole end will not touch it(i.e just below the pipe, and from the
drain end its quite a route through caustic soda,

Heat is good.

Getting rid of all that caustic soda is another good idea - shoving 1KG of
it in there was a _really_ bad idea, but with any luck you know that now.

just dilute in in gallons of water once the drain is clear.

Exhausted wrote:
Clive George wrote:
"Exhausted" wrote in message
...

trouble is the fat appears to be at the top of the ubend, so access
from the man hole end will not touch it(i.e just below the pipe, and
from the drain end its quite a route through caustic soda,

Heat is good.

Getting rid of all that caustic soda is another good idea - shoving
1KG of it in there was a _really_ bad idea, but with any luck you know
that now.

I'd be getting a hose with warm water down there. Flush the nasty
caustic stuff out, and be careful about it.

Here's another really bad idea - brick acid. Will react with the
caustic soda and get very hot, and start splashing horrible nasty
stuff all over the place. OTOH if you're insanely careful, it might
work - the heat could melt the fat. But don't slosh it in like you did
with the caustic - use tiny quantities, otherwise you _will_ end up in
hospital with horrific burns and no sight. Should I mention that this
is a really bad idea and should only be attempted if you're prepared
to be properly careful in the way you haven't been so far?



Clive, sorry forgot to mention i would live to flush the caustic soda
away , but i can't the drain is blocked, To be fair though the mixing
ration of the caustic soda was 1KG to 10 L of water, so i don't believe
i was too over the top ( well ok just a little)

WHAT? You don't dilute it!

pour the crystas straight down the sink hole, and add a cupful of
boiling water, and cover with something to stop it splashing.

Richard Savage wrote:
Exhausted wrote:
My drain from the kitchen to the main drain is blocked. It looks like
it’s down to hard fat … AGAIN……….

Last time, I removed the fat by putting on a long glove and putting my
hand down the drain and then up the u bend and scraping the fat with a
piece of old electric cable from an old shower. This worked, but was
especially nasty when I got some of the drain water up my glove.
Despite telling swimbo not to wash fat down the kitchen drain the
drain is blocked again. Not wanting to repeat the experience I made
the mistake of believing the guy in the diy store when they
recommended a chemical to pour down the drain to clear the fat,
despite several attempts no luck. Subsequently I have added 1KG of
caustic soda, still nothing.
My problem is now I don’t have the option of putting my hand down the
drain. What can I do?
I tried jet washing from the man hold last time to no avail. All I can
think of is digging up the patio and drilling a hole in the pipe to
allow me to put a piece of metal in the pipe to break up the fat.

Any other ideas, apart from replacing the pipe.

Thanks



Does anything else empty into this drain?

Reason I ask is that the U bend in the gulley that serves our kitchen
sink collect a fatty deposit at the top of the outlet side of the U bend
exactly as shown in your txt drawing.

Now, my office has had some very serious drain lining activity taking
place for the last few months and, being nosey, I have been chatting to
the blokes doing the work. I mentioned the U bend problem and asked
what I should use to clear it - mentioning that I used Caustic Soda
solution with apparent success.

Apart from agreeing that Caustic Soda is a good, if not better, than any
of the clever products they asked if either a washing machine or
dishwasher used the same gulley. The reason being that the soap from
these machines can build up in a fat-like deposit - remember that
saponified fat is soap - which isn't carried away in the rinse water
away because of the low wash temperatures. Our dishwasher shares the
same gulley. QED.

The point being that it might not be cooking fat that is blocking the U
bend. And it will have to be done regularly - or you can increase your
wash temperature

HTH

Richard

Richard, you may have it there, both the dishwasher and washing machine
both use the same gully

"Exhausted" wrote in message
...
My drain from the kitchen to the main drain is blocked. It looks like it’s
down to hard fat … AGAIN……….

as others have said, hose pipe, using a rodding action

then bucket of water, thrown really hard down into the drain usually frees
up the rest
--
Vass

Exhausted wrote:
Vernon wrote:
Fredxx wrote:
"Exhausted" wrote in message
...
My drain from the kitchen to the main drain is blocked. It looks
like it’s down to hard fat … AGAIN……….

Last time, I removed the fat by putting on a long glove and putting
my hand down the drain and then up the u bend and scraping the fat
with a piece of old electric cable from an old shower. This worked,
but was especially nasty when I got some of the drain water up my
glove.
Despite telling swimbo not to wash fat down the kitchen drain the
drain is blocked again. Not wanting to repeat the experience I made
the mistake of believing the guy in the diy store when they
recommended a chemical to pour down the drain to clear the fat,
despite several attempts no luck. Subsequently I have added 1KG of
caustic soda, still nothing.
My problem is now I don’t have the option of putting my hand down
the drain. What can I do?
I tried jet washing from the man hold last time to no avail. All I
can think of is digging up the patio and drilling a hole in the pipe
to allow me to put a piece of metal in the pipe to break up the fat.

Any other ideas, apart from replacing the pipe.

Thanks

If all else fails, use heat. A hose pipe connected to the hot tap
used in the same way as rodding may shift the offending fat.


If it is outside, then tipping in a large bucket of hot water from as
high as possible will often clear the blockage, as the hot water goes
to the bottom and helps to soften the fat, and also the water pressure
pushes the blockage at the same time. Might need a few attempts.
Failing that leave it overnight to see if the caustic has worked.
Nice ideas but the Ubend is in the way hopefully the text drawing below
will make things clearer

GROUND[ DRAIN ]GROUND GROUND GROUND GROUND GROUND GROUND GROUND
GROUND[ DRAIN ]GROUND -----------------------------------------
GROUND[ DRAIN ]GROUND [ FAT FAT DRAIN DRAIN eventually man hole
GROUND[ DRAIN ]GROUND [ FAT FAT DRAIN DRAIN eventually man hole
GROUND[ DRAIN ]GROUND [ DRAIN ]---------------------------------
GROUND[ DRAIN ]GROUND [ DRAIN ] GROUND GROUND GROUND GROUND
GROUND[ DRAIN DRAIN DRAIN [ DRAIN ] GROUND GROUND GROUND GROUND
GROUND[ DRAIN DRAIN DRAIN [ DRAIN ] GROUND GROUND GROUND GROUND
GROUND[ DRAIN ----------------- GROUND GROUND GROUND GROUND
GROUND{ ]GROUND GROUND GROUND GROUND GROUND GROUND GROUND
GROUND--------------GROUND GROUND GROUND GROUND GROUND GROUND GROUND
GROUND GROUND GROUND GROUND GROUND GROUND GROUND GROUND GROUND GROUND

Yes but as you tip the hot water in it goes to the bottom where it is
needed to melt the lard. Also it has a hydraulic effect on the blockage.
I have used this method several times with success.

On Fri, 05 Jun 2009 19:05:58 +0100, Exhausted wrote:

... I have added 1KG of caustic soda, still nothing.

How long has the caustic soda been down there? It may take many many hours
to work: I'd leave it a while ...

--
John Stumbles -- http://yaph.co.uk

I've got nothing against racists - I just wouldn't want my daughter to marry one

Exhausted wrote:
Richard, you may have it there, both the dishwasher and washing machine
both use the same gully

For future reference, using washing liquid (and dishwasher liquid) rather
than powder tends to get rid of this problem. Using shower gel rather than
soap also removes another potential source of solids.

Theo

YAPH wrote:
On Fri, 05 Jun 2009 19:05:58 +0100, Exhausted wrote:

... I have added 1KG of caustic soda, still nothing.

How long has the caustic soda been down there? It may take many many hours
to work: I'd leave it a while ...

2 days now, trying the ips again about putting a hose up from the man
hole and making rodding motions, still no luck

Exhausted wrote:
Colin Wilson wrote:
any others, as not a lot of these are workable due to the caustic
soda

Tell your missus to pay for the a call from a drain company...

It might be worth investing in a set of drain rods with a spiral so
you can hack away at the blockage from downstream.

You really will have to be careful as regards the caustic soda
though, as I believe the blockage can be prone to clearing quite
quickly once breached. Goggles would be advisable as a minimum
anyway at a guess !

trouble is the fat appears to be at the top of the ubend, so access
from the man hole end will not touch it(i.e just below the pipe, and
from the drain end its quite a route through caustic soda,

Problem is keeping the caustic in contact with the blockage. I have a
similar situation at home & have used a kids plastic football propped with a
brick to block the pipe in the inspection chamber. That allows you to fill
the u bend & pipe with the stuff & leave to work.


--
Dave - The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk

Exhausted wrote:

I tried jet washing from the man hold last time to no avail.

Did you use a drain cleaning nozzle & hose? Or just the lance?


--
Dave - The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk

The Medway Handyman wrote:
Exhausted wrote:

I tried jet washing from the man hold last time to no avail.

Did you use a drain cleaning nozzle & hose? Or just the lance?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/10-MTR-PRESSUR...19182002r30019


--
Dave - The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk

Richard Savage wrote:
SNIP


Does anything else empty into this drain?

Reason I ask is that the U bend in the gulley that serves our kitchen
sink collect a fatty deposit at the top of the outlet side of the U
bend exactly as shown in your txt drawing.

Now, my office has had some very serious drain lining activity taking
place for the last few months and, being nosey, I have been chatting
to the blokes doing the work. I mentioned the U bend problem and
asked what I should use to clear it - mentioning that I used Caustic
Soda solution with apparent success.

Apart from agreeing that Caustic Soda is a good, if not better, than
any of the clever products they asked if either a washing machine or
dishwasher used the same gulley. The reason being that the soap from
these machines can build up in a fat-like deposit - remember that
saponified fat is soap - which isn't carried away in the rinse water
away because of the low wash temperatures. Our dishwasher shares the
same gulley. QED.

The point being that it might not be cooking fat that is blocking the
U bend. And it will have to be done regularly - or you can increase
your wash temperature

That is an excellent point. Same situation we have. Hmmmm.



--
Dave - The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk

wrote:
SNIP

http://www.wiki.diyfaq.org.uk/index....nblock_a_Drain


NT

Why for does it say drain rods are expensive? Less than £20 a set & you can
also use them for clearing gutters with the drop scraper.

My sink plunger works on the downstroke BTW. e.g. you pull the handle up to
fill it with water & it sends it down into the sink. Works like a bike pump
IYSWIM.


--
Dave - The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk

Exhausted wrote:
YAPH wrote:
On Fri, 05 Jun 2009 19:05:58 +0100, Exhausted wrote:

... I have added 1KG of caustic soda, still nothing.

How long has the caustic soda been down there? It may take many many
hours
to work: I'd leave it a while ...

2 days now, trying the ips again about putting a hose up from the man
hole and making rodding motions, still no luck


Two things to bear in mind about caustic soda. A kilo thrown into water
tends to form a solid lump, which then dissolves quite slowly and
doesn't generate much heat in the process. The mixture of caustic and
fat results in soap, but the volume of solids is increased, initially
perhaps making the blockage worse. A bar of soap is water soluble but
only slowly.
Plastic gloves are not affected by caustic, so a long pair of those
would allow you to shove your arm down as before.
Unless er indoors is running a Chinese takeaway I can't see fat being
the main problem.

Theo Markettos wrote:
Exhausted wrote:
Richard, you may have it there, both the dishwasher and washing machine
both use the same gully

For future reference, using washing liquid (and dishwasher liquid) rather
than powder tends to get rid of this problem. Using shower gel rather than
soap also removes another potential source of solids.

Theo

Hi Theo

Unfortunately we already use liquid in both washing machine and
dishwasher and experience the pseudo-fat problem in the U bends.

But thanks any.

Richard


PS hadn't thought about the shower, but that's a different drain circuit.

R

The Medway Handyman wrote:
Richard Savage wrote:
SNIP

Does anything else empty into this drain?

Reason I ask is that the U bend in the gulley that serves our kitchen
sink collect a fatty deposit at the top of the outlet side of the U
bend exactly as shown in your txt drawing.

Now, my office has had some very serious drain lining activity taking
place for the last few months and, being nosey, I have been chatting
to the blokes doing the work. I mentioned the U bend problem and
asked what I should use to clear it - mentioning that I used Caustic
Soda solution with apparent success.

Apart from agreeing that Caustic Soda is a good, if not better, than
any of the clever products they asked if either a washing machine or
dishwasher used the same gulley. The reason being that the soap from
these machines can build up in a fat-like deposit - remember that
saponified fat is soap - which isn't carried away in the rinse water
away because of the low wash temperatures. Our dishwasher shares the
same gulley. QED.

The point being that it might not be cooking fat that is blocking the
U bend. And it will have to be done regularly - or you can increase
your wash temperature

That is an excellent point. Same situation we have. Hmmmm.



I forgot to add that the drain bloke suggested that some of the pressure
washer take a flexible extension hose that is perfect for jetting round
corners.

Richard

Richard Savage wrote:
The Medway Handyman wrote:
Richard Savage wrote:
SNIP

Does anything else empty into this drain?

Reason I ask is that the U bend in the gulley that serves our kitchen
sink collect a fatty deposit at the top of the outlet side of the U
bend exactly as shown in your txt drawing.

Now, my office has had some very serious drain lining activity taking
place for the last few months and, being nosey, I have been chatting
to the blokes doing the work. I mentioned the U bend problem and
asked what I should use to clear it - mentioning that I used Caustic
Soda solution with apparent success.

Apart from agreeing that Caustic Soda is a good, if not better, than
any of the clever products they asked if either a washing machine or
dishwasher used the same gulley. The reason being that the soap from
these machines can build up in a fat-like deposit - remember that
saponified fat is soap - which isn't carried away in the rinse water
away because of the low wash temperatures. Our dishwasher shares the
same gulley. QED.

The point being that it might not be cooking fat that is blocking the
U bend. And it will have to be done regularly - or you can increase
your wash temperature

That is an excellent point. Same situation we have. Hmmmm.



I forgot to add that the drain bloke suggested that some of the pressure
washer take a flexible extension hose that is perfect for jetting round
corners.

Richard
Yes. Doesn't have to be pressure either.

I have found that in general blockages are of three types, requiring
three different solutions.

1/. Hot fat poured down sink. Pork and lamb are the worst. These
solidify into a waxy plug.
Solution is neat caustic plus boiling hot water. It goes into explosive
boiling which starts to bubble away at the blockage. Its dangerous, but
effective.

2/. fibrous material - typically tissues, sanitary towels and the like -
that as swelled up and blocked the drain. Wooden bases cat litter is a
monster problem as well. Typically tho cellulose degrades under caustic,
it neither does it fast nor effectively. High strength ACID works, but
its usually more effective to probe from downstream from a manhole if
its in the actual underground pipes, using a hose pushed up against the
blockage. Note that even e.g. fag ends in volume can swell and cause
blockages. Any dry vegetable material can do this.

The technique here is to push a 'running flat out' hose up the pipe
towards the blockage..typically it will be where a bend is. Once you
start seeing other than clear water flowing back, you are attacking the
blockage, and usually after a while you will be rewarded (sic!) with a
few bits of something nasty, followed by a huge gush of something really
nasty as the blockage gives way.

3/. An object or objects are jammed in the pipe.

This is pretty difficult to dislodge.. Things like bits of broken wooden
spoon, or a toothbrush, may actually dislodge by method 2, but iof you
have a broken soil pipe with e.,g. tree roots growing in it, or
something nesting in it (yup, had a hibernating frog in my sewage
outfall) then digging it up is the only option.

So a lot depends on where it is and what it is, as to how best to fix
it. MOST of my LOCAL (sink U bend) blockages are cleared by neat
caustic and boiling water.

Others generally clear by plunging and pressure type approaches.

But in this case I take it there is a pipe simply flowing into a U
trapped gully, and the gully is blocked?

In that case, downstream to the manhole, if the caustic fails, and hose
up the pipe towards the blockage.

Exhausted wrote:
My drain from the kitchen to the main drain is blocked. It looks like
it’s down to hard fat … AGAIN……….

Last time, I removed the fat by putting on a long glove and putting my
hand down the drain and then up the u bend and scraping the fat with a
piece of old electric cable from an old shower. This worked, but was
especially nasty when I got some of the drain water up my glove.
Despite telling swimbo not to wash fat down the kitchen drain the drain
is blocked again. Not wanting to repeat the experience I made the
mistake of believing the guy in the diy store when they recommended a
chemical to pour down the drain to clear the fat, despite several
attempts no luck. Subsequently I have added 1KG of caustic soda, still
nothing.
My problem is now I don’t have the option of putting my hand down the
drain. What can I do?
I tried jet washing from the man hold last time to no avail. All I can
think of is digging up the patio and drilling a hole in the pipe to
allow me to put a piece of metal in the pipe to break up the fat.

Any other ideas, apart from replacing the pipe.

Thanks

i did it well almost

The rodding action with the hose pipe did nothing,

So i got an old sheet , tied a rope securely to the sheet , and the
other end to a post in the garden (did not want to loose the sheet down
the drain if it popped out unexpectedly). With the hose pushed up the
blocked pipe from the man hole end i then blocked the exit to the man
hole from the offending pipe with the sheet, and turned the water on.
The pressure built up in the pipe and had to give some where (The sheet
was securely in the hole), so that only left the pipe or the fat.
Luckily the fat gave way. When i pulled the sheet out of the hole there
was a gush of water ( plus caustic soda i was careful not to get
splashed). along with this was lots of pieces of fat.
I used the rodding action a little to remove all the loose fat, and then
started to pour buckets of hot water (from as high as possible ) down
the drain. unfortunately the drain blocked again after two buckets.

However repeating the above steps several time the water now flows
freely, and i saw a lot of the fat running down the drain(with loads of
water to helping it on its way).
I think i will get some more caustic next week just to make sure any
remaining fat is gone,and then use caustic ever so often,


Anyway way thanks for the response, much appreciated. Hopefully the
sheet trick will help someone in the future