Deal with blocked drains quickly to look after your health

A plumber should be phoned straightaway if sewerage is backing up into your bath tubs, showers or toilets. Drainage is contaminated with microbes therefore it should be removed and the offending blocked drains piping be fixed without a delay to avoid a double occurrence.

Dilute a cup of bleaching agent with 5 gallons of water and start sanitising the toilet, even before the plumbers come in. Make sure that young kids and elder family members stay away from the sewerage leakage, and put on long pants, gloves and boots. Be sure to thoroughly wash your hands with warm water and soap when you have finished the waste pipes cleanup. You can help keep sewage from backing up into your home by limiting the amount of water going down the drain.

The cause of the problem might be a plugged waste line or a blockage between the toilet and the shower. The causes can be many, the bottom line is that you need to careful during such a situation, as your well being is at stake here.

Sewage exposure can cause a number of symptoms like fever with chills, diarrhea, vomiting and stomach pain. Seek medical attention right away if you experience any of these symptoms.

With a mixture of one cup of bleaching agent to five gallons of water you should clean any items and surfaces that have been polluted by the sewage. contaminated food items should be thrown away immediately, also throw those items that cannot be cleaned like mattresses, baby toys, stuffed animals etc.

If the drainage back flow is in the shower area, try using a snake. For the best results you should use a one quarter inch snake that is 8 yards in length. It will move more easily through the line. Sometimes a toilet in the bathroom is quite clear while the shower in the same area has gotten clogged. This can occur because the toilet trap sits more or less six inches above the floor, while a shower drain is normally placed at the flooring level.

Call a professional plumber or sewers contractor if you are unable to clear the blocked drains back up yourself. A plumber will not only be able to clean up the mess that the leaked sewage created for you but also locate where the blockage is. Unless you know what you are doing when you try to do your own plumbing repairs, it is generally wise to let the professionals handle it to begin with.

How to address blocked drains problems

Amongst the worst kinds of household emergencies are the ones related to blocked drains. It is obvious that most drains emergencies occur without prior warning. However, the most unpleasant aspects of blocked drains are that they can cause nasty odours, flooding and loss of power in the home. If you are a business that is impacted the disruption can result in loss of customer and staff goodwill with the associated lost productivity and sales revenue.

Listed below are some easy methods to avoid drainage blocks that are caused due to structural defects in the drainage system or foreign objects.

Keep a habit of removing any trapped hairs from the drain plug immediately.

Small objects such as combs, medicine bottles and toilet rolls should be kept away from places where there is a high probability of them falling into the toilet.

You can use a disinfectant to flush your wash basin and shower pipework so that no soap residue gets stuck in them.

Do not put away baby’s nappies, commercial wrappings, sanitary towels or similar large items down the drainpipe; they will give you blocked drains.

It is a good idea to compost food waste rather than discarding it in the kitchen sink.

If any items do fall into the sink pull the vegetable material out of the plug hole, do not try to poke through as you could impact the blockage making it harder to remove.

Disposing of cooking fats down the kitchen sink should never be done as the fats can solidify when they come in contact with cold water. In case you have no other choice make sure to dilute fats using emulsifiers ,hot water and detergents, before disposing down the drain. Run the water for a while after this, so that the the oil is completely flushed out and the pipes remain clear.

Carrying out regular maintenance considerably reduces the possibilities of drainage blocks and blocked drains should be a problem that someone else experiences.

The gutters and rain downpipes of house roofs should be inspected at least every six months.

Use a trowel to remove unwanted debris and leaves when working at a height.

The inspection covers should be easily accessible because you can then use them to check the flow of the drains regularly.

Remove garden debris from the external drain grids so that rain or garden water does not wash leaves and moss down into the pipework causing extensive blocked drains.

Rinsing off the external drains using hot water and disinfectant should be a regular maintenance activity.

For business purposes, you can use a CCTV monitored blocked drains inspection service which performs checks on a regular basis. By doing all the above, you can easily keep a watch on the proper functioning of your drainage system, maintaining its structure, and you can identify the risks of unexpected blockages well before you face a blocked drains problem.

Blocked Drains pipes – What a Nuisance they can be.

Unfortunately, most of us have experienced being in the shower with the water level rising rapidly. Is there anything as inconvenient and messy as a blocked drains pipe!. You are hurriedly brushing your teeth, and before you can even blink your eyes, the sink is brimming over with water. Nobody likes to deal with clogged drains because they are a real hassle and they give an impression of being unsanitary (because they are). But the fact is that sooner or later, a bathroom drain pipe is going to become plugged or suffer a blockage. The most preferred approach is to prepare ahead of time for such a predicament by educating oneself on how to fix bathroom drainage when the drain pipe pipes become plugged.

Why does drainage get clogged?.

Hair, dust and other particles getting stuck in the space between the drain and the pipes are the main cause. The problem is further exacerbated when household products such as soaps, detergents, shampoos and conditioners and others are allowed to build up on the growing accumulation. Finally the accumulation becomes too thick to allow any water to pass through and it is then that the drainage get completely obstructed, you suffer from blocked drains. If the water has started building up quickly in your tub or sink, then without delay you should unclog the drain.

Clear Up Your blocked drains fast.

You can do a number of things to unblock your bath or bathroom sink drainpipe. The first thing you will have to do is take out the plug of the blocked sink or drain. With a bathroom sink this can be as easy as pulling it right out or as complicated a problem as looking under the sink and removing the nut that holds it in place. For a bath you may be able to simply take out the plug, otherwise you might have to take off the overflow plate in order to get at the assembly.

Once you remove the stopper, you may then be able to see the source of the clog. Whilst messy, it is nothing, but a mound of hair and fragments around the components of the bathroom drain. Reach down into the pipe and pull out as much as possible. If the mass is located in a region, where it is difficult for you to grasp it and pull it out, then use a wire clothes hanger to dig into the clump and pull it back through the drain pipe. Removing the hair, detergent residues and the rest of the material will usually solve your problem.

In a case of deeper clogging, your hand or hooked wire may not do the trick – you may have to try the next step. A drain plunger can help you get rid of blockages that are too deep down to reach by inserting your hand into the blocked drains. To begin with, you should plug the overflow drainpipe to make sure that the plunger has optimum suction. Now put the plunger over the drain and move it up and down continuously at an even pace. When you finally release the plunger, any trapped water should immediately be drained.

Even the plunger may not clear the most dense and hardened matter inside your plumbing – that’s when you will have to deploy a chemical drainpipe clearing product. Chemicals used in these cleaners are deadly and are to be used only when all else fails as they can affect your sanitary fixtures and pose a health hazard.

Call a professional plumber if all else fails.

If all the do-it-yourself methods fail to unblock your drain, then call a plumber experienced in drainage work to clear your blocked drains. Plumbers are equipped with tools that can remove blockages with great speed and efficiency. Calling in a plumber does cost money, but you can then rest assured that your drains are completely cleared and will not hassle you in the near future, a good plumber will also clean up any mess created as a bonus.

Stopped drainage can be flushed away

Do you know what the best way to unblock waste pipes is? Using a plunger is the most effective and fastest way to solve this common household problem. Using a plunger is very simple if you know how. But the last thing you want to do is be too aggressive and pulse to quickly. The most effective procedure to adopt is to cover the drainage completely with the bell-shaped head of the plunger and push down gently, then come up quickly and forcefully creating suction. The suction created with the upward movement will pull back the blockage that is stuck in the drain of your tub, sink or toilet. You may notice small overflow openings in your bath or sink and you should always remember to block these up with a wet paper towel or sponge to create maximum suction.

The other alternative to using your drains plunger is to use a commercial product that uses chemicals to loosen the blockage, such as caustic soda. However this option should be used only after you have used the plunger to unclog your drain pipe. The solutions should be left alone for sometime as they loosen up the blockage, then you should pour down hot water into the drain to clear the whole thing out. Wear proper clothes while dealing with chemicals, remember the strong chemicals can spill on your clothes and spoil them so be careful with that. Putting on eye cover will be a good idea if you intend to plunge again and prevent the splattering of left over chemicals into your eye. The chemical product comes with specific manufacturer’s instructions; it is important to read and follow them carefully.

Another thing that you can do, if the plunger doesnt remove the blockage, is to use the pliers and pipe wrench to open the nuts that hold the P-trap in place. Now, this process can be really messy, so keep the towel and bucket handy. If you don’t want to damage the chrome finish of your pipes and also to get a better grip on the pipe, you can wrap the jaws of your wrench with electrical tape. You will be able to check the drainage P-trap for any obstructions in the pipe opening after you remove it. But in case you are unable to find any blockage, chances are that the problem lies deep down between the soil stack and the trap and you will need additional tools.

If you are trying to unclog your toilet you can use a toilet auger. If on the other hand you are attempting to unclog your tub or sink you may need to use a drainage snake. The flexible snake wire can be inserted deep into pipework of smaller diameter. Once you have pushed deep enough, rotate the handle to screw and hook into the blockage and slowly draw it out, this should pull the blockage with it. When you are sure that all the clogging material is cleared, replace the P-trap and test the drainage with hot water. Ensure that all the joints and the P-trap are firmly sealed and that there is no leakage anywhere.

You need to take professional drains clearance help in case you are unable to unclog the drainpipe by any of these methods. You will need to call a professional plumber or drainage service when the blockage is in the sewer or soil track or when it is due to tree roots, or when the pipe has collapsed due to some reason.