We’re going to be talking about blocked drains and how you can unblock one simply, quickly and with no fuss. Blocked drains aren’t just a nuisance, they can cause all sorts of health hazards, flooding, and cause other damage that’s expensive to repair. Rather than allowing the problem to get out of hand you can spend a little time sorting out by unblocking it, that way you won’t have bigger problems to deal with later.
Protective Clothing
You’ll need to prepare yourself first by making sure you have the right clothes for the job. Firstly, some gloves, a pair of goggles to avoid getting anything in your eyes, and preferably a face mask.
Can you deal with it yourself?
Following this you’ll need to quickly ascertain what the problem is. Is it easy to fix, or do you need to bring in the professionals? Never feel overwhelmed by the problem and try to sort out something where you feel you’re out of your depth, you’ll have to pay for professionals but if you make a mistake it could be far costlier.
Indoor drains are usually a little simpler to work out the problem, it could be hair and products in your bathroom, food and oil in your kitchen sink. Outside is another thing altogether, they could be blocked with leaves or debris, dirt or grease.
The Right Equipment
Having the necessary tools helps. If you’ve decided that you’re going to try and deal with it yourself then you’ll need more than just your protective clothing, you’ll also need a set of drain rods. These will help you to clear out the drain effectively.
Firstly, wash away the debris and inspect your drains carefully, use your drain rod to break up the blockage. Once you’ve done this, run water through it to wash away the stuff that was blocking your drain. Try using a camera, or a torch to inspect inside the drain to see if the blockage has now been removed.
Drain cleaning, washing out those pesky pipes and further inspections
If this hasn’t done the job, you may need to think about drain cleaning solutions to break it up and then go through the states of washing out the pipes and inspecting it through the camera. You want to wash it out completely because whatever was blocking it may have just moved further down the drains to create another blockage that’ll come back to haunt you later.
Once you’ve check the drains for any further blockage, flow water down it to make sure it’s going down smoothly. If it’s coming back up, then there’s obviously something more serious and it’s time to call in the professionals. Some testing may need to be carried out and specialised appliances used to remove a more stubborn blockage.
East of Scotland Drainage - Premier Drainage Contractors
If you don’t want to try tackling a blockage by yourself then why not get in touch with us here at East of Scotland Drainage. We’re always happy to help you, and one of our dedicated team members can come and see what the problem is with your drains and make a diagnosis. Once we know the steps we need to take to resolve the problem, we can start work.