Blocked drains? Sewers backing up? Help please (solo parent with DCs)!

[Solo2]

With terrible timing, the drains seem to have blocked - well at least the downstairs loo is filling up with seweage which we think must be from the upstairs loo and also the downstairs shower drain isn't draining and has started to leak/overflow smelly liquid. Downstairs shower room sink is also slow draining and washing machine won't drain!

Would this imply a blocked outside drain? Don't know anything thing about these things and it's too late at night to call out anyone, as DCs are asleep (lone parent here). I'm working till 4pm tomorrow.

Anyone know what all this means - ie should I be getting someone out over night? Will sewerage overflow into our house? There seems to be some slow drainage going on if no loos are flushed or taps run - so I'm hoping that there's at least some drainage. But what if we need to loo? Will we get it overflowing out of the downstairs loo? Should we not even be flushing the loo upstairs at all????

OMG, this would be happening days befopre Xmas and when i'm working too. Is Dynorod a reputable firm? Planning to call them out tomorrow after I'm finished work.

Any suggestions anyone? I've just poured bleach into loo and shower drain but it smells pretty bad.

Call Dyno 08005244151, they do 24hr call-outs, (needed them myself last week.) Or Google blocked drains for your area. Good luck.

Sounds like the outside drains are blocked, this is what usually causes a loo to back up.
Dyno are quite pricey IME.

See if you can get a local company in to have a look, can you ask neighbours for recommendations?

I have rodded drains myself (bought some rods from B&Q) but you do need a strong stomach and sometimes you can only clear the blockage by having the drains flushed through with powerful machine jets.

Do you have a manhole cover outside your house on the waste pipe? If so, you can see if it is blocked, and you may be able to hose it down and get everything moving,

Dynorod can be expensive, but they are generally very good at sorting out problems. But check their website first for their terms & conditions.

Alternatively, as amerryscot says, lift the manhole cover to see if your drain is full, which indicates the problem is further along. A phone call to your water&sewerage company could be helpful - they should know if it's a shared drain and if it's their responsibility, or if not they might be able to advise who to call. It is a health issue.

If the drain is clear, it's a problem between the downstairs loo and the drain. If you've got a kitchen mop, you could use that to push the blockage through - a bit like how a sink plunger works - but obviously throw the mop away afterwards.

But maybe there's a neighbour (especially a handyman type, maybe retired?) who could help out.

do you live in a detached, semi, terrace or what?

is this blockage at the front of the house, facing the street, or at the back?

this is relevant because in the last year, the water co's have been made to take responsibility for drains and sewers on private land, if they serve two or more homes. So if, as often happens in terraces, there is a sewer running behind the houses, that comes forward at the end of the row and goes out to the sewer under the road, all of it except the part that serves only the first house, will be maintained by the water co. Their number will be on your water bill.

BTW blockages are often due to toys and disposables being flushed.

Dynorod are extortionate. The cheapest thing to do is to go and buy some rods and unblock the drains yourself. Even a local firm will be £90.

I agree with PigletJohn. From the thames water website

On 1 October 2011, water and sewerage companies in England and Wales became responsible for private sewers, which were previously the responsibility of property owners.

Give your local water company a call and hopefully they can unblock for no charge. Baby wipes are also a big problem and cause lots of blockages. Even when they claim to be flushable, they are not.

Defintely call the water company. Either they'll unblock it for nowt if it's their problem (or shared drain as above) or if it's only your drain they'll do the job for no more than Dynorod etc. will charge. If you call out a private company then you'll pay no matter where the problem lies.

I would never use Dynorod again after they claimed I had not aid and sent my details to a bailiff.

Call the water company. Some services are free depending on location of blockage and age of your house etc..

If the water company doesn't help, try your home insurance company. Mine (More Than) have just paid £1000+ for some drain repairs at my house. They have their own authorised suppliers. We had to cover the excess. I had used Dynorod 4 months before and they fixed the problem temporarily but not permanently and therefore this was money down the drain, so to speak, before we got the insurers involved. Good luck.

I woudl contact Home Insurance. Your drains might be covered under that

I dearly hope that the OP has already had her drains dealt with and not still looking for info.

We have had our sewer line blocked twice. Both times, it was due to our aupair flushing babywipes.

The first time was in the winter. It was dark, I had the most rotten stinking cold. I couldn't see anything, couldn't smell anything and couldn't have felt any worse, so I dealt with it myself. I lifted the manhole cover and literally shovelled shit.

The second time was in the summer, when it was hot and sunny. This was DH's turn :). I couldn't even look at the drain without boaking, and he didn't get much further. We called a company from the Yellow Pages who came within a hour. They charged about £40 for removing the clog, flushing with our garden hose (no need for pressure cleaning) and then cleaning down our patio with bleach.

We often get clogs from our kitchen drain to the main sewer, but that can usually be sorted with the snake.

If you have any blockage, just lift the manhole cover and do all the tap running and flushing that runs into it. You should be able to isolate the block. If it from the manifold to the street, then that will affect everything in the house. A single blocked toilet can often be dealt with from the pan side, as it may be because a child has put down a toy, too much toilet paper, or something else.

we had the same problem this year and we called dyno rod out first beofre we realised we should have called the water company. in the end thames water came out and their service was brilliant and it was all free. they detected teh cause, got a lory to pump out the water from teh cellar and then came round again to double check that it was resolved by putting cameras down the drain etc. AND then they have refunded us £150 and apologised!!!