How to unblock my main drain

5 replies

ThatBloodyCat · 08/02/2015 21:27

Our drains are blocked.

Me & DH opened the man-hole cover on our property today, and it is full of manky shitty water. So we used rods to try to clear it, to no avail.

It is 16 metres from the manhole to the edge of the property, and another 4 or 5 metres to the man-hole in the middle of the road outside. We have pushed and jiggled 25 metres of rods through, with a claw like attachment at the end, to no avail.

Has anyone any experience in this, or ideas? Is it our responsibility, if we have pushed the rods through to beyond the edge of our property, or are the water service likely to undertake to fix it?

OP posts:

PigletJohn · 08/02/2015 21:38

if you think the blockage is under the road, call the water company.

IME drain men are quite obliging, it is often an easy job for them to open up the covers and have a poke. However if there is a broken drain or collapsed pit, it may end up being your problem if it is on your property.

JiminyCricket · 08/02/2015 21:40

I cleared ours this weekend (v exciting Saturday). The rods worked on ours but took a bit of time but not as far as yours...however I did ring the sewage emergency number on our water bill after it initally failed to clear and they were more than happy to come out and check if it was a public or private issue for no charge (but after i cleared it we rang them back to say no need). Hope this helps

Original poster

ThatBloodyCat · 08/02/2015 22:36

I phoned our water company, and they are sending someone out tomorrow morning! I'll let you know how I get on.

OP posts:

Original poster

ThatBloodyCat · 09/02/2015 15:42

Sorted!

The Water Service came out this morning. I explained the whole 25 metres of rods thing, to which he told me I couldn't have got 25 m through because of the whatever whatever trap there was on the property.

Anyhow, he fed through his pressure hose and got to the blockage, which he blasted away. He pulled out the hose to see if the blockage had been on my property or on the road, and hey presto, it was 25 metres - to the main drain.

Not sure what the cause was - I saw that he drove about 1/4 mile down the road when he was finished with me, and was doing something to the sewer there (which incidentally is beside where 2 houses are built built - not sure if it relevant).

Anyway, very pleased it is fixed.

OP posts:

PigletJohn · 09/02/2015 16:04

naughty builders sometimes wash out their mixers and barrows down the drain.

Flip