Blocked External Drain at rear of house

[Heisenburger844]

Hi all,

Im hoping for some advice! Unfortunately as above the outside drain at the back of our house (in the yard of our terrace house) is blocking up. This is due to our own ignorance and stupidity by flushing wet wipes. Ive noticed a bunch floating about and had the nasty task of fishing them out but i there must be a bunch more wedged down there i cant reach as its kinda deep and the hole is only about the size of a DVD (best comparison i can think of!).

Luckily the water levels lower after a while so hasn't affected the interior yet but I can see that our rear end evacuations are building up in the drain so it's only a matter of time which is concerning as it's the main water outlet for the kitchen & bathroom!

Has anyone had this problem or can suggest how to clear this without too much expense? I'd prefer not to call anyone out if possible as finances are an issue at the mo. Are the drain rod things any good for this or is something more heavy duty needed?

Thanks for your help!

Do you think that the blockage (whether caused by you or not) is on your land? Because if it's not then it's your local water company's responsibility to clear.

look for "man hole covers" and use a spade to lift them. You are looking for a full one and an empty one downstream of it. The blockage will probably be at the exit of the full one and you can try rods with a sort of corkscrew hook to pull it out. Do not push blockages deeper into the pipe.

Your water co or council might offer a chargeable service so it is worth asking.

We cleared out with a jet washer

im pretty sure its on my land, the drain is in my yard and on terrace streets it generally leads out the back and then the pipes do a sharp turn back towards the front of the street were the main outlets are. Theres no evidence of anyone else being affected other than us.

@Piglet there is no manhole cover for me to lift up im afraid, as said above the blockage is at the back of the house and the "manhole" isn't much wider than the circumference of a DVD. Thanks for taking the time to read my enquiry though.

We're in a terrace - we don't have a manhole cover, but both next door neighbours do... I strongly suspect the previous owners of our house built a shed on ours, unless it really is alternate houses! Worth asking both neighbours if they have a manhole in their back yard though.

If the drain is blocked and both your neighbours are ok then it may be just your own problem,If either of you neighbours are having problems then its the water authority and this is free of charge so ring and get them to visit.
If you ring and you are not sure they often come and clear to check where problem is sited by CCTV (tv survey)and clear it anyway the legal situation is that if it is over the boundry of your home then its the water board anyway even if its just your own drain.
I know United Utilities but the law is uk wide so should be all England not sure where you are living

You can buy drain rods to try and unblock the drain yourself. It's usually easy enough. THESE are from screw fix and less than £25 Do a bit of research online on how you do it. There will be a million YouTube videos about it.

..and don't put wet wipes down the loo again.

Personally I would go straight to a reputable drain clearing company.
Rods are next to useless if it's a blockage well into the pipe, and if you don't have a manhole down the line how can you check when or if it's clear.
It's also a disgustingly messy and smelly job .
It also may not be your drain at all.
Last winter we woke up to the entire back garden 4 inches deep in sewage, all three manholes ( 4 feet deep) full of the stuff. Turned out to be the main drain in the street, we were unfortunate to be the last and lowest lying property on the line. Not an experience I would wish on my worst enemy.
PS Put absolutely nothing except toilet paper down the drain, and check that children don't put massive wads down. You may be surprised to know that the drain from your house is only 4 inches wide until it joins the main sewer. Fat,wipes, sanitary products etc will quickly choke it.

Check your house insurance. You may be covered for a small excess.

Oh , and the round ( CD like) hole is a rodding eye usually just before a manhole , yours may be under the shed you mentioned if the eye is near your shed. Every property should have its own access to the drains . Our street has a main sewer that runs down the middle that every property runs into ( like branches on a tree)

After our experience , I feel my specialist subject could be drains if I was ever on Mastermind!

Sorry, me again!!! it's not you that has a shed. I really am off this time

is it a shared drain?
if yes it's the water companie's job to clear. (in that case you might find some lovely 'treasures' from your neighbours as well)
give them a call anyway.

The small hole the size of a CD is possibly a 'rodding eye'. Buy a set of rods and you tube how to rod the drain. Good luck!

(Yeah if rods don't remove it you'll need to get a company to clear the drains with high pressure jets of water.)

We had a problem recently. The water company came and checked for free. If the blockage is outside your boundary they clear it for free. If not they would clear it for a fixed fee (£85 for Thames Water). In our case tree roots were blocking the exit to net doors manhole so no charge. You are not obliged to accept their offer to clear if you want to try to fix it yourself but it is a cheaper than a specialist plumber.