Advice From Your Croydon Plumbers

Unblocking a waste pipe

This is the 21st century guys... and it's so tempting when we encounter a blocked drain to just reach for a bottle of poison (sorry chemical) and poor it down the drain. For a number of reasons, this is hardly ever the best option to take.

Here's why...  when they fail to unblock the blockage you are left with an unpleasant smell to contend with, and possibly a dangerous fluid floating around in your sink or sommink.

So what other options do we have?

I'm glad you asked :-)

For unblocking a drain, it is difficult to go wrong with a plunger.  The up and down action of a plunger pushes and pulls the offending obstruction apart.  Usually the blockage is cleared.  One thing to bear in mind is to make sure the cup of the plunger is covered by water, and that the overflow inlet is covered with a piece of cloth or sommink.

When unblocking a waste pipe manually, it's best to start from the outside and work inwards.  When you get to the blocked section, don't forget to put a bucket or bowl under the end of the pipe, before trying to dislodge the blockage.

When reassembling dismantled screwed fittings after manually unblocking a drain, check for worn rings and replace them.  Also remember to check that all the seals are properly positioned.  Failure to take this precautions will result in a leaking pipe.  You certainly don't want that to happen.

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