We have all been faced with the situation where your sink starts to overflow as the water won’t drain away properly or worse case scenario it is your toilet that won’t flush. The water seems to continue to rise until it fills the entire bowl. Plunger or toilet brush at the ready you desperately try to force the water through the pipes. In some cases you might even need to call a plumber in to help you.
Did you know that in most cases the blockages are probably actually self-inflicted as a result of the items that you are pouring down your sink or flushing down your toilet? When CCTV Drainage Surveys are undertaken by professional companies like www.wilkinson-env.co.uk/sewer-repairs-drain-lining-concrete-cutting/drain-lining they uncover all sorts of things lurking in our pipe networks.
Here are some of the things that you want to ensure never make it into your drains.
Oil – cooking oil is a nightmare for drains. It can be tempting to pour hot oil or fat from your cooking down your drain as a quick and easy way to get rid of it, but it can cause major problems in your drains. Once the fat cools it starts to solidify – which you may have noticed if you use a can to tube to pour your fat into. This then settles in your pipes and as water and oil do not mix together it can lay in the twists and turns of your pipes for long periods of time. If it combines with other items that naturally end up in your drains such as food particles, dead skin and hair, it can build up to form an immovable ball known as a ‘fatberg’.
Sanitary products – feminine hygiene products and nappies are designed to swell in size when they come into contact with fluids. This means that by flushing them down the toilet they will actually expand further in size and will block the pipes. They can remain in your system for some time and they will also start to smell really bad.
Egg shells – these again are another item that will not naturally decay and are not affected by water. They can become even more of a problem as they tend to lie in the u-bend pipes where water flow can be restricted by items that collect in these areas. If these then combine with oil and grease, as mentioned above they can develop into a blockage that can cause real problems for your system. Water will not be able to pass through which can lead to an overflowing sink.