Many people are worried about blocked drains causing havoc to their property. If you have a blocked drain, the first thing you should do is contact a drainage company in London. Drainage companies in London are well-equipped to handle just about any drainage problem they may come across.

By hiring a professional drain cleaning company you’ll be safe in the knowledge that your drains will be working again in a jiffy. Here are a couple of the services that they offer.

CCTV surveys

A CCTV survey is an essential part of a drain cleaner’s armoury. Using a CCTV survey a drain cleaner can actually look inside the drain to see what is causing the problem. This may make the cleaner adopt a physical approach to removing the blockage or warrant further investigation. If a drain cleaner in London uses a CCTV survey he will also be able to accurately locate the blockage site making repairs from the surface much easier and less invasive.

High pressure water jetting

High pressure water jetting is an excellent way of removing blockages from a drainage pipe. The water hose can be inserted into the drain and the force of the water hitting the blockage is generally enough to power through the clog. Most blockages can be removed in this simple way in a matter of minutes.

When the cold weather starts to wane and the sun starts to feel arm on our backs again, it’s the perfect time to get out into the garden.

There will be lots of different maintenance tasks to do in the garden in the spring, with most making ready for the glorious summer months. Things you might consider doing include – jet washing your patio or driveway, giving your decking a fresh coat of preservative, cleaning out the shed, painting the outside of your home, doing any structural changes to the garden before plants start to flower and clearing all the debris from the garden including the fallen leaves from last winter.

While all the above jobs are important there is one which stands out, even though it might not come at the top of your list. Many people want their garden and homes to look great but fail to perform appropriate maintenance on their property, resulting in expensive repair costs. The first job which should be carried out is of course the removal of leaf debris from the garden, from the gutters on your house and from the waste water gullies around your home.

Leaf debris is one of the main reasons for blocked drainage at this time of the year. And in most cases drain cleaners in London have to attend the property to jet the drain to get it working properly again.

Most drainage pipes work for years with little problem. Most of us just pour bleach down the drain on a regular basis and that is where our relationship with the drain ceases. However when a drainage problem raises its ugly head it can cause significant problems and thousands of pounds of damage.

Although many people are now educated on what can and what can’t be flushed down the drainage system, drain engineers in London still see a wide range of drainage problems which have been caused by people flushing incorrect items down the drain.

Non-disposable items include:

• Nappies
• Wet wipes
• Cotton wool buds
• Facial wipes
• Sanitary wear
• Fats and grease

All the above items should be disposed of in the general waste and not flushed down the toilet.

When blockages do occur most can be removed by the simple process of drain jetting. A jet of water under high pressure is inserted into the drain and the force of the water is usually enough to break through the clog and restore the pipe to its previous waste carrying capacity. If any physical debris has been blocking the drain this can then usually be removed via the nearest manhole cover.

One of the most common reasons of blocked drainage in London is solidified fat

Many homeowners and commercial premises still pour liquid fat down the sink on a regular basis. And they do this despite many local waste water companies spending thousands of pounds every year trying to educate customer s what can and what can’t be disposed of down the drain.

When warm fat is poured down a drain it will quickly cool and solidify, often in the pipes leading away from the homeowner’s property. Over time the accumulation of this fat can cause a blockage which stops the drain functioning completely and can cause an overflow of waste matter.

Last year alone Thames Water spent hundreds of thousands of pounds removing the congealed fat from the city’s sewer, and in Leicester square alone 1,000 tonnes of putrid fat was removed by teams of drainage experts with specialist high pressure jetting equipment.

Instead of pouring fat down the drain it is instead advisable to wait until the fat cools and then dispose of it with your other general waste. An eco-friendly alternative is to make fat balls using seed from your local pet store and feed these to the birds throughout the winter months.

Over the last few years we have seen great strides in technology. It seems implausible that we once survived without computers or mobile phones. This technology has changed the way many people work and has helped immensely in certain roles.

Technology has vastly improved the ways in which a drainage company find and solve drainage problems.

High pressure water jetting

In the past drainage experts would have turned to drain rods to shift a blockage. Now high pressure water jetting is the most prevalent drain unblocking method used. The high pressure water can unblock a drain successfully and wash the remnants of the clog through the drainage pipes.

CCTV surveys

In the past drainage experts had to rely on experience to tell them where a drain block may have occurred or what was causing the problem. With the introduction of CCTV technology the drainage experts can now actually see the insides of the drainage pipes so that diagnosis of problems and repairs can be conducted quicker and easier than ever before.

Root removal

In the past if roots were found to be the cause of a drainage problem the area would need to be excavated and the pipework replaced and roots removed. It is now however possible to trim the roots in situ using a spinning root cutter and then insert a liner to stop them growing back.