If you are a homeowner, you’ll be familiar with drainage problems, from simple sink blockages where the water doesn’t drain away due to foodstuffs blocking the plughole, to toilet blockages where the water in the pan isn’t taken away when you flush the chain. In most of these situations the homeowner themselves can usually remedy the problem, however when their best attempts fail, it’s usually time to contact the drainage professionals.

What services do drainage professionals offer?

Drain cleaning professionals offer many services besides regular drain unblocking, some of these include:

Drain jetting

Drain jetting is the process where a high pressure jet of water is directed down the drain to remove any debris which may have accumulated within the pipe. This could be non-flushable items such as sanitary wear, nappies, contraceptives or even a build up of congealed fat. High pressure water jetting proves extremely useful to drain jetting firms because instead of using physical methods such as rods to remove a clog, which can damage the inside of the pipe, the jet of water washes through the blockage whilst also cleaning the inside of the pipe in the process.

CCTV surveys

CCTV drainage surveys are a critical part of a drainage professional’s arsenal. In the past a drainage contractor would have to use experience alone to work out what the problem was with a blocked drainage pipe. After the introduction of CCTV survey equipment, images of the inside of the drainage pipe can now be relayed to a computer where a visual analysis of the problem can take place. This means that the number of unnecessary drain excavation jobs has decreased exponentially, as the drainage firm will be able to formulate a plan to remove the problem instead of excavating to see what is happening.

Drain liner repair

After a drainage company has performed a survey on a problematic drain they may find that the drain is cracked, broken or even deviated. If this is the case they will then have one of two options – either excavation, to replace the damaged section of drain or if possible the installation of a drain liner repair. If a drain liner repair is possible, it will mean that excavation will be reduced to a minimum level and the drain will be able to be repaired with the minimum of disruption. In this process a resin impregnated liner is blown into the damaged section of pipe. The liner is then inflated to the internal pipe diameter and left to set. The resin bonds to the original pipe and after the liner has set the pipe will once again be able to carry waste with no problems.

Drainage professionals carry out all manner of drainage jobs, from simple sink unblocking to replacement of the private drain which takes the waste from your home to the public sewer.

If you have a drainage problem, it can sometimes be pertinent to call the professionals before the problems get worse, in big cities like London, for example, it also pays to have a drain maintenance contract in place so if the worst does happen they’ll be someone on the end of the phone you’ll be able to rely upon.

One of the most common reasons for blocked drainage is the infiltration of roots into the drainage system. Over the years the structural integrity of the drains which take the waste water away from your home starts to wane. Small cracks appear in the pipe network and the mortar which holds the sections of ceramic pipes together starts to fail. When this happens, small leaks can occur to the outside of the pipe, these leaks are soon found by roots in their quest for water.

When roots find an easy to access source of water they start to multiply and grow larger, and eventually they will work their way into the drain and block it entirely. The first you may know of this might be a slow draining sink or the water level in your toilet dropping much slower than usual when you flush. If this happens, it’s time to call your local London drain cleaners.

London drain cleaners have CCTV survey equipment which they can insert into a drain to find out why the waste is taking so long to drain away. If they find that roots are the cause of the problem they can insert a root cutting tool into the drain, which cuts the roots back to the drain diameter. When the roots are removed, the drain can then be lined with resin to stop the roots growing back.

The drainage that leaves your property can have different names depending where in the drainage system the pipes sit. Some people occasionally get these terms confused and use them interchangeably.

Drain ownership responsibility changed on the first of October last year. Here are a few of the common terns used with explanations:

A drain explained

A waste pipe that serves one property only is usually classed as a drain

What is a lateral drain?

A lateral drain is the term used to describe part of your drainage which sits outside your property boundary.

So what’s a sewer?

Sewers are waste water pipes which serve more than one property. These can either be public owned or privately owned.

All private drains are the responsibility of the homeowner, as is all drainage within the property itself. If any of these drains become blocked it is thus up to the homeowner to choose a suitable drainage company who will be able to deal with the problem.

Most drainage problems are fixed quite easily by either jetting the pipe to remove the blockage.

Since the beginning of October 2011 government enforced changes to the ownership of drains has left many homeowners confused as to who is responsible should they have a drainage problem.

It used to be the case that the homeowners themselves were responsible for all the waste water drainage which left their property until it reached the public sewer system. This could even involve a stretch of pipework which was not within your property boundary.

The changes meant that all the lateral drains and private sewers would now form part of the public sewer network. Put simply, if any drain on your land is used by more than one property it will now be the local waste water company’s responsibility. It also means that when the drain leaves your boundary it is no longer your responsibility.

The changes mean that waste water companies now have thousands of miles of extra drainage to look after which has put them under increasing strain.

It’s worth noting that any drainage which is solely used by yourself is still your responsibility and costs for repairs to these pipes must be met by the homeowner.

Some of the most common reasons for drain blockages in London are caused by residents themselves.

Don’t flush non-disposable items

One of the most common reasons for a drain blockage in London is due to a homeowner disposing of an item down the toilet which is not meant to be there. Flushed things which are found by drainage teams when they attend a blockage include nappies, sanitary wear, contraceptives, hand wipes and make up. If people stopped using their toilet like a general waste bin, the number of blockages would be reduced greatly.

Don’t dispose of food scraps down the sink

Many homeowners persist in the practice of scraping flood scraps down the sink. The accumulation of this food waste can eventually cause a blockage under the sink which if difficult to shift. Worse still, some homeowners dispose of liquid fat down the sink, which when cold solidifies and blocks the drainage pipes completely.

Scale build up

In hard water areas like London, lots of problems are caused by scale. Scale is a natural mineral deposit which builds up on the insides of drainage pipes. In the worst cases scale can block a pipe completely, but it is usually found that the scale creates a rough surface on the inside of the drain where other debris gets caught and hence causes a blockage.