Did you know drains need regular maintenance to work effectively? Ideally your drains should be maintained annually at least, more if your drains are under higher demand and heavy use or you want to keep them in the best condition.
Top Causes Of Blocked Drains
- Grease and Fat
- Hair
- Sanitary products
- Wet wipes
- Missing toys
The Risks Of Blocked Drains
If your drains become blocked, it can lead to slow drainage and water resurgence. Water stagnation can cause bad smells and is a breeding ground for harmful bacteria and waterborne health problems. Regular drain maintenance means your drains are kept clear and any build up is regularly broken down, helping to prevent blockage and avoid damage. It also means any damage can be spotted early before it causes more serious damage or sewage leaks.
What Does Drain Maintenance Consist Of?
Drain maintenance is a great way of keeping your drains in perfect working order and spotting any problems early on. Due to old sewage systems, drain maintenance in London is a real asset. If you invest in a drain maintenance contract, you can pay a set six-monthly price for regular drain jetting, maintenance inspections and emergency call outs meaning you can budget for your draining costs for the year ahead.
Drain jetting is one of the best ways of helping to break down blockages so they can flow through the drainage pipes and water will drain more efficiently.
The Biggest Fatbergs
A fatberg is a congealed solid mass of fat, oils, grease, sanitary products, wet wipes, condoms and cotton buds. Fat sticks to the pipe and wet wipes stick to the fat and more fat sticks to the wet wipes and so on. Over time, this builds up causing blockages in drainage pipes and sewers.
London has seen some of the biggest fatbergs in the country. In 2017, a fatberg was found in Whitechapel that weighed 130 tonnes and was 250m tip to tip. A piece of it resides in the Museum of London where there is a live webcam of its disintegration!
In 2021, a fatberg to rival the Whitechapel one was discovered in the South Bank area of London, it was a whopping 750m long, three times the size of the Whitechapel one and twice the size of the Empire State Building!
Now do you see the importance of drain maintenance in London?
What Is Safe To Flush?
Remember the 3Ps! Pee Poo Paper.
Toilet paper will break down and disintegrate once flushed, but wet wipes will not and are one of the biggest culprits of fatbergs alongside cooking oil.
Never pour cooking oil, grease or fat down the sink. Pour it into a disposable receptacle to harden and dispose of with your general waste or food waste. The fatberg in the South Bank was 90% cooking oil!
To prevent hair from building up and blocking drains, invest in a hair catcher to go over your plug hole, this will still allow water to drain as you shower but will catch the hair, so you can easily remove it and dispose of it before it can block the drain.