Best Way to Clear Blocked Drains and Toilets

Drains! Drains are things that people generally don’t like to think about until they really have to… Drains are where all that muck and rubbish and dirty water disappear into.

Sticking to a few simple rules and occasional maintenance duties should ensure a continual uninterrupted effluent flow, into the mysterious underground depths below. However, unless you’re a very sensible person, initially you’ll probably make the same mistakes I made when I moved into my first property. There I was, making a nice big breakfast in the morning, happily tipping the fat from the pan down the sink on top of the bolognaise waste from the night before. Nobody told me what I should (or shouldn’t) do! It wasn’t long before I was in deep trouble – everything above ground was blocked and it was such a pain to clear!

To clear the kitchen sink, try a spoonful or two of caustic soda first, and if that doesn’t work, use a plunger. Place a cloth in the overflow then pump the plunger up and down over the waste outlet. Repeat the process until the blockage clears. If the blockage remains, you should undo the trap under the sink, and try clearing that.

If the toilet isn’t flushing away properly, this would suggest that a blockage has already formed. Deal with this problem immediately, or you could have the WC overflowing into your bathroom! Not a pleasant event…

Now, I was taught a very handy way of clearing a simple blockage in the WC bowl, when a youngster has thrown something in and blocked it up. Take a black rubbish bag, roll your sleeves right up and put your arm into the bag right to the bottom. Lower your bag-wrapped arm into the loo and grab the offending object. As you withdraw your arm, allow the bag to close itself around the item. Obstruction removed, arm dry, and you don’t have to see the offending article if you don’t wish to!

There is also a larger version of the kitchen plunger available for hire for clearing toilets, which you push down into the bend and pump. If this works, the water level will drop quickly and the WC will make a belch-like gurgling sound. Rinse with hot water and disinfectant to clean.

Hire a WC auger if the blockage is still solid. This is a flexible cable, which should be pushed as far as possible into the bend, with the handle then being cranked to unblock the loo. Again, when you have finished, rinse with hot water and disinfect.

Before you start any of the major internal operations explained above, my advice would be to lift up the manhole cover in the garden or street if possible, to check whether or not that is blocked.

Hire a set of drain rods, or borrow a set from Great Uncle Bertie. Screw two rods together with a plunger or corkscrew top at the head; slide this into the drain run, going with the flow of the waste water. Add another rod each time it becomes necessary and push the assembled line of rods to and fro, further into the drain. It helps if you have a hose running into the manhole to help flush the blockage through.

If the manhole is not blocked, it may be that the soil stack pipe is blocked. Undo a rodding eye on the stack using a hired auger to clear the blockage.

Blocked gullies are easily cleared. Raise the grille and put your hand into the gully (wear rubber gloves) and remove any debris from the trap. Ensure the outlet from the gully is also clear. Rinse the gully with the hose and clean with suitable cleaner.

I should know how to clear a drain, because my father declared one of the funniest moments of his life was when we had to clear some blocked drains on a long curved drain run. I was at the bottom end and Dad was up the top end. The manhole covers were off and Dad was rodding away and he shouted over to me ‘Can you see anything?’ Well, I was young and naive, and didn’t consider my Dad could be so wicked.

‘Inappropriate timing’ springs to mind as I bent down to look into the manhole at that particular moment. Dad had just freed the blockage as he called out to me. I heard a noise but realized the impending disaster just a tad too late! Ten tonnes of you know what hit the bend of my manhole at once, and I had just opened my big mouth to say…! I never did get to finish that sentence. In fact, I never even got started on that sentence, but I have to say, it ranks as one of the worst moments of my life, especially when I stood up looking for help only to see Dad and the lads laughing their heads off….