Survey reveals the oddest things block drains

Drain Doctor advice: Throw peelings in the compost and oil in the bin to avoid blocked drains.

According to this article a recent survey revealed some peculiar items found down drains. They included traffic cones, engine parts, guns and ammunition, bales of cocaine and false teeth. Obviously a bit of a rough neighbourhood.

But it’s simple household items such as baby wipes, cooking oil, potato peelings and paint that careless householders are throwing down the drain along with £87 million – the cost of unblocking them – the survey says.

Drain Doctor Plumbing and Drainage has some handy precautions that you can take to help keep your home’s plumbing in good working order and save some cash in the process:

• Throw food scraps in the bin and put left over vegetable matter like potato peelings in the compost pile.
• Avoid pouring grease down the drain, because grease hardens when it’s in your pipes and can cause a blockage over time.
• Wipe off greasy plates and pans with a paper towel before washing them.
• Remove small objects from the top of your toilet tank that could fall in causing it to block up.
• Make sure you throw paper towels, napkins, wet wipes or facial tissue in the bin, don’t flush them down the toilet.
• And if you’re expecting a police raid, find somewhere other than the toilet to hide your stash of drugs!

These tips will help keep your plumbing in good working condition. However, if you are unlucky enough to have a plumbing emergency, Drain Doctor is always on call, and there’s never an overtime or call-out charge.

Summer is here – and with it comes smelly drains!

Drain Doctor recommends enzyme cleaners.

It’s summer at last – a few days of sunshine is forecast. And not before time!

However, hot weather can be a mixed blessing. After weeks in which drains have been overflowing, summer temperatures can bring some unpleasant problems – and smells.

For a start, the warm weather is great for bringing on summer plants (and summer weeds!) but, below ground, the roots that support the new growth can play havoc with drains and sewers, penetrating pipes and causing blockages.

As a householder, if the blockage is within the boundary of your property, you are responsible for clearing it. If it is beneath the street outside, it is probably the responsibility of the water company.

Locating the blockage can be difficult though. The best and most certain way is to put a CCTV camera into the drainage system to see what is actually down there – and where it is. A reputable drain clearance company will give you a detailed report.

Less serious blockages – in U-bends beneath sinks and baths, for example – require less serious treatment and you can often deal with these yourself.

There are a number of drain clearing products sold in supermarkets and DIY stores. Most will clear the initial problem – but few will stop it coming back.

Rather than using a chemical-based product, take a tip from the professionals and consider using biology to shift the blockage. At Drain Doctor Plumbing we use an enzyme cleaner which digests organic wastes in drains, breaking down fat and grease build ups which lead to odours and blockages. We recommend using the product on a regular basis to keep drains free-flowing and clean-smelling.

Using enzymes rather than chemicals is much better for the environment – and, in the long run, much more effective at keeping drains clear.

Prevention, is of course, better than cure and Drain Doctor has a number of tips to avoid summer drainage and plumbing problems.

• Install a strainer in plug holes to catch hair and other objects that could block drains.
• Don’t pour fat and grease from cooking down the drain – allow it to cool and put it in the bin.
• Don’t dispose of old oil, paint or other substances down the drain.
• Have an established plumber inspect drains for leaks, damage and corrosion and get problems sorted out while they are small, rather than waiting for a disaster!

By using a CCTV camera in the pipes, plumbers can inspect and pinpoint exactly where drains are cracked, damaged or misaligned. Ask the plumber to give a diagnosis of the work needed and provide a written estimate up front. The ones who don’t probably have something to hide such as VAT costs or other ‘extras’.

If you do have a drainage problem and simple DIY techniques don’t solve it, call in the professionals – but make sure they are professionals. Drainage is becoming increasingly technical and you should always seek a qualified drainage technician such as Drain Doctor Plumbing.

 

Rogue plumbers give trade a bad name

Drain Doctor prices its jobs before work starts according to a national pricing menu.

Recession-busting Drain Doctor Plumbing is helping householders and businesses to keep their maintenance costs under control by maintaining its price check policy. No overtime is charged for evening, weekend or bank holiday emergencies and there are no call-out charges as every job is priced before work starts, working to a national pricing menu.

‘Rip off’ plumbers can charge a small fortune just to take a look at the problem. Take this rogue plumber who was recently caught out by BBC TV’s Watchdog programme.

It’s people like these who give our trade a bad name.

We are truly on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Service requests are handled quickly and efficiently and prices are agreed before the job is done, so there are no surprises. Our constant aim is to give superb and specialised service. The central principle is to deliver dazzling levels of service in a market plagued by cowboy operators who are overcharging customers for shoddy workmanship.

Drain Doctor technicians are trained not just with technical skills – including the latest techniques such as closed circuit camera drain surveys and no-dig drain repairs – but in customer care that is reflected in such things as wearing overshoes while in customers’ homes and clearing up carefully after every job.

Be community spirited – don’t throw cooking fat down the drain

Follow a few simple rules to save water - get your plumbing checked.Follow a few simple rules to dispose of cooking fat to avoid damaging flooding.

Parts of Peterborough – home to Drain Doctor – recently suffered flash flooding as a result of some violent summer downpours. Inadequate drains were blamed for the flooding.

Reading this story in the local paper indicates that, in some parts of the city at least,  it wasn’t the fault of inadequate drains but what people throw down them that was to blame.  By following a few simple rules householders can avoid the unpleasant problems from backed up drains.

Prevention, is of course, better than cure and Drain Doctor has a number of tips to avoid summer drainage and plumbing problems.

• Install a strainer in plug holes to catch hair and other objects that could block drains.
• Don’t pour fat and grease from cooking down the drain – pour it an old carton or container, allow it to cool, and put it in the bin.
• Don’t dispose of old oil, paint or other substances down the drain.
• Have an established plumber inspect drains for leaks, damage and corrosion and get problems sorted out while they are small, rather than waiting for a disaster! By using a CCTV camera in the pipes, plumbers can inspect and pinpoint exactly where drains are cracked, damaged or misaligned. Ask the plumber to give a diagnosis of the work needed and provide a written estimate up front. The ones who don’t probably have something to hide such as VAT costs or other ‘extras’.

Drain Doctor’s price check policy avoids shocks

Drain Doctor technicians will always agree the price for a job from a national pricing menu before starting work.

Agreeing the cost of plumbing work up-front can help avoid rip-offs, misunderstandings and unpleasant situations like this one from the United States.

Recently, a plumber told police he was threatened while working at the home of a 75-year-old man who was upset about the cost of his repairs. The man told the plumber as he left that he would shoot up the plumber’s house if there were any more problems. The plumber told police he was taking the man’s threat seriously because he had seen the old man holding a revolver earlier in the day. However, there was no further incident and no charges were brought.

A burst pipe or blocked lavatory is always a problem. ‘Rip off’ plumbers, who can charge a small fortune just to take a look at the problem, turn it into a nightmare.

Drain Doctor charges no overtime for evening, weekend or bank holiday emergencies and there are no call-out charges . Every job is priced before work starts, working to a national pricing menu.

We are truly on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Service requests are handled quickly and efficiently and prices are agreed before the job is done, so there are no surprises – like the one that was in store for that American plumber. Our constant aim is to give superb and specialised service in a market plagued by cowboy operators who are overcharging customers for shoddy workmanship. Franchisees offer a full 24 hour per day seven day per week service and they give fixed-price, no obligation quotes with a full guarantee on all their work.