Vlog

• Do you know where your main access point or inspection opening is?
• Knowing where your inspection openings are can help save time and money
• Check out more of our VLOGS here.

The Job – Signs of a Blocked Drain

We were called out to this job because the customer reported blocked drains. The symptoms started with a gurgling toilet followed the next day by a laundry that presented with the same issue.

Fortunately, the client knew where the main drain access point was and in this particular scenario, the blockage affecting the property was between the access point and the water corporations main.

Do you know where your inspection openings are?

Every property is different and inspection points are not in standardised locations. In some older properties the inspection points may be hidden away or be fully covered over making it even more difficult to locate. While inspection openings are required and are regulated, they aren’t always raised when necessary to make them easy to find.

Why is it good to know where your access point is?

Knowing where your access point is will save time searching which means money. While we are pretty good at sniffing out access points, the longer we have to spend hunting and digging with our paws, means incurring what could be unnecessary charges. You may have come across your access points in obscure places when doing your gardening or maybe getting a patio installed so this knowledge may come in very handy.

The Video

Our obedient Plumbdog knows his stuff and isn’t afraid to get his paws wet. He gets in with some new and old fashioned technology to get the job done with a combination of the drain shaft plunger followed by our CCTV drain camera equipment to clearly identify the problem where you can clearly see the culprit tree roots. Then using our custom made high pressure water jetters, we get the job done!

Well done to our loyal customer too for knowing where the inspection shaft was saving time and money making it quick an easy to get on with the job of detecting the blockage and fixing the problem.

• Imagine horrible sewerage water spilling all over your property. It’s a nightmare come true!
• Only a licensed plumber is allowed to contact the Water Corporation to get an emergency crew out to clear the mains. 
• Water Corp will clear and disinfect the property. 
• Plumbdog are proud to be specialists in blocked drains. Maintenance plumbing finding and fixing problems is our specialty.  
• Check out more of our VLOGs & don’t forget to like and subscribe to our YouTube channel!

Blocked Drain in Kensington, Perth WA

In today’s video, our obedient Plumbdog Perth plumber is on a property in Kensington in Western Australia. The task for today is a blocked drains present in the rear left-hand corner of the property. The first issue in hand is that Richard has to figure out the exact position of the inspection shaft. which is the access point into the mains.

Finding the Inspection Shaft

After a little inspection using the shovel, Richard can determine the correct position of the inspection shaft. But the next issue at hand is that it’s a bit beyond the reach, and it’s almost a foot down deep into the sewage water. If he tries to get hold of it, then the water would go over the top of his glove; hence he has to think of a better way to handle the situation.

To get a better result, Richard instead decides to use a bucket to get all the water out by directly putting the bucket inside the hole as far as possible. He repeats the process around 20-30 times to get the water level down to get the hold of the access point and figure out if it’s a mains blockage or not, but unfortunately, it’s all in vain. No matter how hard he tries, the water keeps refilling at a swift pace, making it impossible for him to accomplish his task.

Reporting to the Water Corporation

After failing multiple times to get the water levels down, the best option is to report to the water corporation. Being quite certain that the issue is in the mains, Richard reports to the water corp to send out an emergency crew to clear the blockage and also a crew to disinfect the property.

Important Note: Only a licensed plumber is able to report to the water corp. A customer simply can’t contact the water corp directly and needs to have a licensed plumber visit the property first.

Providing Long Term Solutions

After the water corp finished clearing the mains and disinfecting the property, our experienced Plumbdog can make recommendations to keep the plumbing in good order going forward. The fact that the property houses a lot of matured trees, tree roots are a most likely cause of the blocked drains. With our specialised equipment, we can complete a full inspection and make recommendations along with a recommendation to bring up the inspection shaft to the ground level which is an ideal position.

For now, the best Richard can do is wait for both the water cooperation and disinfectants to do their job, and then Richard can re visit to see what’s the best he can do to combat the issue at hand.

You will need:

• 1 clogged toilet (works best when someone has been overzealous with the toilet paper)
• A generous amount of surfactant (anything that get sudsy, Like Dishwashing liquid, or shampoo)
• Hot (but not boiling as this will crack the toilet bowl) water
• A bucket or a basin to transport water to toilet

Steps:

1. Flush the toilet but not too much so it does not overflow, get your bottle of shampoo/ soap and squirt a generous amount into the bowl.
2. Follow that with a bucket of very hot water from the hot tap (not boiling).
   Fill the toilet full but not overflowing.
3. Leave the toilet for twenty minutes to soak.
4. Hopefully after a few minutes the water level will have lowered. (The hot water and Soap mix helps break down the paper) if this does not work the first time, flush it, and then add more hot water and soap.
5. Leave it soak for ten minutes, and then come back to it, and try flush it.
6. Flush it one or maybe two more time to make sure the blockage is clear.

If it does not go down after the second time, try and use a plunger. If not, give us a call!

• Check your toilet and identify if it is not working properly. Signs that it could have a problem include random phantom flushes or constant flow of water into the tank.
• Check the floor and the back of the toilet to ensure any flushed out water is going out completely and not leaking from the pipes.
• Check if your toilet fills up immediately after flushing. If it doesn’t this could be a sign of a damaged valve or toilet parts inside the tank. Check and replace them if needed.
• Cleaners, no matter what kind they are, can contain chlorine or other chemicals that can lead to damage to the working parts of your toilet. Check them out for bends, brittleness or cracks. Replace as needed.
• The old grandmas trick of putting a brick in the tank still works in some tank systems. This will help you save some money on water use during the holidays, but newer systems contain a half and full flush button which is designed to do the same thing as nannas brick

These are just a few tips to prepare and keep your toilet leak free in the holidays and all year round. Contact us for all your plumbing needs!