Victorian Terraced Drains Persistently Blocked
Drainage and wastage systems and plumbing help, advice and answers

hinchcliffem
Labourer
Labourer
Posts: 1
Joined: Wed Aug 07, 2019 1:12 pm

Victorian Terraced Drains Persistently Blocked

by hinchcliffem » Wed Aug 07, 2019 1:15 pm

Hi. We are having persistent problems with our drains blocking and hoping that someone here can provide some advice and solutions.
We bought a Victorian terraced house two years ago and the main drain at the back, under and at the front of the house have been consistently blocked since then.

The problem:
Lifting the drain cover at the front of the house shows that the waste is not flowing through the trap sufficiently and it is blocking as a result.
At the back of the house, the waste does not flow enough under the house and backs up very quickly, giving us an overflowing drain cover and terrible smells in the kitchen.
Each time the drains are unblocked, they are blocked and stinking again in a couple of months.

What we have tried:
We have had the drains un-blocked (rodded and power-washed) several times.
We have had the drain under the house de-scaled twice.
We have had CCTV down there twice and it has shown no bellies, lips or other blockages in the pipes… just a bit of build-up of scale.
We had someone put some pretty strong chemicals down the trap that connects us to the main sewer to clean that out too.

We have been told by a couple of indy drain companies now that this is a persistent problem that won’t go away.
Essentially, because we don’t have enough water going down the drain (low-flow toilets, no baths, etc) and because the drop in the drain under the house is very shallow – we will forever have waste water that does not flow enough; scale builds up; becomes more blocked; more scale, etc…

Really grateful if anyone can advise?
- Does this sound right?
- Are there any solutions to the persistent blockages?
- Any solutions to the low-flow or shallow drop in the drain?
Thanks in advance.

It is currently Wed Dec 04, 2024 8:15 am