Kitchen plumbing All aspects of plumbing questions and answers, help, tips and information

[thedoctor]

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[tomlister]

Hello,

I have what seems to be an unusual problem, but hopefully not a difficult one to solve. We have a kitchen which used to overlook our back garden, but has had a conservatory built onto the external wall. This means that our "outside" drain leading from the kitchen sink and washing machine is now indoors. The problem is that the drain has become clogged up with fat and all kinds of lovely smelling things.
I have tried to unclog it using a screwdriver (not that helpful), my hands (not much fun) and eventually some thick bleach. This has worked in the past but now we still have standing water in the drain all of the time.
I have looked over the website and it seems as if drain rods are the most appropriate tool, but I am no expert and would like your advice. The main problem is that I'm unsure as to the whereabouts of the man hole, and even if I can access it (physically or legally).
Also, my mother has suggested caustic soda, is this a viable alternative?

Thank you for reading this and I hope you can help,

Tom Lister

[thedoctor]

HI Tom, Caustic soda can be tried but it sounds like a blockage somewhere down the line and drain rods are the most likely answer. They are not expensive and a handy tool to have around. You can buy them from the unblocking drains project. You will need to do some detective work to find the manhole but once you have, make sure you only twist the drain rods clockwise when using them to rod. The reasons for this are in the project.

[thedoctor]

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