My daughter has blocked her toilet for the second time, by continually using baby wipes instead of toilet paper. I invested in some rods, and removed the toilet bowl.
I managed to create an unspeakable mess in the bathroom, and replaced the toilet, after which it would drain, but is still slow. The rods wouldn't go any further, and her terraced property is one of the few without its own inspection chamber.
Is there a chemical remedy, or does anyone have any bright ideas?
Tell your daughter to employ a plumber. That should teach her.
Mary
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I think you will find such a chemical remedy in any hardware store. There are two kinds - sodium hydroxide and acid (sulphuric, I think). I would expect both to work pretty well.
I think acid has been slightly better for me.
You have to leave hydroxide to work for several hours, as advised, in my experience.
Make sure the loo is full of water, then plunge it with a mop. When the water level goes down, top it up again and keep plunging the mop down it. Eventually you should build up enough pressure to blow the blockage out. If you can;can't blow the block away with this method, then it's time to call in the plumber to search for the broken drain pipe.
Is there a chemical remedy, or does anyone have any bright ideas?
Tell your daughter to employ a plumber. That should teach her.
Mary
Thank you Mary - you obviously have money to burn.
If it's not ground floor there's usually an access point in the down pipe. Also, check the nearest manhole and see if that's blocked. If it's a shared drain, the water board should clear it for free. Pre
1930 I think they are bound to. Worth a try anyway.
Just pray the blockage blows the right way ! :-)
Ours is classed as a shared /private/ sewer, shared by 4 properties. It used to block frequently, and was unblocked by ourselves and other neighbours on a couple of occasions. It was also unblocked by a well known national firm of drain cleaners at least once. The council wouldn't touch it unless we agreed to pay for it, however, the last occasion they did, and the person paying didn't get the quarters back from some of the owners. However, the council clearers found and properly cleared the problem (a brick in the pipe) which other clearers hadn't found. It hasn't blocked (now for several years) since. Well worth the small charge levied by the council.
Chemical remedy? - a whole bunch arsenic, cyanide etc, sprinkle liberally, sit back and admire the results, bit of air freshener in the bathroom, sell the house - result no more blocked toilet.
Or just leave the silly bitch to sort it out herself, when she is up to her ears in shit she might learn how to properly dispose of the baby wipes.
He'll soon find out. :-) LOL
Our council doesn't deal with drains any more. Responsibility has passed to Thames Water, but whether this applies nationally I don't know. Their contractors have always turned up within 4 hours and taken less than 5 minutes to do the job. I've seen DynoRod and others faff about for ages trying to push the job over the hour. Your experience shows why shared drains can't really be dealt with by any one property and why, in most cases, they do it for free. What happens for example if the blockage is in property no.4's part of the sewer and they're on holiday, or they're tenants and the landlord won't contribute to the cost? Presumably the water board has the authority and the insurance cover to deal with this, not to mention the equipment. The last contractor we had came in a 6 ton lorry with enormous drums of cables and hose on the back. Didn't bother him if he couldn't get parked nearby, or if the blockage was miles away from the nearest access point. I think a lot people pay unnecessarily, and get involved in all sorts of hassle with neighbors, when they don't need to.
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