blocked drains – My CMS

Drain unblocking in Kent

Jimmy Bailey — Sat, 22 Feb 2014 17:00:05 +0000

One of the most common questions we get asked is what has caused the blockage in my drains?

As drains don’t block for no reason we normally find its down to misuse, by misuse we mean

Wipes
grease
nappies
sanitary towels
condoms
ear buds
cotton face wipes

Then there is the items that are sold in the supermarkets that actually say flushable! The problem is they are not bio degradable, and as they enter the drainage system they do not break up causing all sorts of problems.

Drainage specialist attending blocked drains in Kent, can have trouble clearing blockages caused by the items above, due to the fact that they bunch up into a long sausage in the pipe work making it very difficult to clear.

Then you get accidental damage blockages as listed below.

Root Ingress
Ground Movement
Accidental damage (fence post etc.)
Vehicle pressure (under a drive way)

We get many customers calling us with blocked drains in Kent, and on arrival to a property we always ask “do you have any idea what has caused the problem?”

99% of the time we are told “no idea!”, then on lifting the manhole we see it’s full of wipes or paper hand towels, it’s surprising how many blockages could be avoided if only sewage waste and toilet paper was flushed down the toilets in a property.

After a blockage is cleared is a good idea to have a drainage camera survey to check if there is any lasting damage to the drainage system.

Below you will see how bad a problem can get due to misuse, we were called by a customer who had blocked drains in Kent. On lifting the first manhole chamber the drains under pressure seem to explode all over the garden. The customer had been using baby wipes and had explained that the toilets had been flushing away slowly for a couple of days.

The customer also reported noticing rats at the property, this would have been caused by the sewage attracting the vermin in while the sewage was building up in the system. Once the blockage was cleared we carried out a treatment for rats and the customer has reported back that there has been no signs of rats since our last visit to the property

If you have blocked drains in Kent, call your local drainage specialist DT Facilities for a free no obligation quote

We also cover all the major towns around Kent, Canterbury,Maidstone,Faversham,Dover,Deal,Sittingbourne and all surrounding areas

Blocked Drains Kent Specialists

Jimmy Bailey — Wed, 19 Feb 2014 20:18:19 +0000

What to do if you have a blocked drain

With the amount of things we wash down our drains without a second thought, it is inevitable that the build-up will cause issues at some point down the line. In many cases, a drain cleaner purchased from a supermarket will suffice, but only for the short-term. Here, we will explore more about what to do if you have a blocked drain. There are various non-professional options that you can explore, from hiring equipment from a tool store to trying to use a plunger to move on whatever is causing a block. However, in the majority of cases, it’s easier and much more time-efficient to call in the professionals. Blocked Drains Kent – calling in the professionals There are many benefits that you do not even think about when choosing a professional to come and unblock your drains. Many times, people automatically rule out professional plumbers in Kent as they feel it will be too expensive, but here’s why this isn’t always the case: 1) Sink un-blockers cost about £5 per use and only temporally fix what is likely to be an on-going issue. If you use one bottle every two months that is £30 you’re spending on drain cleaning products. 2) Taking on the issue yourself will take up your time, more time than it would take a professional. This is time you could be doing other things with. 3) Taking on work by yourself could mean you cause damage to the drain, which may require professional drain repair or another service like drain cleaning. Why should you choose DT Facilities Kent? As leading Kent plumbers, DT Facilities is one of the leading blocked drains Kent specialists. A cost-effective company with over 15 years of experience in this industry, DT Facilities also offers a number of other services as well, which means they can be your home maintenance company in Kent.

Kent Plumber Heating engineer

Jimmy Bailey — Fri, 10 Jan 2014 09:40:49 +0000

Local Plumber & Heating Engineer

As one of Kent’s fastest growing companies we are pleased to announce that Lee Pankhurst has now passed the CCN1 core Gas exam and is now fitting boilers, as well as carrying out emergency plumbing jobs, from leaks to blocked drains. In 2008 our main trade was plumbing services only and as we have expanded into drainage, pest control and now central heating systems. We now hold accreditation for natural gas boilers, LPG boilers and Oil fired systems. Our gas engineers also have certification for unvented systems. As a family run business our local plumbers can pass on some great savings on any plumbing services from tap replacement to bathroom installations. We have saved thousands for customers in the boiler installation market also. We have extended our boiler service offer till for another month, just £30 inclusive of vat to service (limited time only) your gas boiler, this is currently the best price Boiler service in Kent. Various landlords and home owners have already taken us up on this great offer and we will continue to provide this service for our current customers as well as new customers.

boiler service

The recent flooding that has occurred has seen the calls for local plumbers in Herne Bay and surrounding areas to rocket, we have attended various properties that have suffered some flooding and provided pumps or heaters & dehumidifiers to help. The floods have also caused lots of problems with rain water soak aways. Soak aways are just large holes in the ground and either crates or stone filled to soak up the rain water that comes down from the roof into the gutter then down into the soak away. With the heavy rain fall we have been having the soak aways have not be able to take the take the amount of water. Taking calls for emergency plumbers to attend, we have found that on arrival the rain has stopped and the problem has subsided. We then can only advise to wait for what we would call normal rain fall and see if the soak away takes the down poor. Most of the time it will, but sometimes we get called back and a new soak away is required. If you are in need of a local plumber contact us now for a free quote or just some friendly advise

Cctv drainage subsidence survey

Jimmy Bailey — Mon, 18 Nov 2013 08:26:44 +0000

Subsidence is one of them words no one wants to hear from a building surveyor, but if you find your property does have subsidence, the general first thing to look for is drainage in the area of damage to the property. We get calls from building surveyors asking for detailed CCTV subsidence surveys on the drainage system. These differ slightly from a normal cctv survey or even our full home buyer pre purchase survey. They include surveying all the accessible drainage like the home buyer drain survey but also on request we break into the rain water system to check the drain runs to the soak-aways. We also check the drainage within five metres of the cracking to the property with a water test on any drainage. This is to check if the drainage is leaking into the foundations of the area of damage. Quite often we find cracks, roots or breaks to the pipe work on subsidence surveys, which in turn means a very large amount of water is running under the property and washing away soil creating easy movement for the building. Sometimes this is down to poor installation but on most occasions the older properties the cause is minor ground movement. Once the surveyor receives the report they generally approve repairs to the drainage system prior to any work being carried out to the damage on the property.

Drain relining in Canterbury

Jimmy Bailey — Sun, 17 Nov 2013 10:30:28 +0000

A maintenance company in Canterbury were getting re occurring blocked drains in some flats they maintain. We were called in after the fourth blockage in two months. A drain cctv survey was carried out and we quickly identified mass root damage on a couple of joints in the pipe work. The drain was jetted clean, before a mechanical root cutting machine was used to cut the roots away leaving the pipe work full bore and ready for the repairs to take place. The drain run was 22 metres long, so a full length liner would have been very costly. The most cost effective means of repair was local structural repairs. A part line or sometimes known as a patch, is inserted into the drain and pushed down to the point where the root had breached the pipe. Once in the correct position the patch kit is blown up to 2 bar of pressure and left to cure. Once cured the repair system is removed from the drain leaving the part liner in the drain sealing it from any chance of the roots coming back at that point. This drain relining means of repair is very helpful as it is minimum disruption to the homeowners and with no large excavation needed it really keeps the cost down. The company have not had any problems with the drain since the work was completed.

Minimal disruption relining

Supporting Kent Estate Agents with Blocked Drains and other services

Jimmy Bailey — Sun, 10 Nov 2013 08:04:56 +0000

At DT facilities we have been working with local estate agents in Kent for years, mainly for minor plumbing jobs, dripping taps leaks burst pipes etc. As we expanded into additional trades we now get calls from them for pest control i.e. wasp nest removal, rats & mice, ants and on occasion bed bugs. One estate agent uses us for all their landlord gas safety certificates boiler service and boiler breakdowns or repairs. Over the weekend an estate agent that hasn’t used us before called as there current contractor had let them down, they explained they had a student let property in whitstable with blocked drains, we sent a drainage specialist straight out to site on a two hour emergency attendance. On arrival to site the engineer found the main drain for the property blocked, there was a small light well area in the basement that had flooded with sewage, as this area was never really used is was clear the flood had been going for some time and was only noticed due to it start to cause very bad smells. There were also reports of rats being attracted. The drainage system was cleared and flushed through using a high pressure jet. The area was then washed down and fully sanitised. Once the area was clean, the estate agent was called and offered a treatment for rats as the engineer on site was also a qualified pest control engineer. Due to being on site for the blocked drain problem we could offer discounted prices on the pest control work. The estate agent was very pleased and has already booked in landlord gas safeties and a boiler installation quote on two other property’s they manage in Canterbury and Herne bay. For all your maintenance needs call us free for a quote or just some friendly helpful advise.

Drain unblocking Whitstable

Jimmy Bailey — Wed, 06 Nov 2013 20:35:14 +0000

Blocked drains Whitstable Kent

A local surveyor that looks after some properties in Whitstable called into the office today as they had one of their rented properties where the drains were blocked and backing up into the toilets. The manholes on site were over flowing causing a serious hazard as there were young children on site. We sent a drainage engineer out on an emergency basis as the information given was there is sewage seeping out of the manholes and there are children on site On arrival we found several manholes blocked on site running through three rear gardens, the drainage system was cleared using high pressure water jetting. A look see camera survey was then carried out. The findings were that the pipe work under the lawn had dropped causing an area of water to hold, grease then builds up in the area of holding water and eventually the drains start to block. In this case, drain lining is not an option so a DVD of the drains was provided to the surveyor, and a written quote to excavate the damage drain was Provided. The tenants asked if they could still use the drains, we explained that we would jet the drains through to remove the grease build up so they could continue to use there facilities until the excavation work was carried out and the damaged drain repaired. The following day we was called by the owner and advised to carry out the excavation work to the drainage system, the pipe work was replaced with UPVC pipe. the levels of the drain were taken before and after to confirm there was enough fall between the two drains. On completion a further cctv drainage survey was carried out to check the pipe work. If you have blocked drains Whitstable,Herne bay,Faversham or Canterbury contact us today for a free on obligation quote.

Blocked drain in Whitstable

Drain unblocking and CCTV survey in Whitstable

Jimmy Bailey — Thu, 31 Oct 2013 14:14:52 +0000

DT Facilities were called to a blocked drain in Whitstable we found two manhole chambers full of sewage. The blockage was traced to the main interceptor to front of the property. The property had large trees running all the way along the line of the drains. The blockage was cleared and a drain camera survey was used to investigate. Root ingress was found within the drainage system, this had caused the drains to block and the customer also then found they had blocked toilets. This was all a knock on affect from the root damage in the drains. The customer agreed to have a drain root cut and on completion of the root cut we would carry out a re survey to check the extent of the damage. The drains were still in a decent condition, the roots had come through on the joints, and this can be rectified using drain lining or local structural repairs also known as patch lining. This particular job was repaired using local structural repairs as there was only two area of root damage to the drain in a 15 meter run. The home owner commented on how reasonable the cost of repair was on completion as they thought we would have to dig up the drive way.

Blocked Drains Canterbury

Jimmy Bailey — Thu, 31 Oct 2013 14:03:00 +0000

DT Facilities were called to attended a blockeds Canterbury, Kent. The home owner explained she had called several companies over the past two years as the drain kept blocking. The other companies attended cleared the drains and although they left it running away it wasn’t long before it started to run slow again. Eventually over flowing and causing a flood outside neighbouring properties.

After clearing the drain the home owner was offered a cctv drain survey to find the cause of the re occurring blockage. This was agreed and after making the safe the cleaning work started.

Blocked Drains Canterbury

The camera survey started and we soon found the cause of the problem.

High pressure jetting was used to clean the drain and the customer was shocked at what was found.

As you can see from the pictures (below) there was a very large build up off fat and washing powered in the system, and without the drain camera survey and the drain descale the problem would of just happened again and again.

Glove in the picture shows the scale of the fat build up

On completion of the drain descale a full drain survey with DVD was provided for the customer and a twelve month guarantee on the drain in question was issued.

The customer was surprised we were happy to offer that length of guarantee on a drain.

Fat build up and washing power caused this huge deposit