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Cleaning out the waste pipes....


Afy

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Another problem with my house is that the waste water pipes are all clogged to some extent.

I have poured several dozen bottles of pipe cleaners everywhere to no avail....

And am out of ideas. I am also not inclined to DIY stuff and am very new to it. My current skill level barely extends to changing light bulbs....

What do I do? What specific stuff can I buy to clean this out....

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Surely in major transactions such as buying a house the major responsibility naturally falls on the woman?  How can you expect us men to make sensible decisions on this sort of thing?

Afy, have you thought about using flexible pipe cleaners, with a twisty hook on the end, to hoik the stuff out?  Never try to force it through, by the way - it often just compacts it and makes it worse.

This sort of thing:

SCREWFIX

[img]http://www.screwfix.com/sfd/i/cat/13/p1094413_l.jpg[/img]

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A few ideas - use a plunger ie rubber suction head on a wooden handle. Or unscrew the reservoir on thee waste pipe below the sink. Or for the kitchen, pour down scalding hot soapy water. Or husband's favourite, use caustic soda. Stand well back after application and keep the windows open. Pat.

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[quote user="hastobe"]Sorry Afy - do not want to light touch paper so to speak - but if you signed papers surely it was your resposnsibility to do some homework too?

Kathie
[/quote]

Yes you are right. However given that I travel 24 days a month working 17 hrs a day and dont speak French, of course it was my responsibility. As was the decision to buy the damn house....

I gave specific instructions to hire a surveyor... which she did not do because my FIL gave the house a once over. Plus why waste 500 when your spending a couple of hundred grand.. her logic.

My involvement in buying the house was limited to a 20 minute visit. And of course to pay for the damned place.

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Last year my sink/dishwasher waste pipe to fosse became blocked (large 3" diam pipe once in ground which was where it was blocked - the ordinary grey plastic stuff). The waste pipe cleaner chemicals you get in supermarkets had no effect (probably too dilute by the time they got to the blockage. Pushing a running hose down found the blockage but had no effect.

Called a plumber and he used a pressure pipe unblocker machine. Basically a hose with a head with fine jets, connected to a high pressure pump (10 bar). Jets in the "head" pull the hose down the pipe whilst other jets cut the blockage clear. He cleared the blockage fairly quickly but then it had restricted flow so we continued. Ended-up getting loads of large lumps of white hard muck out and had run clearly ever since.

I'm sure you can hire such devices but the plumber only charged me 60€ for a long afternoon's work.

Ian
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I had the same problem last week with my three inch waste coming from sink/kitchen, solved in two minutes with drainage rods. The white muck is grease and is best moved with this method, no amount of caustic soda/hot soapy water will shift this, in my experience ( being a mere man ) that is [:D] Hugh.

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If you can beg, borrow or steal a reasonable pressure washer, most bricolage outlets sell generic reverse jet action drain cleaners.

I recently bought one from M. Bricolage for circa E 29,00

Works very well, albeit a bit short, however longer units are readily available.

I must admit my washer has significant grunt: 160 bar and shifts 560 litres/minute.

 

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