drain blockage - diy??

[speirbhean]

Hi thereWe've a blocked drain in the back garden - we've only moved into the house but I suspect (like the rest of the place) the drain has been neglected for years. There are certainly a lot of leaves and other foliage down there, let alone other yucky stuff. It's just a standalone drain, it's not connected to a pipe - it's right beside the outdoor tap which is how I discovered the problem. We've tried chemicals but they didn't sort it. What I'd like to know is - how easy is it to use the rods and try and clear the blockage ourselves? I've been quoted E75 for hiring the rods and about E130 for dynorod so I don't want to spend the 75 and then find out I have to hire dynorod afterall. Any advice would be great!!

 

[PMU]

75 euro for hiring rods seems very very expensive. If you can't solve the problem in a half hour yourself you'll need professional help. Work out the distance from the trap to wherever the drain ends, you'll need that length of rods. Then hire the rods. Be sure to get a 'worm', and a plunger. Then start with one or two rods with the worm connected and see if it clears the blockage, then try the plunger.

 

[Beckster]

The key to clearing a drain is having plenty of water available.
It really helps to pour a large volume of water into the drain at once, as the pressure exerted by the water on blockage is enormous (got this tip from Corpo guy that came out when we called and told me he couldn't help as it wasnt their drain, and then wink wink, nod nod and 40 quid later the drain was cleared!!!). Using the water and watching how long it takes the level to go down is also a great help in judging how you are progressing.

 

[DOBBER22]

Had the same problem when I moved into my house the drains in the back yard were blocked to the point of overflowing so I went to HomeBase and bought a set of rods for E35.00 set included more than enough rods a plunger head, cork screw head and chimney brush head not a bad price for what I got anyway it took a bit of effort but after a while of rodding away the water started to recede so then I ran a hose down there while rodding and soon enough it all just flowed right out and now I have clear running drains and a set of rods handy for when/if it ever happens again.
After the water/gunk flows away keeps the hose running for a while just to make sure if flows right out to the main sewer even pouring a few bucket fulls into the drain to loosen anything else that may have gathered.

Good Luck

 

[Carpenter]

All above are spot on, a basic set of rods shouldn't set you back more than €30- €40 euro, I'd say you were offered an auger on hire for that money.......

 

[stobear]

We had a blocked drain in a new build last week, as the builder were on site they did the deed of clearing them, but it took 30 feet of rods to get it sorted. We watched the progress at the connecting point to the main drain. The chap also connected what looked like a firehose to the water mains and used it to clear out the drain, I would have been ages with a bucket/hose to get the same amount of water through the pipe.