Suspect Blocked Drains in Blackpool, Preston, Chorley or beyond?

Is your drain blocked, toilet blocked, overflowing or very slow at going down? Do you have a strange odour within your home or garden? Is your manhole chamber full?

Well the chances are you have blocked drains.

Here at Steve Hastings Drainage we understand that blocked drains in Blackpool can be a major problem. We cover a wide area around Blackpool including Preston, Garstang, Cleveleys, Fleetwood, Chorley, Leyland, Blackburn, Poulton-Le-Fylde, Darwen. Blocked drains or a blocked drain discharging looks visually disgusting! Alongside this, it can cause health problems and even structural damage to your home or property if left unattended.

If you are struggling with blocked drains in Blackpool and need a blockage cleared, call us today on 07970 883333.

Blocked Drain Blackpool, Rapid Drain Clearance

Long-Term Solutions – Blocked Drain Blackpool

We Can offer a FREE CCTV inspection with every drain blockage. This ensures that there are no long-term problems with your drains.

For more details or to arrange for our drain specialists to visit you in Blackpool, call on 07970 883333.

What am I responsible for?

Generally speaking, you’re usually responsible for drains inside the boundaries of your property. In addition, the sewerage company is responsible for sewers as well as lateral drains. These are located outside of property boundaries.

What is the difference between a drain, lateral drain and sewer?

A drain is a pipe that drains water and waste from a building.

A lateral drain is a length of pipe which carries wastewater away from your property. It’s located outside your property boundary, often under public pavement or road. This is therefore not your responsibility in most cases (though we can advise on who is responsible if you have an issue).

A sewer collects water and waste from the drains of a number of buildings. Most sewers are publicly owned and are also maintained by your water company.

There are some exceptions to the above. If you use a cesspool, septic tank or treatment plant you aren’t connected to a sewer. This means you won’t have to pay sewerage charges to a sewerage company.

Why are my drains blocked?

The large majority of blockages with drains are caused by the disposal of materials that do not belong there. There has been a lot of press attention recently regarding fatbergs in public sewers. These are build ups of fat, oil, nappies, hair, and other materials the public and businesses throw down the drain.

Things like wipes and nappies don’t just disappear down the u-bend and dissolve! Instead, they clump together and cause havoc in the sewers. All-too-often we see the misery caused to people when blocked sewers have caused their homes and gardens to flood.

Fats and oils are a particularly bad cause for blocked drains. This is something we have all been guilty of throwing down the drain. Liquid fat will hit the cold water in drains and coagulate sticking to anything it touches. Once a small bit of fat forms on the drain or one item gets stuck, there is an anchor for everything else that tries to pass by. As a result, a problem can escalate quickly.

The other common issue with homes is root ingress. Trees love water, and if there is a small leak from one of the drain joints, roots will “root” them out forcing themselves inside thee drain. Here they will have lots of water to grow further, causing the drain to collapse if left untreated.

How can I avoid blocked drains in the future?

You should absolutely never throw anything down the drain that doesn’t belong there. Wet wipes, cotton wool, nappies, cotton buds and dental floss are just some of the main culprits.

It is a little harder in the kitchen, you can’t always make sure every bit of food or fat is put in the bin, but the more you dispose of this way the less of an issue you will have. With fat you are best off waiting for it to solidify then you can easily dispose of it in the bin.

How can I tell if I have damaged drains from roots?

We have a £20 call out fee for basic block drain repairs which covers rodding only but we will also do a CCTV inspection to identify the cause of the blocked drain. During this inspection, we will be able to advise if your blocked drain is more serious than a standard blockage and if there is root ingress from trees.

What areas do you cover?

Our head office is based in Cleveleys near Blackpool. Our large team works across Lancashire and the Fylde. We cover areas such as Chorley, Preston, Wigan, and Blackburn.

What other services are offered?

We don’t just unblock drains, we can help you install new wastewater and septic tanks for homes that are not connected by drains to the sewer.

Are blocked drains covered by insurance?

This is dependant on your insurance, and it is always worth checking. Typically, most building insurance policies will cover accidental damage to your drains, it is quite likely that an insurance company will try and avoid paying out for claims on small technicalities.

Things like old age or corrosion of the pipe – anything that can be seen as natural deterioration is generally not covered by insurance. There are some exceptions, some more expensive policies can have optional drainage cover.

Can blocked drains cause subsidence?

Subsidence is caused when the ground beneath your property’s foundations moves, and the foundations move with it, causing parts of the property to sink and creating cracks in the structure. The main symptoms of subsidence are cracks, largely around windows, doors and other weak points in the structure, usually diagonal and wider at the top than at the bottom.

One of the most common causes of subsidence is leaking drains. Because they are designed to take water into the ground beneath your property, any leak in your drainage pipes can send water into exactly the areas you don’t want it to be; right beneath your house. The water then acts on the soil, washing it away or softening and weakening it, causing movement in the foundations above. This is particularly a problem in areas with sandy soil, because it is more prone to being washed away or weakened by water than clay soil, for example.

Can blocked drains cause damp?

Leaks within our drainage system and pipes can quickly cause damp within a property, and it can lead to more severe problems like penetrating damp and wet rot. The result of a leak within our drains or pipes will generally be contained to one area of one wall, though it should be treated quickly and thoroughly to prevent spreading.

If you’ve noticed damp patches in your home, you should check the following:

• Ensure any downpipes and gutters within the area are not faulty or leaking.
• Look for any damage within your drains or pipes; are they cracked, or do they have faulty joints or corroded seals?
• Are your drains or downpipes blocked? Rainwater can quickly back up and force itself out of a pipe joint, causing your home to become damp.

What clears blocked drains?

Not all drains need professionally unblocking, for small blocks within the house you can use the following methods:

• Baking soda and vinegar
• Boiling water to melt fatty deposits
• Caustic soda also known as sodium hydroxide
• Plunger
• Clean the pipe
• Drain Snake

What chemicals clear blocked drains?

There are a variety of chemicals that can help clean drains. Many of these should be used with caution as corrosive and acid drain cleaners are among the most hazardous household products available to the public. Chemical drain cleaners can cause strong reactions—sometimes explosively—with other chemicals that may have been used previously, which can result in serious injury to anyone in the vicinity.

Drain cleaners available to the public are generally alkaline based (sodium hydroxide (lye)) and some of them can effectively break down proteins like hair. The exothermic reaction that occurs when the product is put down the drain can help break down the greases, oils, etc. that form the clog. There is however a possibility that this can weaken the plastic surrounding out.