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Will this blocked drain go away?

If you have a blocked drain it is highly unlikely that the blockage will simply go away.

Blockages caused by tree roots act like a strainer within your sewer pipes. Water and liquids will pass through the strainer but the poo and toilet paper and any other foreign material you flush down your sewer will get caught in the strainer.

Most busy family homes tend to have a blockage during morning or evening peak hour, or during the weekend or holidays when there are extra visitors in the house. That’s when there are multiple individuals using the shower, bath and toilet, the dishwasher and washing machine. It’s at this time that all that waste water can’t get through the “strainer” and the blockage occurs.

Some home owners will see the blockage and promise to call an emergency plumber “in the morning”.

But, when morning comes and they use their toilet and it flushes normally, many people believe that the blockage has miraculously fixed itself and they either ring their emergency plumber to call him off visiting or they just don’t ring a plumber at all.

What has happened is this; during the night, whilst everyone is sleeping, the dirty waste water has seeped through the tree root “strainer” in the blocked sewer pipes giving the appearance that the blocked drain has fixed itself. The new morning peak hour will cause the drain to be blocked again; only this time it will be even uglier.

So, get on the phone and contact your emergency plumber to clear your blockage promptly. Ask your plumber to do a drainoscopy on your sewer pipes. Its actually quite an interesting process and if its during the holidays all the family can see what is really going on in your blocked drains.

If the drainoscopy shows tree roots in pipes, ask your plumber about a drain maintenance program at the same time.

Remember, if you have a blocked drain caused by tree roots, The tide will go out overnight……but it will come back in the morning!

Peak hour!

Electric eels

Electric eel is a tool used by plumbers to clear pipes of debris. Electric snakes are used to buy time until a longer-lasting technique can be used to clear the pipe. So if your problem is roots growing into pipes, snaking is a very temporary solution.

These nifty machines are made of over 60 metres of wire cable that spins at over 500 revolutions a minute. A powerful electric eel is enough to clear regular debris and small, thin root blockages. You’re going to need something stronger for dense root blockages.

Plumbers may still use an electric snake on a dense blockage, with the hopes that it will clear enough of the pipe to make it usable in the short-term. On top of their provisionality, electric snakes pose many other problems.

The cables are long and cumbersome, so your plumber and the equipment can be covered in grease and grime. They can make a huge mess in your home if you happen to get careless plumbers. Even the most courteous plumbing experts can still unwittingly leave some muck for you to clean up.

Experts warn against renting or buying electric snakes and using them to routinely clear pipes. The tube spins so fast that it can be dangerous if you’re not trained in the proper use. Like most complicated devices, the use of electric snakes is best left to the pros.