If the apartment has an unpleasant odor, and the water does not pass well through the drain, it is time to begin the prevention of sewage blockage. For this, it is necessary to determine the place in which the cork formed, as well as the cause of what is happening. This will help in the future to be more attentive to plumbing devices and how to use them. You may have to redo the sewer, but such cases happen in private homes where installation was not carried out according to the rules.
The main causes of clogged sewer pipes
Most often, traffic jams form in the bathroom or in the kitchen. In the first case, the cause is hair entering the siphon. If one of the tenants has the habit of doing manicures and pedicures in the bathroom, then blockages will be repeated often. In the kitchen pipes, a layer of fat forms on the walls. It gradually increases and problems with the drain begin. When washing greasy dishes with cool water, for reasons of economy, it is periodically necessary to use products that remove waste from the pipe walls.
When waste is decomposed, hydrogen sulfide is released, which is produced by anaerobic bacteria, you can get a respiratory disease or allergies.
Another common cause of traffic jams is a clogged pipe that drains water from the washing machine. Over the years, the fabric pile accumulates in the siphon and the machine can not push out the water after washing. After that, the electronics gives an error and the device turns off.
To properly flush the sewer pipes, it is necessary to understand the causes that cause blockage.
Pipe clogging during operation
Operational blockage develops gradually. Approximately once every two months, a blockage may occur, after cleaning which devices again work normally. This happens mainly in the kitchen, where fat enters the pipe and accumulates. The same thing happens in the bathroom and shower.
During the long-term operation of the urban sewer system, a plug of mineral deposits may occur. For example, iron oxide, which is rich in local water. If you inspect such a pipe, it turns out that there is practically no room for fluid flow. The whole place is occupied by bronze or white minerals.
In the general sewage of a multi-storey building, organic residues accumulate in the process - feces, protein compounds.
Technological problems of sewer pipes
Technological blockage is a more serious problem, as it will be repeated frequently. The reason is the improper arrangement of sewers in a private house (and sometimes in a high-rise). Of great importance are the angles at which the pipes are connected. To determine if this is the reason, you need to look at the engineering plan for laying pipes. If this is not the case, you need to call the masters and consult what to do. Most likely, you have to redo the joints.
If plugs form within 2 to 3 weeks after the next cleaning, there is not enough time for the occurrence of operational clogging. Therefore, somewhere along the highway waste accumulates, because they cannot overcome a turn of 90 or less degrees. Most often, a technological problem arises at the junction of internal and external sewers, as well as at the entrance to a septic tank. First you need to inspect these places, so as not to dig the entire site in vain.
If during the installation of the sewage system the slope rule of 2 cm per linear meter of the highway was not observed, the water flow will be slow and will not be able to wash away the blockage in a natural way.
Another technological problem is the freezing of pipes in the winter. If the climate is cold and the pipes are not insulated additionally, a piece of ice appears inside the pipe. It is also dangerous because ice can damage the plastic simply by tearing it.
Mechanical blockage
It occurs when a large object enters the sewer system, for example, used diapers. Young children often experiment by throwing small toys into the sink or bathroom.
Why is pipe clogging dangerous?
The biggest problem is the flood in the apartment. Financial investments in repairs can disappear in an instant if dirty water rushes out of the bathroom or toilet. If such a mixture gets on the ceiling, neighbors will have to pay two repairs.
It’s worse when, due to messy neighbors from above, the flood begins at the residents on the first floor. A large object lowered into the toilet sinks with wastewater to the first floor and clogs the riser. The apartment below suffers first, then on the second floor, if the emergency brigade is not called in time.
Determination of the blockage
Most likely clogging of the pipe in the following places:
- near the siphon, knee;
- near the central riser;
- at a distance of 50 - 60 cm to the junction with the common pipe.
In a private house, the outlet of the internal sewage system is clogged. If the siphon is clogged, water will begin to pour back in a couple of seconds. If the problem is in distant pipes, it will take several minutes before water begins to flow into the sink.
When the central riser is blocked, water rises simultaneously in all plumbing devices and in the toilet.
An unpleasant odor is heard if the blockage is close to the sinks or the bathroom, the smell does not reach the house from distant pipes.
Specialists use devices with a camera at the end to see on the computer screen exactly where the problem occurred. This option is preferable if the sewer wiring has a complex structure and you do not want to disassemble it. Digging up a street sewer is also problematic in winter. It is possible to clean the sewer in order to eliminate blockages only after a plug is found in the pipe. To find the means for cleaning, you need to find out what the interference consists of, and then act.
Cleaning Methods
Periodic sticking of fat can be eliminated independently. This does not require any specific tools. Farther traffic jams are removed by professional devices.
Ways to eliminate blockages in the sink:
- Chemicals are strong alkalis or acids. They are powder or liquid. Suitable for prevention, but for serious problems are not effective. They are expensive, but in most cases they don’t solve the problem or do not solve it for long.
- Mechanical methods, for example, a plumbing cable with a nozzle at the end. There are manual and electric. The flexible hose penetrates the pipe at any distance. During rotation, it breaks down organic deposits on the walls, so the effect after such cleaning lasts a long time. After the cable, a bucket of hot water can be poured into the system to flush away any remaining fat.
- Hydrodynamic method. Based on the use of high pressure hot water, the temperature of which reaches 120 degrees.
- Manual way. It implies the use of a plunger, wire. It helps temporarily with mild blockages. If the riser is clogged, the plunger will be ineffective, as it will not be able to create the desired pressure in the pipe.
Before using one of the methods, it is important to correctly diagnose the cause of the plug. If these are old pipes, mechanically they can be damaged even more and provoke the outflow of sewage, the liquidation of which will cost a round sum.
Flat
When a sink is clogged in the kitchen, chemicals or folk remedies are used. First, you can try to eliminate the fat plug with boiling water with soda:
- Pour a glass of soda into the hole in the sink and pour boiling water. Leave on for 8 hours. Periodically it is necessary to add hot water.
- After cleaning, rinse the pipe again.
Vinegar soda works similarly, but faster. You may need a whole pack of soda and a bottle of vinegar.
Granules of acid are also poured with boiling water. In cold water they stick together and form a solid, therefore, while it dissolves, a little hot liquid is added. After cleaning, turn on the tap at full power. Flowing water should form a turbulence, which means a successful outcome of the event.
You need to use a plunger with knowledge of the matter, as experienced plumbers say. First you need to close all the drain holes in the plumbing fixtures to create a vacuum in the system. Then put the rubber on the clogged drain and try to pump it several times. The progressive movement of water will break the clot and push it along the pipe into the main riser.
In extreme cases, specialists with a hydraulic installation will help solve the issue of sewage in the apartment, which will create increased pressure and eliminate the problem within five minutes. This method is used in case of serious problems, so that the cork does not fall below and does not block the main sewer pipe. If the water pressure in the house is weak, flushing from the toilets will be difficult. Periodically, you need to call an emergency team and do traffic jams prevention.
Private house
Due to the greater length of the highway, it is more difficult to detect a problem in a private house. Especially if the house is bought and there is no information on how the system was mounted underground and in the walls.
We need a mini camera or drastic measures - a long cable with a nozzle, a hydraulic installation or, in extreme cases, a vacuum cleaner that is turned on for blowing. Before the event, you need to clean the septic tank, if it is full, then the waste will be easier to eliminate with air.
If the water contains carbonates - calcareous components, they will be deposited on the walls of the pipes. The most susceptible metal communications. Plastic does not attract lime.
Ways to eliminate small blockages in a private house are the same as in an apartment. If it is not known exactly where the trash is, use a cable. At the entrance to the pipe, it moves freely. When it comes up against a cork, tension is felt. Thus, according to the length of the cable, the master can approximately determine where there is a problem place and what it is connected with.
Which way to choose
The cleaning method is selected based on the degree of clogging. If this is another sticking of fat, then it is eliminated independently. It will take time and some chemicals - Tiret, Domestos or Mole, as well as 10 liters of boiling water for washing.
If there is a flexible plumbing cable in the house, it is also used independently. It helps to fix more serious problems. For example, if a child lowered a soft toy or a ball into the toilet. They push it with a nozzle into the main riser, the width of which is greater than the connection to the toilet. Then it will go downhill into a septic tank.
It is necessary to call a team of repairmen in those cases when the main riser in a private or multi-storey building is clogged and there is a high probability of flooding of several apartments connected to this drain.
The cost of cleaning sewer pipes
Calling specialists to clean pipes is a serious event that requires financial costs. Housing offices are reluctant to take up such work, as they do not have professional equipment. You have to contact private structures that fix the problem within 2 hours, taking into account the arrival.
Typically, private offices do not only clean pipes, they also change plumbing, lay turnkey sewers, install electric heaters and connect them to plumbing. The more types of services a company provides, the cheaper the work of professionals will cost. The price range for eliminating sewage blockages is from 1,500 to 4,000 rubles.
