Clearing a blocked drain.

[Griffo63]

I need some recommendations of firms that can help unblock a waste water drain at my property.  There is a septic tank  - which is OK and a waste water "hole" where water from showers, washing up and the washing machine flows.  The problem is when the washing machine runs the waste water backs up to the bathroom shower area.  It eventually clears but can take up to 2 hours.  I'm guessing the waste water drain must be blocked. 

 

I've tried local people but they don't seem to know any firm  but I hoping some-one on this forum can suggest a suitable/local firm to help.

 

My property is between Wanon Niwat and Akat Amnuai in Sakon Nakhon Province (75 k from Sakon Nakhon).  Udon Thani and Kalasin are further away but in striking distance as is Nong Khai.

 

Any recommendations would be gratefully received,  thanks 

 

 

[lopburi3]

This in town or rural (in town likely goes into gray water drains on road so should be easy but rural may have a drain field that will have to be redone).   If have normal French type drain system to street general workers can clean it out or septic tank pump truck can be used (but they will likely try to overcharge if commercial and off book charge if government).  

[VocalNeal]

29 minutes ago, Griffo63 said:

The problem is when the washing machine runs the waste water backs up to the bathroom shower area.  It eventually clears but can take up to 2 hours.  I'm guessing the waste water drain must be blocked. 

 

My first action would be to bung some caustic drain cleaner chemical down the washing machine drain .With a bit of water to move it to wherever the blockage is, if you use the powdered stuff. 

Can buy the stuff at Tesco/BigC et al. Even the "mini" stores.

Edited April 22, 2021 by VocalNeal

[Olmate]

13 minutes ago, VocalNeal said:

 

My first action would be to bung some caustic drain cleaner chemical down the washing machine drain .With a bit of water to move it to wherever the blockage is, if you use the powdered stuff. 

Can buy the stuff at Tesco/BigC et al. Even the "mini" stores.

Elbow grease is the answer! 

[VocalNeal]

9 minutes ago, Olmate said:

Elbow grease is the answer! 

 

When in doubt use the chemical solution first. Likely it is elbow grease or kitchen grease that caused the problem.????

 

stage 2? https://www.lazada.co.th/products/plumbing-snake-sink-snake-drain-auger-pipe-snake-tool-for-cleaning-clogged-kitchen-sink-shower-drain-bathroom-sink-i2284239575-s7676983410.html?spm=a2o4m.searchlist.list.16.29b32e61hIFglw&search=1

Edited April 22, 2021 by VocalNeal

[Olmate]

57 minutes ago, VocalNeal said:

 

When in doubt use the chemical solution first. Likely it is elbow grease or kitchen grease that caused the problem.????

 

stage 2? https://www.lazada.co.th/products/plumbing-snake-sink-snake-drain-auger-pipe-snake-tool-for-cleaning-clogged-kitchen-sink-shower-drain-bathroom-sink-i2284239575-s7676983410.html?spm=a2o4m.searchlist.list.16.29b32e61hIFglw&search=1

Or maybe'put your backinto it'! 

[VocalNeal]

15 minutes ago, Olmate said:

Or maybe'put your backinto it'! 

 

Most household maintenance work causes people to put their back out. Not in.????

[Olmate]

1 minute ago, VocalNeal said:

 

Most household maintenance work causes people to put their back out. Not in.????

My round about way of suggesting dig it up.Once blocking continually Bestoption is to renew it.

[Moonlover]

Get hold of a drain cleaning snake. I bought one in Ormon, but if you can't find one locally, it's Lazada to the rescue.

 

Drain cleaning snake

[Griffo63]

Thanks to everyone for your suggestions.

 

I'll buy a drain cleaning snake but I was looking for commercial firms that might help

 

Any further thoughts please

[farmerjo]

Doesn't take long with the snake as long as you have a couple of entry points,got mine from global house.

[ProbPossConf]

RotoRooter to the rescue.

[rwill]

If possible you could try putting a hose in the drain and use a towel or something to close the gap around it and try and blow out the blockage with water pressure.

[ehs818]

In my neighborhood there are trucks driving around that can refill your empty water tank if city water does not flow to you. You can have of of these people flush out your line for about 400-600 baht. If the blockage is simply between your toilet and the main line, use the snake method.

[lopburi3]

20 minutes ago, rwill said:

If possible you could try putting a hose in the drain and use a towel or something to close the gap around it and try and blow out the blockage with water pressure.

Not many have that kind of water pressure - but have seen them use air compressor - you don't want to be at the exit point when it clears.

[perconrad]

If you don't have a grease trap on the drain pipe from the kitchen sink then build one in to minimize the fat deposit which can block the drain pipe.

 

https://www.lazada.co.th/products/flusso-ppib-15-grease-trap-tank-kerry-i552728429-s1008168091.html?spm=a2o4m.searchlist.list.17.54d130ddBpoJns&search=1

[sandyf]

21 hours ago, VocalNeal said:

 

My first action would be to bung some caustic drain cleaner chemical down the washing machine drain .With a bit of water to move it to wherever the blockage is, if you use the powdered stuff. 

Can buy the stuff at Tesco/BigC et al. Even the "mini" stores.

That is always worth a try but a lot depends on the pipe arrangement. I have found that one of the best cures is boiling water. Pour several kettles of boiling water down the drain, you have to do quite a few to get the temperature up. If you have an electric shower unit, you can extend the hose down into the drain. The blockage will be an accumulation of fatty and soapy waste that has reduced the pipe diameter and will move if warmed up.

What I would suggest to the P first is to run the washing machine on the highest temperature a couple of times first. Failing that, then try the hot water down the shower drain, the nearer you can get to the blockage the more effective the water will be.

[unblocktheplanet]

My bet is tree roots blocking the outside drain pipe. Depending how bad the blockage is <sometimes> this can be cleared if the exact location of the root can be identified & dug out.

 

If it is an interior drain plug, pour a pot of boiling water down each drain once a week to keep clear. Usual advice: hair, mucous, Tonka toys, t.p.

[AgMech Cowboy]

I grew up outside the 'city', which meant we had our own septic tank and gray water treatment. If a drain line started backing up (water in the shower and tube) after flushing or the washing machine discharging, we had to dig up the lines to find the blockage. Thank goodness for RotoRooter and the 'snake'.  In most cases you'll be able to clear the blockage with the drain cleaning snake. (If not, start digging... ????)

[Grusa]

20 hours ago, Moonlover said:

Get hold of a drain cleaning snake. I bought one in Ormon, but if you can't find one locally, it's Lazada to the rescue.

 

Drain cleaning snake

That might work, if not, a drain clearing nozzle on a pressure washer...... but it depends how many and how sharp are the bends in the pipe.

I had a drain blocked by years of lazy incompetent builders etc washing cement residues into it. Caustic soda did nothing. Eventually I poured two gallons of acid toilet cleaner (15%HCl) into the drain and let it stand. It stood for about a week then began to go down slowly. Once I had a detectable flow rate, the pressure washer made short work of it! 

Fortunately the pipes are blue plastic an were not damaged by the acid.

[DUNROAMIN]

Had the same problem myself, used the caustic soda flakes first time, that worked to free up the pipes, however about 3 months later had the same problem, tried the caustic soda and a snake, however, would not unblock. Traced the source of the problem back to the entry point of the sullage tank, this is where all the fat and grease had collected. Had to dig up the pipe about 1/2 M from the outlet. The pipe size was a 80mm, instead of trying to cut a whole section from the pipe I cut a inspection slot in the top of the pipe big enough  to fit a 1/2 inch garden house with a 360 degree spray head, I managed to push the hose about 2M up the pipe and clean it out, the pipe for about 400mm was nearly solid with fat and grease, then merely cut an old piece of pipe to form a cover the old section and sealed it with silicone. This way I can re-visit the same area and have access to the problem area.

I am now going to regularly pour some cleaner I bought from Global House down all the exit points in the house to help.

Sorry to say, but better to do it yourself than let Thai back yard boys make a mess of your pipes. and charge you 'farang' price.

[Excel]

This sometimes work too

 

[PETERTHEEATER]

4 hours ago, sandyf said:

That is always worth a try but a lot depends on the pipe arrangement. I have found that one of the best cures is boiling water. Pour several kettles of boiling water down the drain, you have to do quite a few to get the temperature up. If you have an electric shower unit, you can extend the hose down into the drain. The blockage will be an accumulation of fatty and soapy waste that has reduced the pipe diameter and will move if warmed up.

What I would suggest to the P first is to run the washing machine on the highest temperature a couple of times first. Failing that, then try the hot water down the shower drain, the nearer you can get to the blockage the more effective the water will be.

If the drain pipe is the usual Thai blue UPVC material boiling water can soften unsupported pipe. 

[Paul DS]

Oh dear, quite possibly a "blocked sock" from the washing machne.

 

Sure try Caustic Soda, but quite possibly you will need a "professional" firm to air blast the pipe etc.

 

Good luck!

[Griffo63]

Some great ideas  - thanks to everyone for your input

 

[sandyf]

2 hours ago, PETERTHEEATER said:

If the drain pipe is the usual Thai blue UPVC material boiling water can soften unsupported pipe. 

You are free to think what you like.

[recom273]

21 hours ago, Griffo63 said:

Thanks to everyone for your suggestions.

 

I'll buy a drain cleaning snake but I was looking for commercial firms that might help

 

Any further thoughts please

We had some issues, I spent ages trying caustic soda and whatever else. 

 

In the end we found a sticker on a lamp post - I don’t know if it’s worth taking the wife around around residential areas and checking - we have them round our way for drain clearance and termite services, all in Thai.

 

The guy came, loads of kit and his family - he used a spinning probe thing attached to a motor, something like a company in the west would use and cleared it. Not cheap, we used him

a couple of times since for different areas of the house. 
 

Sorry, it’s not much help - but there are companies out there. 

Edited April 23, 2021 by recom273

[The Theory]

On 4/22/2021 at 11:18 AM, Griffo63 said:

Any recommendations would be gratefully received,  thanks 

Get a bottle of bleach. Dump it all in the drain where it backs up. 
use the bleach 1 hour after the last use of water for the day before you go to bed. 
 

[Gumballl]

23 hours ago, Griffo63 said:

Thanks to everyone for your suggestions.

 

I'll buy a drain cleaning snake but I was looking for commercial firms that might help

 

Any further thoughts please

Pour a cup or two of quality dish soap down the drain. Let it sit for hours (i.e. overnight). Do not dilute with water. It may help dissolve the grease.

 

If not, then it may be something else blocking the pipe; for example tree roots. In that case, you would need a drain cleaning snake.

Edited April 23, 2021 by Gumballl

[Grusa]

1 hour ago, recom273 said:

We had some issues, I spent ages trying caustic soda and whatever else. 

 

In the end we found a sticker on a lamp post - I don’t know if it’s worth taking the wife around around residential areas and checking - we have them round our way for drain clearance and termite services, all in Thai.

 

The guy came, loads of kit and his family - he used a spinning probe thing attached to a motor, something like a company in the west would use and cleared it. Not cheap, we used him

a couple of times since for different areas of the house. 
 

Sorry, it’s not much help - but there are companies out there. 

In UK and I think US they are called Dyno-Rod. We always called them Churn-o-<deleted>. Don't know if they exist here, but I have seen a municipality truck with similar equipment.

Edited April 23, 2021 by Grusa