Needing a service to come buy and vacuum/suck out the drain under my house.

[bamboozled]

Hiya folks, does anyone have info for a service that can come to the house and suck out all the muck that I'm sure has accumulated in an outdoor drainage pipe? Is that a common thing here? This drain is just an open hole in the ground in front of the kitchen window into which the kitchen sink drains. As well as rain water and debris that accumulates in the yard. I assume it empties into the city sewer system....if there is such a thing. Over the years, it has become slower and slower to drain and when it rains now it backs up and smells unpleasant. I'm pretty sure it needs to be serviced. Can anyone point me in the right direction?

 

Cheers and thanks!

[stoner]

get a snake and do it yourself in a few minutes. 

[Sheryl]

He is not describing a clog in the drain or pipes but an overfull whatever one calls the underwater collection area (like a primitive  septic tank ). 

 

In every village and district there are services which for this. Just ask your immediate neighbors.

[Expat68]

I would think the people who empty sceptic tanks would be able to do it. Go to your tessabarn, they will point you in the right direction 

[rwill]

If you are talking about the water from sinks, showers, etc. (not the toilets)  there is usually a drain pipe around the perimeter of the lot.  They normally have junctions with covers(Thais call them 'ballparks') about every 10 meters.   You can open the lids and see if there is any blockage in them first.

 

I don't think a septic truck would deal with this.  You would probably have to find some construction type people to clear it for you.

[Gandtee]

Go to your local council. Here in Sattahip we used to pay a private contractor to suck out our septic tanks. Then found out that the council did it for a lot less. Make some enquiries.

[KannikaP]

I don't think you will find any company who will BUY your dirty water. 555

[bamboozled]

Thanks all, folks. This particular pipe doesn't take the toilet water but it probably ends up in the same place further down the line. Which might account for the smell when it overflows with big rains. I'm sure the various gunk, oils, and food residue that goes down the kitchen sink is going to foul it up over the years. Sheryl, you're on the money that it's not just the drain pipe from the sink. About a year ago, the big truck came by sucking out all the gutters on the side of the road (surely sent by the city) and he was willing to clean up/suck up the gunk around the perimeter gutter of the yard (for an offering) but he wouldn't suck out this particular pipe. Probably he knows that whatever is in there can't be combined with the stuff he was sucking out of gutters. I'll try and get the neighbors in on it but I don't know the Thai word for "giant truck that sucks gunk out of pipes".

 

Rwill, I'll try and look for junction boxes but just looking into the mouth of this pipe I can see that it's pretty nasty. Not an all out blockage but again, entering rainy season and with my flood-prone yard, I'm sure to have some overflows. Had one a couple days ago and it didn't smell like roses.

 

[bamboozled]

I'm in Chiang Mai city, folks, just north of the moat. Where would my "local council" be? City hall on the road to Mae Rim?

[bamboozled]

5 minutes ago, KannikaP said:

I don't think you will find any company who will BUY your dirty water. 555

Good point. But there's a SUCKER born everyday. Hopefully, said sucker BUYS my dirty water.

[VocalNeal]

10 hours ago, bamboozled said:

Over the years, it has become slower and slower to drain and when it rains now it backs up and smells unpleasant. I'm pretty sure it needs to be serviced.

Buy a green coloured bottle of enzyme drain cleaner (grease trap cleaner) called Bactocel and pour it in there.  NOT the blue one that is for septic tanks.

Some local hardware shops have it in small packets, next to the blue one. Both HomePro and Thaiwatsadu have it.

 

[Dante99]

Might consider installing a grease trap on the kitchen drain.  They need to be cleaned periodically but they do catch a lot of grease keeping it out of the drain pipes.

[Moonlover]

'A picture says a thousand words', as the saying goes. How's about sending us a picture of this drain O/P, 

[brianthainess]

1 hour ago, bamboozled said:

I'm in Chiang Mai city, folks, just north of the moat. Where would my "local council" be? City hall on the road to Mae Rim?

Ask a Policeman. Follow the binmen, and don't dilly dally on the way.   

[Dante99]

1 hour ago, bamboozled said:

I'm in Chiang Mai city, folks, just north of the moat. Where would my "local council" be? City hall on the road to Mae Rim?

You are looking for the Amphur office for your Amphur.  Probably not the City Hall.  Ask for the local council and nobody will know what you are talking about.

[bamboozled]

Per request, 1000 words (pic). Can't see much with the water there but it is pretty caked up with debris and small bubbles are arising. Hmm, probably not the healthiest thing, come to think of it. It doesn't smell at the moment but does with a big rain.

 

I will try that additive, Neal, thanks.

 

...Will look into a grease trap to avoid future problems.

 

Curious...where does the sewage go in a private residence/house? Is it piped away by the city system or is there a septic tank on the property? I'm in a rental so I don't have all the lowdown. And I don't bother the landlords for these types of things (the rent is reasonable and I am willing to take on various upkeep to keep it that way).

 

 

[CMBob]

To my knowledge, there is no city sewer system so I have no doubt your wastewater is going into a septic tank.  I live not too far away from you (a townhouse west of Kad Suan Gaew) and we get the septic tank pumped every 2-3 years by Chiang Mai Waste Disposal Service. According to their bill, their office is somewhere on Charoen Pratet. I have two numbers for them:  053-281533 and 053-818446

Whether they can or can't flush out your connecting pipe, I don't know (but I'd guess they can).

[Moonlover]

1 hour ago, bamboozled said:

Per request, 1000 words (pic). Can't see much with the water there but it is pretty caked up with debris and small bubbles are arising. Hmm, probably not the healthiest thing, come to think of it. It doesn't smell at the moment but does with a big rain.

 

I will try that additive, Neal, thanks.

 

...Will look into a grease trap to avoid future problems.

 

Curious...where does the sewage go in a private residence/house? Is it piped away by the city system or is there a septic tank on the property? I'm in a rental so I don't have all the lowdown. And I don't bother the landlords for these types of things (the rent is reasonable and I am willing to take on various upkeep to keep it that way).

 

 

Ok, that's good enough. I can just make out the rim of the drain in all that mucky water. I'd suggest you take up @stoners idea and get yourself a 'snake' as he calls it, along, flexible coil that you can run into the drain. You'll find them all the DIY stores. Bung some liquid drain cleaner down first to loosen the gunk a bit. 

 

It may work, it may not, but it's cheap enough to give it a try. I've cleared shower drains using this method.

 

[The Fugitive]

5 hours ago, Dante99 said:

You are looking for the Amphur office for your Amphur.  Probably not the City Hall.  Ask for the local council and nobody will know what you are talking about.

Drains, road works and street lighting etc. are administered by your Thesaban. Amphur (District Office) are for your registry office and ID cards. 

[The Fugitive]

2 hours ago, Moonlover said:

Ok, that's good enough. I can just make out the rim of the drain in all that mucky water. I'd suggest you take up @stoners idea and get yourself a 'snake' as he calls it, along, flexible coil that you can run into the drain. You'll find them all the DIY stores. Bung some liquid drain cleaner down first to loosen the gunk a bit. 

 

It may work, it may not, but it's cheap enough to give it a try. I've cleared shower drains using this method.

I'm guilty of contributing to the probably illegal crossover of brown (foul) wastewater and grey (sink waste and surface run off). My soakaway was regularly overflowing and stinking our tiny garden area out. A plumber friend resolved the problem by installing a waste pipe from the top of the soakaway and running it into the surface water drain by our gate. Nothing visible as he buried the pipe but I'm ashamed of the occasional foul stench it causes outside our house.    

[bamboozled]

I can only imagine what is going on down under the house/yard/septic system. Highly doubt it's to "code" and functioning correctly or even installed correctly. Even in dry season, if I dig down two feet, I hit standing water. So in the rainy season it's even worse.

 

I might try with the snake but from having seen how it reacts over the years I don't think it's clogged so much as full. But heck, what do I know, really? Would be a shame if pumping out somehow caused the system to completely fail....like the septic tank collapses. I suppose it happens on really old systems. Well, who knows.

 

Triple thanks to CMBob for the contact info. Will report back!

 

Cheers!

[Dante99]

3 hours ago, The Fugitive said:

Drains, road works and street lighting etc. are administered by your Thesaban. Amphur (District Office) are for your registry office and ID cards. 

Thanks for that.  I just go to one place for all that but it may technically be two different units.

[VocalNeal]

18 hours ago, bamboozled said:

I can only imagine what is going on down under the house/yard/septic system. Highly doubt it's to "code" and functioning correctly or even installed correctly. Even in dry season, if I dig down two feet, I hit standing water. So in the rainy season it's even worse.

 

I might try with the snake but from having seen how it reacts over the years I don't think it's clogged so much as full. But heck, what do I know, really? Would be a shame if pumping out somehow caused the system to completely fail....like the septic tank collapses. I suppose it happens on really old systems. Well, who knows.

 

Triple thanks to CMBob for the contact info. Will report back!

 

Cheers!

You are trying to do the complicated thing when some enzyme is cheap and easy.????

[arick]

100 to 150 baht to have them empty My septic 

[Dan O]

On 5/17/2023 at 8:14 AM, bamboozled said:

Thanks all, folks. This particular pipe doesn't take the toilet water but it probably ends up in the same place further down the line. Which might account for the smell when it overflows with big rains. I'm sure the various gunk, oils, and food residue that goes down the kitchen sink is going to foul it up over the years. Sheryl, you're on the money that it's not just the drain pipe from the sink. About a year ago, the big truck came by sucking out all the gutters on the side of the road (surely sent by the city) and he was willing to clean up/suck up the gunk around the perimeter gutter of the yard (for an offering) but he wouldn't suck out this particular pipe. Probably he knows that whatever is in there can't be combined with the stuff he was sucking out of gutters. I'll try and get the neighbors in on it but I don't know the Thai word for "giant truck that sucks gunk out of pipes".

 

Rwill, I'll try and look for junction boxes but just looking into the mouth of this pipe I can see that it's pretty nasty. Not an all out blockage but again, entering rainy season and with my flood-prone yard, I'm sure to have some overflows. Had one a couple days ago and it didn't smell like roses.

 

It sounds like it's just an open hole or pit that you've been draining water from the kitchen along with debris and grease. It probably is not connected to any other drain piping and the problem may be that over time you've saturated the ground around the pit and it isn't allowing absortion into the earth any longer. You may be able to pump out any stand water and debris from the pit but may still be faced will slow to no drainage. If that's the case you'll need to move to a new pit or connect to a real drain line or install a real septic tank

[metisdead]

An absolutely disgusting troll post and a reply has been removed:

 

10. You will not post troll messages. Trolling is the act of purposefully antagonizing forum members by posting controversial, inflammatory, irrelevant or off-topic messages with the primary intent of provoking other members into an emotional response or to generally disrupt normal on-topic discussion.

[CharlieH]

If your neighbour doesn't know a guy, the Pu Yai baan will or your local Amphur.

Obviously areas etc vary but our guy charges 500 for two tanks empty.

[bamboozled]

OK enzyme first and we'll see. On my To Do list tomorrow. It's a rental house so I have no idea what's going on under there. Landlords are hands-off types and we both like it that way so I'll handle it myself if I can. I've been here 6 years or so and the drainage over the years has slowly gotten worse. A big rain usually floods the whole place for a bit and things start to smell a little funky when that happens. Yes, sewage type smell.

 

100-150 baht to drain it? Wow, might as well do it daily for that price! Thanks for the prices, Arick and Charlie for the prices. Dan O, good call and advice. I could just leave it be, too, but the sewage smell with a big rain kind of has me wondering if things will go down hill thus my getting off my duff.

[Dan O]

2 hours ago, bamboozled said:

OK enzyme first and we'll see. On my To Do list tomorrow. It's a rental house so I have no idea what's going on under there. Landlords are hands-off types and we both like it that way so I'll handle it myself if I can. I've been here 6 years or so and the drainage over the years has slowly gotten worse. A big rain usually floods the whole place for a bit and things start to smell a little funky when that happens. Yes, sewage type smell.

 

100-150 baht to drain it? Wow, might as well do it daily for that price! Thanks for the prices, Arick and Charlie for the prices. Dan O, good call and advice. I could just leave it be, too, but the sewage smell with a big rain kind of has me wondering if things will go down hill thus my getting off my duff.

if its really just a septic pit i would pump it to get the funk out and then test drainage by adding water or you could dig a hole some 20 feet away and test the drainage there. if its faster that may help support that the existing one is just done for allowing saturation and just add a section of pipe 

[bamboozled]

As mentioned above, and I guess I didn't know this, the toilet water and shower/sink water should be going in different places. That would suggest the hole in question I'm discussing here is shower/sink water only and not the septic system so that's kind of a plus. It also takes in any debris that flows in there when it rains. That certainly can't help things. Perhaps the stink I sometimes get is not sewage but just whatever is in there rotting away, old food and such. Well, I'm off to by the enzyme and we'll see.

 

Dan, that sounds like something I would let the landlords deal with...if it comes to that. There would be no easy way to dig a hole/put down pipe as this drain seems to run under the house and almost all the footprint of the property is concreted but for a small area around the perimeter. It would not be an easy job.