Cleaning sewer pipes - how to properly clean sewer pipes

Sewage is a place that often brings unexpected difficulties. It happens that over time in the sink does not leave the water, which is due to the formed plug. In such cases, it is necessary to clean the sewer pipes, but it must be done correctly, otherwise you can damage the pipeline or, at best, simply do not eliminate the blockage.

How to find the place of the blockage?

Cleaning the siphon

Where did the blockage happen ? To determine this, you do not need to be an experienced plumber. It is enough to know that blockages most often occur in a sewer riser, bathroom plumbing or in the kitchen. Cork may also form in the pipe connected to the washing machine. And finally, the blockage can be common - that is, it happened through no fault of yours, and there was a traffic jam somewhere in the general riser, and not in the apartment. If we are talking about a private house, then the cause of the blockage should be found on the street in the place where the local sewage system is connected to the city (or in the place of the pipeline exit into the cesspool).

Water accumulated in the sink does not necessarily mean that the blockage is common. For example, water does not flow in the bathroom. You can try to flush the toilet and turn on the water in the kitchen - if there it goes well, then the problem should be found in the place where the water stagnates. One of the acceptable methods in this case is a cleaning machine. But, since not everyone has it, it is best to use more accessible methods and tools that are at hand.

To pierce the cork, you can use not only the cable, but also the spiral. If there is a specialized machine, then you can significantly save time by performing work not manually.

Those who live in a high-rise building, where there are several apartments on the floor, may face another problem. Water can not just be collected in the sink and toilet - it will also go up, creating blockages. It is worth noting that it is difficult to cope with such an unforeseen difficulty alone, so in this case it is better to contact the public service - it’s about the entire entrance stand. Cleaning the sewer in this case is impossible.

If there is no desire to scoop up water from the sink, you must put a check valve under the sink - it will not allow water to pass back.

Types of blockages

Fat deposits in the sewer pipe

Clogging may be different . Consider the main types of blockages and how to remove them with improvised means.

The so-called operational blockage rarely appears instantly. If the owner of the house is attentive, then it will not be difficult for him to see that the water stagnates in the washbasin or toilet, before merging through the pipes. The situation is not scary, but action should be taken as soon as possible.

What causes operational blockages? Microscopic aggregations formed from particles of fat get into the pipes with water. Sticking to the walls, they accumulate, forming corks through which water flows slowly, or even not at all.

Another type of blockage is known as mechanical. It may appear in those places where there are small children who like to throw any objects into the sink or toilet, considering it to be a kind of game. But then the parents do not like this “game” very much - it’s not so easy to remove the thing, which is why the water does not pass again.

Clogging can also occur because siphons are clogged. For starters, what is it and where is it located? Siphon is a small device that, due to its special design, does not allow bad smell into the living space. The essence of his action is as follows - there is always a small amount of water in it, so air cannot pass through it. However, over time, it gets garbage, hair, grease, and more. All this clogs the bend, so it must be cleaned. How to do this, consider below.

Eliminating blockages

Cleaning the siphon over the bucket

If we talk about clogging in siphon, it is easiest to fix. It is enough to remove it, unscrewing it in the direction of the thread, then it should be washed. Remember that the water in the sink will now flow to the floor, so flushing should be done by substituting a bucket under the sink. After cleaning, the installation is carried out back and water can be turned on. If it goes through the pipes quickly, then the problem is solved.

Before fully using a cleaned siphon, you need to check for leaks. For this point of the joint, the pipe and the sink are wiped dry with a cloth, then, after the water has been opened, they check whether moisture has appeared somewhere. If it appeared - the gap (usually on the thread) must be sealed with silicone, again wiping this place from the water.

Technogenic blockage

Cable with nozzles

More complex blockage It is considered technogenic.It is known for occurring unexpectedly and constantly, with the most frequent cause of its occurrence being the incorrect design of pipes in a private house or apartment building. At the same time the blockage can occur with an interval of 3, and sometimes even 2 weeks - and all because of the wrong angle or turning the pipe! As a rule, to fix something later is not easy and costly, so if there is an opportunity to control the installation of sewage during construction, do it, otherwise, then you will have to get used to man-made blockages.

What is the best tool for cleaning sewer pipes? One can understand this if one considers that certain tools are used for various kinds of blockages and cannot always be used in all cases.

Hydrodynamic cleaning

Hydrodynamic cleaning of sewage

In which situations hydrodynamic cleaning is applied sewage? It is necessary when conventional means - a cable or baking soda - are simply ineffective. The principle of its action is easy to understand - water is pumped through the machine, and there is strong pressure on the liquid. Under this pressure, the cork breaks into small particles, becomes smaller and soon disappears completely.

Operational clogging

Cleaning with soda

In the case of operational clogs, most often enough to use a solution with the addition of baking soda. Mixing it with hot water, you can easily cope with the blockage, because soda eats away fat particles, reducing the tube in the pipe. You can also use chemical solutions - but they should be handled with care, otherwise you can harm the skin of the hands, body or damage the eyes.

Application of chemistry

Chemicals

When using chemicals, you must carefully read the instructions telling how to apply the composition correctly. Also required the presence of protective equipment. It is desirable that those who do not have such tools and are not involved in clearing a blockage should leave the room. In addition, it would not hurt to open the window and ventilate the room, both during the application of chemistry and after.

Plunger

Using the plunger

One of the most useful cleaning tools is the plunger . If you use it in the right way, you can eliminate traffic jams, resulting from operational or mechanical blockages. Using a plunger is easy. It is enough to close the opening of the sink with a rubber cap, pour water into it, and then push the water with sharp movements downward so that it pierces the cork.

Wire for cleaning

Sewer wire

In addition to the plunger wire is often used sewer cleaning. It is used by mechanics with experience. This wire helps when there is no sense of chemistry or plunger.

What kind of wire is needed? Not enough to take the usual wire. You will need a special cable, at one end of which there is a handle in order to twist the cable with it. After circular motions, the other edge of the cable passes through the pipe, reaches a blockage and starts to be screwed into the cork, gradually breaking it. If the cable fails to do anything, perhaps it is short - most likely, a longer cable can bring more benefits.

Clogging due to improper installation

Sewage slope too large

Frequent blockages can say that in some place sewage collected incorrectly. It is necessary to find this place and fix it if possible. It should be borne in mind that it is necessary to correct the angle of inclination not in one place, but along the entire length. This means that you have to shift the entire pipe, perhaps more than a dozen meters.

How to determine which tilt angle is correct? This is easy to do - for every 2 m of the sewer pipe there should be a slope of 2 cm. Failure to do so will lead to blockages. If the angle of inclination is less than the set point - solid particles will not normally pass through the pipeline, gradually accumulating on the walls. If the angle is larger, the water will pass too quickly, not having time to take solid particles with it, which will lead to the same effect as in the first case.

You can clean the sewage system in a country cottage using practically the same tools that are used in the apartment. But the pipes are located not along the walls or in the floor, but on the street, and often, if they were not laid by the owner himself, their location is not so easy to determine.

Folk cleaners

Soda and vinegar to clean sewer pipes

Clean pipes in a private house can be using vinegar or soda solution. In this case, a mixture of these components (one or several) is prepared directly in the pipeline itself.For mixing the solution requires a glass, which is half filled with baking soda, and half - with vinegar. The resulting product is poured into the drain hole and closed for some time, not less than 2 hours. When this time passes, 1-2 liters of water are poured into the pipe with a temperature of 100 ° C - this way you can determine if the cork has disappeared or is still left. In addition, boiling water to wash off the remnants of vinegar and soda.

Video

See how to clean the drain of the pipe with soda and vinegar: