Clean an outside U bend

[Rekusu]

I have a f/f maisonette which is rented to some very considerate tenants. I don't know their cooking style, but the outside drain / U bend (just below ground level)frequently blocks with a 'fatball' and results in smelly water flowing over the g/f owners patio.

My tenant has cleared the blockage with a jet washer and I am going to do it again as I have a right angle fitting for car arches that will blast water directly into the U bend.

However, the owner of the g/f property where the issue occurs is quite adamant that I should get a 'professional' to investigate and clean / replace it properly, 'once and for all.' That is unlikely to happen since once cleaned, it flows without any issue for X months. I figure the problem is what is put down the pipe rather than the hardware itself.

My question is, what do 'professionals' use to clean a below ground, 4" U bend? My drain shake kinda refuses to negotiated the bends, as does my 10m long sewer cleaning hose for the pressure washer.

Thanks and toodle pip

 

[yorksbuilder]

Ask the tenants to stop putting grease down the drain and to put it in the bin instead. Problem solved!

 

[Hugh Jaleak]

Most of the time, a blocked gully will clear with a good plunge using drain rods with a Plunger disc on the end. If available, suction, to empty the gully pot and remove any silt or other detritus. Invariably, if its a FOG (fat, oil and grease) blockage, then there will be a build up on the outlet side, sometimes an inverted hook can be used to poke around under the baffle in the gully and break up anything out of sight.

Otherwise, a 1/2 or even 1/4" jetting hose may go round into the outlet, but asking a 1/2" especially to bend again and go down the outgoing pipework may be asking too much so if possible, jet back upstream from a suitable point (i.e. a manhole) back to the gully.

If all else fails, it may be necessary to excavate and replace the Gully with a modern type allowing access to the outgoing drain.

 

[Rekusu]

Agreed regarding suggesting the tenants do not put fat/oil down the drain. I have ask previously, and they say they are using liquid detergent in the washing machine and wipe the pans before washing. But what do I know. They are actually good tenants so assume they are doing what they say.

Think the block, when it occurs is in the 1960 ceramic U bend, and rods will obviously not be useful. I have a 90 degree lance for washing the undersides of the car, and that is a better bet for blasting into the U bend. It worked before, but 6 months later, the blockage has reoccurred.

Access from the other end is certainly the easiest option, and there is an inspection chamber cover, but it is filled with patio gravel and expletive deleted heavy. The g/f flat owner is a total DIY no-hoper and knows nothing about the drainage.

Guess it will come to just regular maintenance. When my wife and I lived there for ten years, there was never an issue with the same drain so don't know what has changed apart from the tenants!