De-scaling waste pipe

[600rob]

I recently had a plumber unblock waste pipe flowline that branches into a shared communal vertical stack. Not sure if he used a camera but said the verticla stack was okay and ive not had any complaints from other flat owners connected to the communal stack

The plumber noted that the inside of the flowline pipe was quite badly scaled up with sediment and that without de-scaling, the pipe would likely become blocked in the future.

The flow line is about 3 metres of straight pipe with a rodding access point at one end.

Is it possible to de-scale this sediment easily with either mechanical tools or chemical treatment?
If so could you guys provide some suggestions

or is this a specialist job?

cheers

 

[dal5band]

Chemicals will not stay in the pipe long enough as they will just run through so you may have to repeat many times. Rodding is your best bet. But don't use anything that is likely to get hooked up on an edge or break off - then you'llbe in real trouble.
What did this plumber do ? He should have cleaned it out !
A good tactic is to run a good deluge of water through once in a while to clear any little ostructions hanging about.

 

[600rob]

What did this plumber do ? He should have cleaned it out !

I wasnt around to see the work as the flat is rented out but spoke to him on the phone.
He cleared out the blockage which was mostly tissue/soft obstructions. But he advised the pipe has got a fair amount of scaling and hard sediment build up which would need removing with special equipment. Hence the unblock that he did would likely only be a temporary fix and recommended the pipe be properly descaled to prevent future blockages

 

[HERTS P&D]

It would need to be jetted or use an electric drain snake suitable for 4" pipework.

Andy

 

[Bosswhite]

Wouldnt it be cheaper and quicker to whip the old pipe out and replace with PVC .

 

[600rob]

Wouldnt it be cheaper and quicker to whip the old pipe out and replace with PVC .

Ideally yes but....

DSC_1776

• 600rob
• 2 Jan 2019
• 1

The elbow already has a hairline crack so would also need replacing along with the flowline.... Because the elbow is set in the brick wall/mortar it might mean its a bit more tricky to get that out

How much do you guys reckon it would cost roughly to get that kind of job done, including making good the wall after digging out the old elbow.