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Blocked drains - has anyone used Dyno-Rod or similar?

Consuela Banana Hammock, 12 January, 2009 at 15:22 Posted on Off Topic Posts 0 6

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We live in a Victorian end-terrace with one drain which handles all our wastewater - our bathroom/kitchen and roof/rainwater and it's blocked. We think it blocked over Christmas because it sounded a bit gurgly and now it backs up and overflows into our garden. Which is pleasant.

Over the past two days we've thrown five large bottles of bleach down it and three large bottles of caustic soda. We haven't used our washing machine, we've had quick showers instead of baths and we've only flushed the loo when absolutely necessary. And it's still blocked.

We realise we're going to have to get the professionals in but I'm scared of being ripped off and charged a fortune and that they will replicate what we've already attempted. So I was wondering if anybody had used them and if they were any good? Expensive? What did they do? How long did it take? I'm only coping because I can go to the gym everyday for a shower but I'm running out of clean clothes! ?

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6 replies

Latest activity by Consuela Banana Hammock, 12 January, 2009 at 17:26

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Ethel · 12 January, 2009 at 15:26
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We had a similar problem when we still lived in our victorian terrace..?

We used Dyno Rod and they sorted it very quickly and although I can't remember how much it was, it wasn't a rip off and I thought it was well worth the money. They ended up cutting a hole in our downpipe which covered my garden is..*waste* which was lovely but at least they fixed the issue..
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Pingy · 12 January, 2009 at 16:07
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I'm usually on BT but as this happened to me just before christmas I thought I'd reply. I used someone out of our local newspaper. It cost £30 and took about 15-20 mins in total. The guy hooked up a pressure hose from the mains water on our road and then unblocked the kitchen drain - ours had been blocked due to fat etc being poured down the sink (not by me). It really stank and then I had to leave the cold water tap running for a bit to flush the drain out. I live in greater manchester so the price might vary. HTH
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Consuela Banana Hammock · 12 January, 2009 at 16:31
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I've just rung and booked Dyno-Rod for Wednesday morning. I was a bit taken aback by being bombarded by the call centre to sign up for some monthly scheme to cover all the drains but I managed to secure a fixed price for the job. H said he'll be at home til 12 so hopefully they'll come before then and he can tell them what the problem is.

Thanks for the replies Ethel and Pingy - I'm confident it'll be sorted out and I can actually put the washing machine on after they've gone! ?
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DaisyDaisy · 12 January, 2009 at 16:31
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£50 from a local company when it happened in our Victorian terrace. Used Dyno rod for something and wasn't impressed, and the guy lost our cheque.

Going forward we put cheap popsox over the grille of the drain, elastic over and then the foot but dangles into the drain, and change it every couple of months, so the problem has been eliminated.
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NickJ · 12 January, 2009 at 16:37
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Christ csb, 3 bottles of bleach and caustic soda. i guess youre not in the tree huggers environmentalist lobby ?
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Kegsey · 12 January, 2009 at 16:44
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Ours blocked and we managed to sort it ourselves. Took the cover off and prodded at it with a long bamboo cane. Took a few goes and we (well H ?) was careful to check the direction of the pipe and had the hose pipe ready to water down what was left when the water started to drain. Wasn't pleasant but was easier than getting someone around at the time.
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Consuela Banana Hammock · 12 January, 2009 at 17:26
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That wasn't all we threw down it but that's between H and his lab at the University! [wink] Suffice it to say, no chemical is going to clear whatever the blockage and we can't get a bamboo cane or anything else down it because of the bend in the pipe so it's time to stop p!ssing about and get the pros in.
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