Who Is Responsible for Clearing External Blocked Drains?
Its always good practice for any homeowner or tenant to research the reasons why these issues occur in the first place and any preventative measures or solutions you as an individual can undertake to pre-empt yourself for when life’s obstacles such as these present themselves.
Inquiring into how to clear blocked drain pipes outside, fix your blocked drains and ideally in the future, prevent blocked drain and any similar situations occurring in the first place, now remember, if a drain is in the boundary of your property then it is your responsibility to repair and/or maintain.
Now it is always good practice to use a professional service and if this is something you can afford then we would 100% recommend you use a trusted service that has access to the right tools and knowledge of how to clear blocked drain, but there are potential solutions you can try at home.
Now, external drains are a bit more difficult than the average sink inside your home, so if you can then we do stress using a professional in your local area to ensure that you get not only a professional service but also an accurate job that uses the correct tools and/or chemicals effectively without damaging the drainage system its self, if you follow this quick guide we offer a helping hand to ensure you have the knowledge that enables you to know exactly what you are doing when you are faced with possible blocked drain pipes outside.
How to Clear Blocked Drains Outside
There are many different ways to clear blockages in your drainage systems outside and we believe the best way to stop your drains from blocking is to do your utmost to prevent it happening in the first place. This means being mindful of what you put down your drains inside your home.
For example in the kitchen, blockages are usually caused by food, grease and oils etc that get clogged in the pipework, in the bathroom it is hair, flushed toilet paper and face wipes that are usually the culprit, outside its mud, rubbish, leaves and debris. All these things above can block your external drains too as they all go down the same pipes meaning the blockage will just end up outside rather than the inside.
To pre-emptively prevent blockages in the first place is your best weapon, by being careful of what is actually going down the drains such as stopping food debris from going down the sink, not flushing any excess toilet roll and making sure not to flush any face wipes at all as they cause blockages further down the line and can even cause multiple blockages. Ensure the outside of the property is clean and tidy of any debris, leaves etc that could cause external blockages.
How Do I Know If My External Drains Are Blocked?
The signs associated with an externally blocked drain can range from unnoticeable at first and quickly grow out of hand or they can be noticeable from the offset due to bad odours as blocked drains are known to emit foul and unpleasant odours.
Drains can appear to drain slowly, a build-up of water that doesn’t quickly dissipate can signify a blockage that’s causing the water to drain slowly which in turn will appear as raised water levels that will either slowly drop or don’t drop at all which can cause the previously aforementioned foul odours .
You could also find yourself hearing gurgling sounds from the drains, this is due to the build-up of debris that stops the water from easily passing through the pipe so allows only slow periodic drainage. These are only symptoms of a much broader spectrum of issues and problems you will experience when faced with the issue of blocked drains outside.
Are Blocked Drains covered by Home Insurance?
Home insurance can pay out damages caused by blocked outside pipes if the leak was caused by natural occurrences such as tree roots growing into the pipes or accidental damage, but it will depend on the cause on a case by case basis.
Gradual damage over time such as old rusty pipes and wear and tear is likely not covered by your insurance, as is the same with drains you have blocked over time by flushing excess toilet roll, wipes and cooking oil day after day, but natural occurrences that affect the drains will more than likely be covered but this is to the insurances discretion.
Usually the landlord would be responsible for the repair and maintenance of the exterior of the building which includes the exterior drainage pipes, drains and guttering, any minor blockages inside the building can usually be solved by the tenants or homeowner depending on your housing arrangement.
We would recommend using a professional and cost effective service that can accurately and efficiently recognise where your problems are and rectify them with ease as blocked drains outside are much more difficult to deal with and fix so a professional is preferred.
As a rule of thumb any drains within the boundaries of your property are the homeowners responsibility and any problems with these drains will be up top the homeowner to pay for any damages and necessary repairs.
When looking in the drain, there should be flowing water and no visible signs of blockage. A blockage can be identified if the water in the drain is blocked and not flowing. Outside drains are often blocked up with leaves and other types of debris and dirt.