The Handyman's Pocket Book: Drains.

One of the commonest troubles is the failure of water to run away, either at the kitchen sink or the lavatory hand-basin.  What happens as a rule is that the sink begins to drain slowly, and eventually the water fails to get away at all.

HAND BASIN.  All basins have a metal or earthenware grid to prevent solid matter of any size passing down the pipe.  It sometimes happens that strands of material from face flannel pass half-way down, become covered with soap waste, more strands adhere to it, and possibly bristles from a brush, and eventually these accumulate sufficiently to cause a partial blockage.  If the grid is held with a screw it is easily removed, enabling it to be cleaned and the pipe beneath cleared.  Otherwise it is generally necessary to bend the end of a piece of wire and use this to fish up the material causing the blockage.  Have the wire long enough to reach down to the U-bend as the blockage may festoon right down to it.  See Fig. 1.

A point to note is that in some sinks the release of the screw may allow the U-pipe beneath to drop away.  If there is water left in the basin it is therefore necessary to put a pail underneath as water will otherwise run through.  When replacing the grid, wipe dry, paint the joining surfaces, and put a seam of putty around the joint before tightening.  This will make it waterproof.

U-BEND.  If the stoppage is at the U-bend or beyond it is necessary to tackle the trouble from beneath. At the bottom of the bend should be a screw plug, as in Fig. 1,  and this must be taken out, a basin being placed beneath to catch the water which will necessarily run out.  If a spanner is needed to loosen the plug make sure that you support the pipe as well with the left hand.  Otherwise the leverage may strain the piping.  This, incidentally, applies to all similar plumbing operations.

A small stoppage is usually easily put right by fishing with a piece of wire around the bend.  It is better to draw the cause backwards rather than to push it on as this may create a blockage farther on.  If this is not possible, or if the blockage is farther on than can be reached, a flexible drain cleaner will have to be used as in Fig. 1.  This is generally in the form of a sort of wire spiral spring which enables it to pass around bends.  When replacing the plug put a washer beneath as otherwise water may drip through.

Sometimes a pipe can be freed without touching the screw plug by using a rubber cup type of plunger (A, Fig. 1).  Remember, however, that nearly all modern sinks and basins have an overflow escape and unless this is blocked up temporarily the plunger is largely ineffective, since air and water are simply pushed out through the escape instead of being forced down the pipe and so clearing it.  It is therefore a help to cover up the overflow hole in the basin with a rag first.  Incidentally these plungers are more effective if the sink is partly filled with water, because water is then forced down the pipe.  Water, being incompressible, is more effective in clearing the trouble.

It will be realized that the chief purpose of the U-bend or trap is to provide a constant seal of water which will prevent smells from working back through the pipe.  It may happen that if a sink is not use for a long period the water may evaporate during hot weather and so cause a disagreeable smell in the room.  Pouring fresh water down the sink will put it right.

MAIN DRAINS.  Blockage in these may be brought about by many causes, and may be in various positions.  The trouble usually manifests itself in a bad smell, failure of a w.c. to clear itself, or overflow or water at an inspection chamber.  The first step is to locate the trouble, and the simplest way is generally to lift the cover of the inspection chamber.  Systems vary in different districts, but generally there are two chambers with metal covers which are lifted by means of large hooks.  Fig. 2 shows a section through a typical inspection chamber.  There may be two or more gullies from the house, all leafing through a trap outward to the sewer.

Sometimes the cause of the blockage is obvious - a loose brick fallen into the pipe or some other extraneous matter.  Generally, however, one of two things happens: either the chamber appears clear, in which case the trouble is between it and the house: or (more likely) the whole thing is choked right up to the top.  In the latter case rods are invariably necessary to clear the trouble.  The second inspection chamber (nearer the main drain) should be opened, and it will then generally be obvious whether the blockage is between the two chambers or nearer the main drain.  In the latter case the lower chamber will be equally choked up.

A rodding arm is invariably provided above the trap as shown in Fig. 2. and this enables the rods to be used more easily.  It may not be possible, however, to locate this when the chamber is full up because it is fitted with an eye or plug.  Preliminary rodding may therefore have to be done at the trap.  Always clear the lower obstruction first.  Clearing this may put the whole thing right, but it may easily happen that a low stoppage may cause a second one to build up at a higher level.  If the higher one is cleared first the foul matter will still be unable to get away, hence the necessity of making sure that the lower pipe is clear first.

Rods for clearing drains are of flexible cane mounted with brass, and a range of tools is provided, the chief of which are given in Fig. 3.  Generally the most effective are the double worm screw B, and the scraper C.  A point to remember is that the rods fit together with screw joints.  It is therefore necessary to give the rod a twist to the right whilst it is being used so that there is no danger of the rods becoming separated in the drain.  After clearing away the obstruction flush the whole system well with water.

If the blockage is near the w.c. pan it can generally be located and often cleared by the use of the flexible wire clearer shown in Fig. 1.

GUTTERS.  Rain-water gutters and pipes sometimes become stopped, often by leaves, screws of paper, and so on, and they should be put right as soon as possible because an overflow can easily cause the penetration of water into the house.  As a rule the trouble and its remedy are obvious, and the chief requirements is a ladder long enough to reach the gutter.  When the stoppage occurs where the pipe leaves the gutter endeavour to draw the matter upwards.  Otherwise it may be forced downwards where it will be more difficult to put right.

A blocked pipe generally needs rodding to remove the obstruction, but sometimes it can be moved by pouring water down it and using a sink pump.  The difficulty with the latter, however, is that the joints in the pipe generally allow air or water to escape so that the force of the pump is largely lost.  As a rule a rod is the best to use.  Once part of the obstruction is shifted the rest will generally fall away piecemeal.