Drainage problems are never convenient at any time of year – but they can be even more challenging when everyone is off work and hoping to relax at home!
Granted, our 2020 Christmas celebrations are going to be a bit quieter than usual thanks to the coronavirus restrictions that are in place across most of the country. But regardless of how many people are using the facilities in your home, a slow-draining or completely blocked drainage system will make it very difficult for you all to go about your days as normal – and the last thing you want to be worrying about over the holidays is fixing slow-flowing drains.
Here are three ways a faulty drainage system could affect your Christmas – and what you need to do if you spot any of them.
1. Clogged drains can bring family life to a halt
Just imagine if all the water you use when you’re showering, cooking and cleaning has nowhere to go, at a time when you want to be showing off your home in all its glory to your friends and family. Blocked toilets and stinky, water-filled sinks certainly won’t impress the in-laws, will they?
Even one clogged drain can quickly escalate into a much bigger problem, too. A significant amount of debris in your pipes can cause them to crack and break, leading to leaks, and, depending on where the system is located, flooding on or to your property.
If you suspect you have a blocked drain, contact Ask Us Drains with details of what’s been happening and we’ll get someone out to take a look as soon as we can.
2. Bad smells definitely won’t give you that festive feeling
Foul stenches from your drains are a sure sign that something is amiss. Unwanted odours could be down to a build-up of grease, dirt and other gunk causing a glut of bacteria in your pipes; a change in water pressure that has led to a back-up of obstructions; and/or appliances like your washing machine or dishwasher collecting limescale, fluff and other debris and struggling to perform as they should.
Sewer smells can sometimes increase when drains that aren’t normally used are experiencing a higher flow than usual while loved ones are staying over. The extra use can cause sewer gas to rise up from empty drain traps, leading to that all-too-familiar stink. (If you smell gas, you should also check to make sure you don’t have a natural gas leak.)
In many cases, you’ll be able to fix these problems yourself by using standard drain unblocking products, forcing dirt out with a plunger or plumbing snake, or running specialist cleaners through your white goods. But if you’ve tried all these home solutions and the smell is still persisting, get in touch with us and we’ll get one of our engineers on the case ASAP.
3. Surface flooding can lead to costly repairs
If your property’s gutters, downpipes or soakaways are blocked up with leaves and other bits and pieces, you may start to notice waterfalls cascading from your roof or puddles collecting on the ground close to drain covers. As you can imagine, water sitting on the surface for long periods of time can make accessing certain parts of your home difficult, not to mention cause excess moisture or damage if it is located close to your foundations or alongside external walls.
Fixing flooding or water damage is the last thing you want to splash out on over Christmas. The moment you identify a blockage or start to experience a build-up of dampness, drop our team a message. The sooner we can get to the problem, the easier it will be to fix (and, in theory, the less it will cost!).
We’ve got lots of tools and techniques at our disposal this Christmas
The method we will use to combat your drainage problems will depend on the size of the issue and where it’s occurring. Sometimes, a simple prod with a rod or a basic flush will do the trick. Other times, we may suggest cleaning or descaling your drains, removing roots that are encroaching on the pipework, or repairing holes and breakages. We will use our state-of-the-art drain CCTV cameras to build an accurate picture of what’s going on underground, then recommend a way forward that will not only fix the problem you’ve got right now, but prevent similar issues from cropping up in the future.
Don’t let a dodgy drainage system wreak havoc with your Christmas holiday plans. Call or email Ask Us Drains now to get all those niggling concerns seen to by a trained, qualified and super-friendly drainage engineer in Essex!
