How to unblock a drain outside?

Then there’s a pretty good chance that you’re experiencing a drain blockage.

The outdoor drain pipe plays an essential role in transporting sewage and wastewater from your home to the sewer line. So, if you don’t handle the early signs of a blockage, the problems could escalate to flooding and even structural damage to your home.

Are you willing to take the risk?

If you do want to nip the problem in the bud, read this guide. It contains everything from how to unblock a sewage drain yourself to the best drain unblockers on the market.

Reasons for a blocked drain outside the house

Before we reveal how to unblock a drain outside, it’s important to understand how the blockage happened in the first place. After all, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”.

Generally speaking, a lot of kitchen and bathroom sinks get clogged because of:

• Tampons
• Nappies
• Wet wipes
• Condoms
• Fats, oils and grease (FOG)
• Dental floss
• Cotton buds
• Hair

These types of problems are usually temporarily solved by pouring the best drain unblockers down the affected plugholes. (You’ll find some recommendations later in this guide.)

However, debris, silt, and leaves can also cause blockages in the exterior drainage system too. This is especially common during autumn and winter seasons where we experience falling leaves from trees and heavy rain spells.

To properly rectify the problem, you need to unblock the drain outside your home – not just the pipes connecting to it.

How to unblock a drain outside

1) Carry Out a Visual Inspection

First and foremost, you should always start by carrying out a visual inspection of the area you think is blocked to try and get to the root of the problem.

If the blockage isn’t immediately visible, the issue may lie deeper inside your drainage system.

To inspect it, you need to remove the drain cover with a screwdriver or another strong metal tool alternative. Just be aware that some of these drain covers may have been closed for a long period of time, so it might be tricky to remove them without the use of a rope and a lot of force.

Once you’ve lifted the cover, shine a torch to take a look. If the chamber is holding water instead of draining it away, then it’s often the result of the soil pipe getting clogged. To check whether this is the cause, search for a full chamber on a side and an empty chamber on the other. When you find it, that’ll be the location of the blockage.

2)Use Drain Rods

You can then use drain rods to unblock the drain outside your house. Simply thrust the drain rods into the blocked chamber and rotate it clockwise to help dislodge the blockage.

3) Clean the External Drain

Finally, you should never forget to clean the external drain afterwards to prevent any remaining debris from causing another blockage in the near-future. To do this, pick out any visible debris yourself (while wearing rubber gloves) and clear the pipes with a top drain unblocker product afterwards.

What are the best drain unblockers?

To clear any blocked drain, there are plenty of drain unblocker products on the market to choose from.

According to the reviews on Amazon, Mr Muscle Kitchen and Bathroom Drain Gel, Caustic Soda Powder,Buster Bathroom Plughole Unblocker and Hg Liquid Drain Unblocker are among some of the best remedies.

However, if you’re still experiencing any problems once you’ve followed the product instructions, you should get in touch with a professional engineer.

How much does it cost for an engineer to unblock an outside drain?

Like most service providers, prices vary.

One of the main reasons why homeowners choose our team here at Plumbforce Direct is because we offer upfront prices, starting from only £70 + VAT. This means, unlike other providers, you won’t receive any unexpected surprises at the end.

Using our extensive experience of carrying out repairs on thousands of properties, we know exactly how long it should take to unblock an outside drain. As a result, we’re able to give you an upfront cost for complete peace of mind and transparency.

And if it does take a bit longer, we bare the cost, not you.

To find out more about our blocked drain service and our 12-24 month guarantee, either call us on 0203 603 0430 or visit our dedicated page today.