Holding back the FatBerg – Drain Clearing Needs To Be Part Of A Broader Maintenance Plan

• Prevention better than a system overload
• Signs to watch out for
• Regular Use a drain descaler and flow improver

January can be a critical time of year for internal and external drain and sewer clearance. Autumn’s leaf fall is now mush, the last Christmas and New Year guests gone, is the inevitable mini FatBerg forming from a ‘system overload’? When were your customers drains last cleared, should you remind them prevention is better than an emergency?

The Christmas grease and fat are solidifying in the pipework, with escaped vegetables clinging on forming organic obstructions. With hair and foreign objects such as soap and the overuse of toilet roll, including other sanitary products escaping, the recipe for a call-out sooner rather than later becomes more likely.

Having an on-going drain maintenance plan is key. The build-up of limescale, grease, verdigris, hair and other organic matter is how drain blockages start. They can be dissolved and removed with a drain descaler and flow improver well before having to use a drain clearer or worse having an expensive call out.

So, what are the tell-tale signs and are the problems localised to one area of a pipe or U bend? Is it a sewer blockage? Is there a smell, slow drainage, a push back up the drains in to plug holes, pipe gurgling?

The drain clearers at South West Water in Sidmouth, are tackling the removal of a 64m long “Fatberg”, at an estimated cost of £100,000, and 8 weeks work. On a smaller scale, drain unblocking, if needing rods and jetting, can be anything from £150-£200 for approximately 1-2 hours. Bigger, and the cost will rise.

Harvey Wiseman, CEO of Wiseman Industries Ltd, follows up on comments by South West Water’s director of wastewater, Andrew Roantree, who said that following the discovery of the Sidmouth Fatberg, you make sure you do all you can, even if it’s just so you don’t block up your own pipes.

“We advise those in the trade that keeping drains free flowing at all times keeps blockages at bay. Having good drain health reduces the chances of bigger blockages that can lead to flooding. Our descaler and flow improver product ‘EVERFLO’, sits alongside ‘DAMBUSTER’ our strong drain clearer. Everflo drain descaler & flow improver dissolves and removes limescale, build-up of grease, verdigris, hair and other organic matter. Our family of products are manufactured to work together ensuring the optimal solution.”

Everflo and Dambuster are available at all leading UK merchants, including safety boxes with protective gloves and goggles if you are running low at Wolseley stores.