Spring is in the air, and no doubt everything needs a good clean. Its all very well polishing the mantelpiece and hovering behind the sofa, but do you dare sort out your drains? This is the kind of job most people dread and ignore. But ignore it at your peril - next thing you know you could be paying a drainage specialist to solve your problems.
Like most daunting tasks, clearing out drains is more straightforward than you think. Don a pair of thick rubber gloves and you won't even have direct contact with anything unpalatable.
Outside drains can get blocked from leaves and other debris so clear out gutters and drainage holes, especially after Autumn. And get covers for drainage holes so that large objects can't fall in and block things up. Long downpipes can be difficult to deal with - you'll need a long rod to push stuff out. Clearing outside drains and pipes will help to minimise the risk of damp problems to your house and will cut out foul smells caused by rotting matter and trapped still water.
You can help cut down on problems with underground drains by setting your household some rules about what goes down plug holes and toilets. Put redundant cooking fat in containers in the bin and compost or bin food matter rather than rinsing it off in the sink. Don't flush anything other than toilet paper and teach children not to fill the toilet with mountains of the stuff. Anything else should be binned - you can get scented bin liners if bad odours linger.
If you get a blockage in your toilet there are a few simple techniques you can try. There are various chemical treatments on the market that you can get easily from supermarkets or hardware stores that successfully unblock pipes and toilets. But often they don't deal with the problem permanently, and they may leave your pipes full of toxins. A homemade solution is one part baking soda mixed with three parts boiling water. If that doesn't work, you'll need to get physical.
Blocked toilets are usually caused by too much paper or by objects, such as children's toys being thrown in. If you can see the culprit, put on rubber gloves and get it out. If not then don't be tempted to keep flushing as this may cause the toilet bowl to overflow. Put down some towels round the toilet, get a bucket and scoop out water from the bowl, but be careful to leave some in there for the next stage. Then get a toilet plunger and plunge repeatedly - the water you've left will create the necessary suction. It may take several attempts to remove a blockage, so keep going.
If the toilet plunger gets you nowhere then your next step should be to get a toilet auger. This is placed into the toilet and then turned clockwise. The tip of the auger is rather like a corkscrew and is designed to screw into and either break up or attach itself to the obstruction. If it attaches you should then be able to pull it out.
On the DIY front that's probably the end of your options and the next step will be to get a plumber or drainage specialist to tackle the job. He may well need to detach the toilet from the drainage system, deal with the problem and then reattach the toilet.
The process is very similar for blocked sinks and bath and shower drains. If hair is the problem then wire from a coat hanger should do the trick and get it out. If this doesn't work then again, a plunger is a good bet. Again, leave a little water as this gives the plunger suction and cover overflow holes to improve the pressure further.
Beyond that, you may have to give in and call the plumber or drainage specialist, who will have all sorts of tools to help you out. He may well dismantle the piping to get to the blockage and then put things back together. But don't see this as defeat! It's much better to get a blocked drain, pipes or toilet sorted out than to let it fester - things will get worse rather than better if you ignore it.
Maintenance of drains and a few house rules may be tedious and unexciting, but they will save you a whole lot of hassle.
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