blocked drains

[harvey69]

hello has anyone got any ideas for unblocking a sewer pipe that goes from a toilet to a fossa without digging up the floor any ideas please

[MrBife]

Originally Posted by harvey69

hello has anyone got any ideas for unblocking a sewer pipe that goes from a toilet to a fossa without digging up the floor any ideas please

Not enough info really but have you tried using an old mop like a plunger. Put lots of effort into it, keep flushing and force the water down the pipe.

If it doesn't work then call your local power jet plumber who will put jet from toilet down or from the fossa back until the blockage breaks up. Make sure you get an idea of prices before they come out and don't let them do it as an emergency.

Portuguese drains are half the diameter of UK drains and don't take much paper, that's why they fit bidets as standard.

[canoeman]

Most builders merchants, hardware shops sell rods, not as drain rods but as chimney cleaning rods, but same thing, ok if you've a manhole access somewhere in line, or can work from fosse back, you need to reduce diameter of brushes to just less than your pipe size and make an auger to fit on end if you can't get on.

You can try on of the chemical solutions but expensive unless blockage near toilet.

Long term if it's a possibility put a manhole in where there's likely to be a bend

[paramonte]

Please, please, bidets are not fitted in PT because toilet drains can't take the toilet paper. That will be a joke tomorrow in the office.

Old houses that did not not follow building codes may have drain problems but that is not the general case. I have seen that in the toilets of some restaurants that were build "under cover"

Bidets are actually instruments for feminine hygiene.....Not an accessory for toilet after cleaning. And I agree that the building code that says that the house must have at least one bidet is too old.

By the way, Portugal is among the first countries to implement building codes that makes compulsory to build at least 2 bathrooms if the number of bedrooms is more than 2, something I would like to have been implemented in others countries I have been....you take turns

[Verinia]

I Love the fact that the Portugese have bidets everywhere...apart from the obvious use they are also great for washing your feet! We don't put loo paper down our loo as worried about blockages and filling the fossa too quickly.( How long does it take for a fossa to fill up I wonder? I guess from the point of view of it not ending up in the sea it isn't a bad idea either although I suppose it's not great for landfill! I have thought that bidets may also be an inheritance from the old old days when much of Southern Portugal was inhabited by the Moors, who would have had to wash five times a day before prayer.

I blocked our drains recently with coffee grinds and despite the chimney sweeping implement we had to call someone in. It. Cost 150 euros but it solved all the problems with great efficiency.

[canoeman]

Put the coffee grounds around slug/snail susceptible plants, they don't like caffeine, won't block it then, ideally it never fills up as biological action breaks it all down, loo paper blocking a bit of myth really, ok Portuguese pipes aren't as big as UK ones but more than adequate for normal use, unless our granddaughters out who seems to think that anything less than half a roll isn't adequate

[robc]

Originally Posted by canoeman

, unless our granddaughters out who seems to think that anything less than half a roll isn't adequate

I agree, what is it about women, are they genetically pre-programmed to use half a roll per visit.

We seem to spend our entire time shopping for loo rolls.

Rob

[jerryceltner]

We had a problem with a blocked pipe where once emptying the wash basin the water would come up into the shower which was next to it and very slowly drain away. As this house was a new build we had warranty. First of all they tried chemicals to shift the blockage and then pushed a hose pipe down until they felt resistance and turned on the water supply. Alas in our case this did not work as the problem was a crushed pipe that was causing the problem. They had to remove the tiles and dig into the concrete walls and do a bypass. Everything is good now.
I think the pipes in Portugal are a 4" diameter and in the UK the diameter is so I am informed is a minimum of 6". A close friend is a building inspector.
We don't have a problem with toilet paper and it dissolves in the tank but our friends who have just finished their home in Portugal as a new build have problems and have to use bio degradable toilet paper otherwise they get blockages. It depends a lot on the installation. I was also told not to use bleach to clean the bowls as this affects the chemicals in the tank and stops them working properly. I think also that you are entitled to one free empty per year although you pay for it on your monthly bill.

[canoeman]

All soft loo paper is bio degradable, your right don't use bleach or bleach type products if you have a fossa/septic tank, it's not the chemicals it kills but the bacteria that break everything down, never heard of a free empty or paying on your monthly bill, for us it's always been a straightforward fee, but maybe different Camra different procedures.

[jerryceltner]

Hi,
residuos solidos (solid residues) is on our monthly bill with SMAS and we are in the Tomar region. This is at 2 euro per month even though we don't need it as in the last 4 years we have never used the facility. It's not going to break the bank though anyway just in case!!.....Expect that's why a free empty as already paid for it.