What to do if you have a fatberg in your drains?

Oct 28
20:08

2020

Brian Fang

Brian Fang

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A slow drain of water can be due to a blockage that prevents the full passage of water. This is an indication of drainage clogging. So before anything gets serious, you need to observe some other signs of a blocked drain and get them investigated and remedied at once.

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Typically,What to do if you have a fatberg in your drains? Articles it would take years and years of neglect before your drain is blocked or clogged by something sinister such as a fatberg. However, before anything gets serious, you have to observe some signs of a blocked drain and get them investigated and remedied at once.

These are some of the common signs of blocked drainage:

Signs of a blocked drain

1) Unpleasant smell near the drains

The common cause of blocked drains is the accumulation of food debris, fat, hair, oil, dead skin cells, and everything nasty that goes down that hole. As these wastes naturally decompose, it gives off an unmistakable stench that's hard to miss.

The unpleasant smell would normally be near your kitchen sink, bathroom sink, outside drains, and even your toilet.

2) Gurgling noise that your toilet, sink, and shower makes

When you hear this distinct gurgling sound, this often indicates that the problem stems from your sewer system's mainline. This can't be fixed with homemade remedies. You should ask for the professional help from plumbing agencies.

Gurgling noise in a particular drain hole can indicate that the problem is local or in one junction only. If the gurgling noise comes from multiple drain holes, your sink, toilet, shower, and the likes, the problem is in the mainline.

3) Greywater coming out from your outside drain

This indicates that your main sewerage is clogged, which causes a nasty backflow of water or even waste coming out of the property's side areas.

Remedy this immediately because it can endanger the health of the people living within the property.

4) Water in your shower, sink, and toilet drains slowly or does not drain at all

A normal drainage would be characterized by a whirlpool motion of water down the hole. Within seconds, your sink or shower floor should be empty of water, without any flooding or gurgling noise.

A slow drain of water can be due to a blockage that prevents the full passage of water. This is an indication of drainage clogging. The blockage could be a full blockage or a semi-blockage. Whatever type of clogging your drain has, it should be unclogged as soon as possible.

What is a fatberg?

A fatberg is a congealed mass that clogs the sewer that has been building up for a long time, even years. It is comprised of any of the following waste:

  • Fats
  • Oils
  • Grease
  • Food
  • Tissue
  • Wet wipes
  • Condoms
  • Cotton buds
  • Sanitary napkins or tampons
  • Plasters
  • Medicines
  • Razor blades
  • Items that can easily pass through the sink, shower, and toilet holes

As people keep throwing waste down drain holes, the accumulation of wastes grows into enormous fatbergs. Fatbergs get stuck on pipes and eventually block the whole line junction. When this happens, your sewer system eventually stops functioning well or does not function at all. The worst part is, fatbergs contribute to flooding and contamination of the environment.

What to do if a fatberg clogs your drain?

Fatbergs are huge and often hard to eliminate compared to simple drain blockages. Sometimes, you need to do a major excavation to the area to clean the fatbergs out. Excavations are often messy, time-consuming, and costly. That's why most engineers don't recommend this. However, if the fatberg is too huge for a no-dig method, excavation might ensue.

Fatberg removal calls for professional help. This isn't your typical vinegar-hot water solution. Drainage maintenance agencies are often equipped with state-of-the-art technologies to help you get rid of fatbergs.

First, they will inspect the fatberg using a tiny CCTV that they insert in pipes. After assessing the situation, they will lay out to you your options. Ideally, they would recommend to soften or break down the fatberg into chunks by using pressure-powered water jets. If the fatberg is too huge to pass through lines, they would need to excavate to remove the fatberg chunks manually.