When something goes wrong with your drainage, it feels like the world can come crashing down on you. As well as being an inconvenience and a disruption to your day-to-day life, drain problems such as blocked pipes will cause problems, and you’ll need to call out a drainage expert to resolve these issues. In certain cases, these problems will be an emergency requiring an immediate resolution, whilst others will not. So what’s the difference between the two, and what should you be looking out for?
Blocked Drains
If you find that your sinks are blocked, your toilet is clogged or your waste water isn’t being removed, then it’s likely that you have a blocked drain. A blocked drain can be caused by a whole number of things; including grease, coffee grounds and wet wipes. Online you’ll find a number of common drain unblocking remedies, but for stubborn or frequent blockages you’ll need to call in the experts.
Whether it’s an emergency will depend on a few things, including the level of blockage and necessity of the object being blocked. For example, if it’s a blocked sink that isn’t overflowing, this isn’t a drain emergency. However, if the only toilet in the house is blocked, this is more of an emergency that requires a prompt resolution.
Verdict: Sometimes An Emergency
Leaking and Overflowing Drains
The next step after a blocked drain is one that overflows or even leaks. An overflowing sink or toilet can cause significant damage to everything around it, especially with the excess water causing water damage to surfaces and floors. A leak can occur as a result of pipes being exposed to too much pressure as a result of a blockage, or it could be the failure of a pipe over time. Just like leaking, it can cause puddles of standing water that can cause damage to everything around it.
With overflowing you have no control of where the water goes, meaning you have to get out your mops, buckets and towels in order to deal with the issue. However, if there’s a constant overflow or leak, then you’ll need to call in a drainage technician as soon as possible in order to resolve the issue, even if it’s after normal working hours.
Verdict: Emergency
Burst Pipes
A burst pipe is one of the worst drainage problems you can face. When a pipe completely fails in structural integrity, it can mean that water comes gushing out and there isn’t a way you can easily fix it. A burst pipe can cause massive water damage and structural damage to properties if not resolved quickly.
You should look to shut off your water supply as soon as possible, either through an internal water stop tap or the stopcock. And whilst this stops the issue temporarily, this can put your entire water system out of action. This can be an inconvenience in the home, and can also make businesses inoperable.
Whether you can locate these things and turn off your supply or not, you should look to contact a drainage expert as soon as possible to resolve your problem, repair the pipe and get your drainage system back in action.
Verdict: Emergency
Emergency Drain Unblocking at Total Drainage Services
At Total Drainage Services, we have drainage experts on hand 24/7 ready to answer your calls to resolve your drainage emergency. Whether it’s an overflowing sink at home, or a burst pipe at your business, we’re able to solve your emergency drain issue all across the South West; including Bristol, Bath and Swindon. There’s also no additional premiums for out-of-hours callouts, being the same price as a usual emergency during the day.
