Back in July we had a plumber in to clear a blocked sink and service the boiler. No bill as yet! He was here for two hours so would that be about 100 euros ? He cleared the blockage by just pouring in one of these clearing liquids Stupidly I didn’t ask him which one it was. Anyway it worked. But now it’s blocked again despite being very careful. As all the other sinks and toilet etc are working fine I’m suspecting the outlet into the fosse from the kitchen sink is lower than the others. There is no smell from the fosse and and this sink has always been suspect ever since we moved in early last year so I don’t want to waste 200 euros having the fosse emptied unnecessarily. I do have one of these cables for cleaning blockages but the bends in the outlet are too sharp. So can anyone recommend one of these blockage clearance fluids suitable for a fosse?
The problem with magic drain cleaners is they make a hole in the blockage then run away. So you have a small hole that will simply block again. Maybe thats why you havent had a bill because it wasnt a proper clearance.
If neccessary cut the pipe in a convenient point that does allow a drain snake etc to properly move the blockage and then fit a slip coupling until required.
I had the very unfortunate experience last year of having a blocked drain. It was that bad that the kitchen sink just didn’t drain. I tried some of the unblocking liquid and then the coiled spring tools, but nothing worked. I was very much on the verge of starting to install a new drain from the kitchen, then after exploring further, I came across one of the below. It was an absolute miracle. It takes a bit of getting used to, but it literally bored through and did an amazing job of unblocking the pipe. Touch wood, the kitchen sink still drains fantastically today! A godsend!
We had a bad blockage this summer that our domestic drain snake couldn’t get through. The plumber had one much more like the advert above, but also had a liquid that he said is not available to the domestic market. One unblocked they then spent ages with a Karcher to make sure it was completely unblocked. Did your plumber do this?
We had a blockage last year and then again this year - pipe from kitchen sink / washing machine waste. Last year we managed to clear it with a combination of drain clearing product, but as Corona predicted, it re blocked. We ended up cutting the pipe at two points and putting in inspection fittings (ones with sealed screw lids) and purchased a drain clearing pipe that fits the Karcher. This has proven to be successful.
We have used DeStop - the original one in the yellow bottle rather than some of the new variants. It worked fine but just to be sure about the fosse we did stick an extra large dose of Eparcyl down the loo after a few days once things had settled.
When we renovated our breton longère and put drainage in, OH put a rodding eye at every bend so for future unblocking. After he passed, I had a blockage and called the local plumber who was very appreciative of the eyes so he could easily and quickly send his tubes down.
Forward thinking and the additional cost is cents
Thanks for all the advice which I will certainly consider carefully but the problem is now solved at least temporarily as the same plumbing company sent another plumber (I think the owner of the business). He did the same thing though perhaps more thoroughly. So at least we’ll have some time to think about what to do next if it starts to happen again.
I suggest you think about it now. 
We too put in a rodding point at a particularly challenging bend but also, prevention has (touch wood) been better than cure. Firstly, unblocking stuff ( we use what’s ok for a fosse) goes down the sink the minute we think there’s a smell or a slight slowing of the speed with which the sink clears but also:
- we use coconut cream quite a lot in our cooking - nothing with that in it goes down the sink - coconut oils solidify in the pipework
- any frying pans / greasy plates get wiped over with paper towels (yes, I know - some of you don’t like them, but in this scenario they are invaluable) before washing. Plates and utensils after roast lamb are a nightmare!
- we use a fine mesh drainer which sits in the sink outlet and catches the fine bits - amazing how much rice / tiny cauliflower bits / couscous bits / porridge bits now get gathered up in the drainer and dumped in the compost - all that used to go down the sink that supposedly had a drainer in it.
Even on mains drainage I have always wiped greasy items with paper towels to remove grease from going down the sink or even into the dishwasher, you would be amazed how this builds up into a solid block and fat is in so much you don’t really think about it. I’d rather buy kitchen roll than fork out hundreds of euros for a pipe blockage and a septic tank is even worse as the grease trap has to be regularly checked and cleaned too.
I put any excess fat, grease etc into a jam jar and put it out with the rubbish ehen full. Anything left in the pan, cooking tray or Ninja gets wiped with kitchen roll
There’s a prewash called Dog…
We have similar, although it is called C-Pour.
Our sink-nemesis is coffee grounds, and we’re always careful to extract them from the cafetiere as much as we can before rinsing it out.
Rolled oats or similar go into greasy pans to soak up fat, and then go out for the birds later. Coffee grounds go into a tub to go ground plants, muck from sink traps into compost bucket, etc
And no longer use any form of tablets in dishwasher or washing machine, just liquid products. Our plumber reckons he gets a lot of work from tablets!
I keep any excess oil or fat and mix it with bread, biscuit crumbs etc, leftover cheese parings or even those bird seed mixes if I’ve got any, and put it out for the birds. The birds eat the fat or oil relatively quickly, even unmixed with anything they’d eat it.
Unfortunately I will have to find a way to raise the board I leave it out for the birds on, alongside a big flat pyrex roasting dish the birds use to drink from and bathe in. As the season to make sure to feed the birds is just starting and the cats are starting to take far too much interest.
They will flush easily down the toilet, still using my filter machine and thats so easy. Coffee on the compost?
Washing line pulley?
Anything that gets it beyond cat leaping distance… 