Category: Drainage Help & Advice

SOLVED: Does My Home Insurance Cover Drainage Issues?

Posted on by Josh Paternoster

Are you dealing with drainage issues at home? This article will help you understand the types of drainage issues that you might need to handle and whether making an insurance claim could be an option for you. 

Drains are a key element of your property. However, you likely won’t think too much about them until you notice an issue. The reason for this is simple. Your drains are hidden deep underground and completely out of sight. The first sign that there’s an issue could be a smell coming from your drains or evidence that your drains aren’t draining water at all. If you’re unlucky, it might be both. 

Thousands of people deal with drainage issues on their property every year. It’s a particularly common occurrence later on in the year when there is heavier rainfall. When they notice an expensive issue with their drains many people contact their home insurance company. But does your cover provide the solution to drainage issues you need? 

Common Drainage Issues 

Before we explore whether your home insurance is going to be the answer, let’s look at some of the most common drainage issues for homeowners in the UK. 

One of the most typical issues with drains is a blockage in the drain. This can start slowly and it could be years before the problem becomes noticeable. Alternatively, you might find that the problem develops suddenly. It largely depends on the cause of the blockage and whereabouts in the drain it is. This is also going to impact how easy it is to resolve. While there are DIY solutions to unblock drains, it’s often better to call in the pros. 

Or, you could be dealing with a crack or fracture in your drains. These can typically be found near the joints in the pipes but they may also be further down the pipework. This can cause wastewater to leak into the surrounding areas and this, in turn, weakens the ground structure. 

Alternatively, it’s possible that there are roots from trees and plants impacting your drains. Roots can bury deep into the ground and will eventually cause issues with the pipework. Roots dig deep to search for oxygen, water and nutrients which are all contained inside drain pipes. When roots go through the pipes, they often leave holes within the pipework. Smells and wastewater leak out which is the last thing that you want. 

You might even find that there is a collapsed or broken part of the drain. This is a serious issue as it will ultimately mean that wastewater isn’t leaving the property the way it should. Instead, it will start to flow out around the surrounding areas. This could even lead to a sinkhole developing which will weaken the entire structure of the property while also attracting pests to the home. 

It’s also possible that you have to deal with displaced or open joints around the property too. This can be caused by the ground becoming unstable due to increased levels of traffic. When there are gaps like this, you might find that wastewater again leaks around to surrounding areas. This is another problem that can lead to structural damage to your property. 

Is It Possible To Claim For Drainage Issues?

It’s clear that issues with your drains can cause some massive problems for you as a homeowner. Some of the issues that we’re talking about here are going to be expensive to fix and difficult to correct in a short period. As such, it makes sense that you would contact your home insurance company, but will problems like the ones above be covered

The answer largely depends on a few key factors including your insurance company and your specific policy. 

Typically, you’ll find that most building insurance policies will cover accidental damage to your drains. The question then becomes, what constitutes ‘accidental damage.’ Language like this is often intentionally unclear and it can mean that insurance companies can refuse to payout based on a technicality. That’s why it’s best to explore examples. 

For instance, you might find that your drainage pipes have corroded due to old age. This is seen as a natural level of deterioration. As such, it’s unlikely that you are going to get a payout here under the ‘accidental damage’ umbrella. 

On the other hand, if there has been an intrusion into your pipes from tree roots, it’s likely that you will be provided with a payout. This should fall under accidental damage. 

It’s also possible that you can claim for damage to your drains completely but you’ll need to take out an extra level of coverage to do this. This is why you need to make sure that you do read your insurance policy carefully. If in doubt, you should always contact your provider and ask them about this possibility before you notice there’s an issue. 

Which Pipes Will Be Covered?

It’s also important to be aware of where your responsibilities begin and end here. As a homeowner, you’ll be responsible for all drains that exist on your property boundary. So, if there is an issue with a drain on your property and it’s causing an issue for a neighbour, you’ll be responsible for fixing it. 

For this reason, if a collapse or any damage occurs due to misuse or neglect, it won’t be covered through your insurance company. Instead, you’ll need to pay for the repairs yourself. Be aware that in some cases, you will need to take out coverage for specific drains that are on your property. 

This is why it’s crucial to keep your drains well maintained and avoid any damage that wouldn’t be considered accidental. Cleaning your drains regularly and inspecting them on an annual basis is the best way to do this and keep your drains in the best possible condition. 

Quick Clear Drainage

We hope this helps you understand whether your home insurance will cover drainage issues on your property. If you have already noticed a blocked drain at your London property, our expert team at Quick Clear Drainage can help. We’ll fix the issue and ensure that there is no further damage to your drains. Get in touch now and a friendly member of our team will be happy to assist you. 

6 Reasons To Book a CCTV Drain Survey

Posted on by Josh Paternoster

Your home is your biggest asset – both in terms of being where you spend the majority of your time, raise your family and spend time with loved ones, but also as it’s the single largest financial commitment most of us make. So making sure you take care of your property should be high up the list for any homeowner. Our drainage systems are a crucial, but often overlooked, piece of the mechanics of our homes. A small problem can rapidly turn into a huge issue that has a knock-on impact on many areas of your house, so it’s vital that you get any drainage matters sorted out quickly and professionally. It can be complicated to identify exactly what the issue is, which is where a CCTV drain survey can really help.

What Is A CCTV Drain Survey?

When you experience blocked drains, or book a CCTV drain survey, the process involves threading a small camera down into your pipes, drains or sewer systems to identify the cause of a problem, usually to locate a blockage or some structural damage. The camera gives our engineer a clear view of the drains in your home, recorded and displayed on a monitor. You’ll be able to see the insides of the drainage system. Our engineer will then diagnose the problem and be able to provide a solution.

A CCTV drain survey is a quick and efficient process, offering a reliable, accurate and cost-effective way of identifying a drainage problem. Damage or debris is your drains is clearly visible without the need for costly excavation before you even know what the problem is. If excavation is required to remedy the problem, it will be in one precise spot, making the whole process a lot speedier, less messy and much more accurate.

Why Do I Need To Book A CCTV Drain Survey?


There are many reasons why customers choose to book a survey – here are just some of them:

Buying a new home

When you purchase a home, you go to considerable effort and expense, so it’s vital to ensure that your new home has a drain survey in place before completing the sale. A CCTV drain survey lets you establish there aren’t any existing problems with the drains that could cause significant, costly damage further down the line. It may be a condition of your mortgage lender to have all surveys in place before a sale is agreed. Moving house is a costly process, so you want to have the peace of mind of knowing that there are no issues waiting to happen. If you do find damage on your CCTV drain survey, you can request that the vendor sorts the problem out before proceeding with the purchase.

Planning an extension

These days, many homeowners choose to avoid the cost and hassle of moving house by extending their properties – especially in London and the surrounding areas, where soaring house prices mean that it’s often more sensible to extend your existing home. If you’re planning a home extension, you’ll need a drain survey before commencing building work. It’s a condition of the water authority and the planning permission to undertake a survey if there’s building work planned.

Combatting rodent problems

You’re never that far away from a rat, especially in built-up urban areas like London, and rodent problems are an unfortunate common fact of city living.Unsealed and redundant pipes are a major entry for rodents, and most pest control technicians will not visit a site until a cctv drainage survey has been done first. The most common source of rodent infestation is actually building work where pipes have been left unsealed. If a problem is found, techniques such as linings or maneuverable sealing bags can sometimes be used to correct the problem.

Suspected water damage

Water damage is one of the most serious things that can happen to your home if left unchecked. Causing anything from structural damage and subsidence to electrical faults if it gets bad enough! If you catch it early, water damage may be purely cosmetic. Signs to look out for are dark or wet spots appearing on the walls, ceiling or floor, cracked, bubbling or flaking plaster, a sudden and unexplained increase in your utility bills or a smell of damp. If you have one or more of these issues, they need to be sorted out quickly to prevent any further damage, so start with a cctv drain survey to determine the cause

Preventing structural issues

If water damage has been occurring for a while, then it may have had time to cause serious issues such as subsidence. This refers to the sinking and warping of the foundations of your house. Homes built on clay-based grounds are more susceptible to it. A leaking drain can erode the soil under your home over time and saturate the foundations causing them to subside. You may notice doors sticking, floors becoming uneven and large cracks appearing in the walls. Depending on the severity, your home may need the foundations repinning or reconstruction work. A cctv drain survey is the first step in investigating and remedying the problem.

Get rid of bad odours and noises

When you have blocked, broken or leaking drains, often you might notice a persistent bad smell or sometimes a loud rattling or gurgling noise, disturbing the peace and quiet of your home or even putting you off inviting guests round! These annoying issues can be sorted out quickly and efficiently, using a cctv drain survey to quickly find the cause of the problem and sort it out before any real damage can occur. So you can get back to enjoying your home!

Quick Clear Drainage can assist with all manner of CCTV drain surveys in London and the surrounding areas to prevent damage to your property, give you peace of mind when buying a new home or rental premises and identify the problem quickly where water damage has already occurred. Make an enquiry today for your path to clear drains and a secure home.

The Long Term Effects Of A Blocked Drain On Your Property

Posted on by Josh Paternoster

When we think of maintaining our homes, we probably think about keeping our roof intact, ensuring that the window fascias remain sound and checking our brickwork for pointing issues. We are less likely to keep an eye on our drainage systems. 

London weather can be unpredictable at the best of times, and often when it rains… it absolutely pours. Wet weather means that more drains can become blocked. While a drain blockage may seem like a minor annoyance, the long term effects can prove costly, and damage the integrity of your home.

Leaks

Your pipes need to remain crack-free. However, torrential rain, flooding and temperature differentials can cause high pressure to build-up and a drain blockage can be the result. Leaving this blockage to fester can make your pipework crack resulting in a leak to form within the home. It can be tricky to spot where the leak is coming from, meaning that mould and damp can develop on the walls of your living spaces. 

Damp can be a much more costly problem to fix than a blocked drain. You may need to repoint some of your brickwork, replaster, replace joists and insert a damp course. This is labour intensive and takes time resulting in your home feeling like a building site for a few weeks. By ensuring that you call a drainage engineer the moment your sense a problem in your pipes, you can save yourself money and stop your home from becoming too effected by the drain blockage.

If you live in a period property, your pipework will naturally be older, making them more susceptible to damage because of a blocked drain. Call a local London based engineer as soon as you think a drain blockage is developing to prevent your more vulnerable older pad from sustaining damage. An expert will carry out a full assessment of your drains before carrying out any necessary repairs.

Waste Resurgence

There’s nothing worse than noticing a foul odour within your home but being unable to find out where it is coming from. The number one cause of sewerage-like smells in your home is waste resurgence. This means that the waste that should be removed from your humble abode is becoming trapped within your pipework. A blocked drain will result in this waste not just blocking up but actually returning to your home. If you think about the worst blocked toilet that you’ve ever seen and consider that this could be in your own home, you will want to get a survey of your drains done immediately.

With a blocked drain in London, you need an expert that is reliable with a quick response time. If you have a drain blockage, drainage specialists will utilise CCTV technology to place a camera into your pipework and guide it along your drainage system to carry out a full survey and spot the points where blockages are present. They can also be utilised in a preventative sense to replace any pipe joints or segments that are vulnerable to blockages.

Structural Damage

Ignore a blocked drain at your peril because the chances of structural damage increase the longer you leave vulnerable pipework without a full survey being carried out. Leaks can cause damp, which not only causes fungal spores to permeate into your home, but they can also result in joist and brickwork damage. 

Joists and timbers within the structure of your home can become rotten, weaken and can cause subsidence to develop. This can have a massive detrimental impact on the saleability of your pad. While it may seem a little melodramatic, a blocked drain could result in your home becoming unmortgageable. To ensure that you don’t fall into a blocked drain trap, it pays to get your drains and pipes cleaned on an annual basis. When searching for an expert, go for a drainage firm in London that provides exceptional customer service, reliability and experience. 

How Will An Expert Unblock A Drain?

  • Drain rodding: Rodding a drain is a basic treatment that is cheap and effective if blockages are relatively new and there is little compacted material to remove. Steel rods are pushed through the pipework to remove a drain blockage and restore normal waste management.
  • Drain Jetting: For more compacted blockages, an expert will use a hose to fire a jet of powerful water to clear the blockage. This is more costly than rodding, but can cut the repair time of your pipes.
  • Tanker Jetting: If there is a lot of debris that has caused the pipework to fur up and solidify, a tanker jetting service is needed. Larger drains that are vulnerable to blockages will need more water firing down them at high pressure (up to fifty gallons a minute) to help pipes unblock effectively.
  • Electro-Mechanical Cleaning: If water is not a feasible option when trying to unblock your drain, an electro-mechanical cleaning option may be considered. Steel cables with large blades attached are forced down your pipes with the aim of cutting away the debris that is causing the blockage. This is an effective option when the debris is compacted or hard, or when there isn’t a mains water supply to power a jetting method.

Blocked Drain Prevention

To ensure that you keep your pipework in excellent condition, it pays to have an annual checkup of your drains in London. This is especially important for those properties that are older or haven’t been inhabited for a little while. You have a service for your boiler each year, so why not do the same with your drains? 

The main culprits for drain blockages are hair and excess tissue buildup. Tree roots can also break through pipework and invade your drainage spaces causing a blockage. While it can be difficult to mitigate the risk of a drain blockage, you can take care of your pipework by getting a team of experts in to assess and survey your drains to keep them in tip-top condition.

At Quick Clear Drainage, our professional engineers are on hand 24 hours of the day, 7 days a week. Call us or message us today for free advice!

The Real Consequences Of A Blocked Drain For Businesses In London

Posted on by Josh Paternoster

Blocked drains pose a huge threat to London businesses. Not only in a practical manner, but in terms of maintaining a reputable business that will bring in customers. Let’s take a moment to run through the basics of drain blockages and look at how Preventative Drain Maintenance can help!

The Consequences of Blocked Drains

Many businesses make the mistake of leaving blocked drains unattended. Sure, they can prove an inconvenience, but as long as the water eventually (albeit slowly) drains away, there’s no problem, right? Well, wrong. Left untreated, blocked drains can worsen. This is rarely an issue that will resolve itself, so the blockage will simply become worse and worse until water doesn’t drain through at all. This results in a whole host of hazards, which will take a moment to look at now.

Poor Drainage

Of course, and perhaps most obviously, the main consequence of a blocked drain is poor flow through your drainage systems. Whatever is clogging your drains will prevent water from passing through. Rather than passing through quickly, you may find water takes a while to go down and, in more serious cases, can even back up the pipes, coming back out of the plug hole and bubbling. This isn’t going to be good for your business, no matter what kind of business it is. It’s a more immediate and business halting threat if you run a restaurant, cafe, or other business that uses a lot of water and requires regular drainage. But it’s also going to be problematic for businesses that have offices where employees need to flush the toilet and wash their hands.

Dirty Water

Health and safety needs to be top of your list of priorities when it comes to running any business. This means providing a hygienic environment for your staff to work in, as well as a hygienic environment for your customers to spend time in. A blocked drain creates a breeding ground for bacteria to fester and build up. This is because food, waste and other sources of energy for bacteria tend to either create clogs or build up behind them. This can result in a build-up of filthy water making its way back up your pipes.

Bad Odours

With dirty water, there tends to come bad odours. This can either be the result of filthy water building up and acting as a vessel for bad smell. Think how a stagnant lake will often begin to smell. It’s a similar premise. Bad smells can also be the result of your pipes drying up and there being a lack of moving moisture to keep bad odours moving along their way. A secondary school in Henley-On-Thames, unfortunately, found out first-hand just how disruptive the stench from blocked drains can be on day to day operations.

Leaks

If you leave a clog for a while, don’t be all too surprised if you find that you begin to experience leaks. When the water clogs your pipes, it needs to go somewhere. Sure, sometimes it will back up. But sometimes, if your pipes aren’t the strongest, it will begin to damage your pipes and may even cause them to crack, creating an area where the water can be diverted – probably into an area you don’t want consistent dripping water.

What This Could Mean for Your Business

Now, all of these potential consequences are undesirable. But what can they mean for your business in particular? Some business owners assume that if a clog and issues associated with it are confined to a space away from the customers’ eyes, there won’t be all too many repercussions. But this simply isn’t true.

Firstly, the clog can cause your staff to struggle to do their jobs correctly. Say you run a restaurant. If your back of house staff are unable to wash and rinse plates, glasses, cutlery, or other essentials as they are waiting for dirty water to drain away, they’re generally left with two choices. To wash the dishes in dirty water which poses a serious risk to your customers and could result in your establishment being closed down, or to wait and not have plates ready for dishes going out. This means slow service, which is deemed bad service.

The smells that are associated with blocked drains also tend to be difficult to contain to the spaces they’re immediately in. Smells spread and, unsurprisingly, your customers don’t want to be exposed to sewage smells while they’re eating or drinking.

All in all, it means lost customers and bad reputation. This will be a disaster for your business and could either see your doors shut or you have to put in a lot of work to build back your customer base.

What Causes Blocked Drains?

A drain blockage can be caused by all sorts of things. The main culprits tend to depend on the location of the drain. If you have a blocked drain outside of your premises, chances are it’s been blocked by fallen leaves or other debris pushed in by strong winds. If you’ve got a blocked drain in a kitchen area, chances are food remnants, oil, grease or other things washed from plates have caused the drain blockage. If you have a blocked drain in a bathroom, someone may have flushed something they shouldn’t have down the toilet. Perhaps sanitary products, nappies, makeup wipes, or something else. To identify what’s causing the blockage, you may need to undertake a CCTV drain survey or call in a professional to check things out.

Resolving and Preventing Blocked Drains

So, how can you go about ensuring your drains don’t become blocked? Well, first it’s important to tackle the initial problem. Call out professionals who will be able to remove your blockage or clog and ensure water can run freely through your drain system once more. Most people will try to use store-bought drain unblockers to clear drains at first, but chances are, the issue will require a bit more work to be dealt with properly. Once your blockage is resolved, you will need to work hand in hand with a company that provides Preventative Drain Maintenance. This will see professionals regularly check your drains and put measures in place to prevent them from becoming clogged or blocked in the first place!

As the old saying goes, prevention is better than cure – and this definitely goes for drainage systems within your business. Hopefully, the above information will help to keep your drains clog-free and your business thriving!

If you have an emergency issue, or you would like to speak to an engineer about our business maintenance packages. Call Quick Clear Drainage, London’s blocked drain specialists on 0203 633 3897

What is Drain Relining?

Posted on by Josh Paternoster

Previously, excavation and replacement were often thought of as the only way to fix damaged and broken drain pipes. Which, of course, is a difficult process as more often than not, the damaged pipes were buried by some distance underground. And in some instances, drains systems may have been buried under important infrastructures, such as driveways etc.

Thankfully, today’s advancements in technology have provided drainage engineers with the means to fix drainage systems through a quicker, cheaper and easier method called; drain relining.

First Steps of Drain Relining

As you may already know, drainage issues are not always apparent from the outset and often require a drainage survey to be carried out by a drainage professional, before investing in any works to be carried out. So it is recommended to carry out a drain survey before starting any drain repairs or relining works.

The In’s & Out’s of Drain Relining

Drain relining is the process of repairing damaged drainage systems by installing a new lining (drain pipe), into the existing damaged pipework without resorting to the traditional method of full-scale excavation. Drain relining is a form of “No dig” repair work.

Drain relining can be used to fix leaks and cracks, and ultimately help with recurring blockages in a property. As no digging or extraction is required, this technique is very popular and has many advantages due to the non-destructive nature in securing your pipes – This is especially beneficial for business owners and commercial properties, where downtime will be to a minimum and business can continue as normal.

The Relining Installation Process

Once you have identified that you have issues with your drains systems which need either replacing or relining, it’s time to start fixing the problem.

The first steps of drain relining work involve cleaning and de-scaling of the pipework which is going to be relined. This work is typically carried out by high-pressure water jetting to remove any signs of scale and slit deposits and to leave the pipe cleaned and prepared for the relining process.

The UPVC relining sleeve is then installed by way of air inflation, which then cures over up to three hours. The inflation tube is removed on completion of the curing period and the new relined section is then cleaned to remove any excess resin solution.

While your drains may be out of action for a short while, this is by far the fastest method to get them fixed, you only need to wait for the new lining to be sealed to the pipes and the holes and damage will be gone. As there is no process of excavation involved, there is also no destructive work to be carried out with relining. Once the new material is in place you’ll never know that any work has been carried out at all!

Quick Clear Drainage

Quick Clear Drainage are experts in all aspects of blocked drains, drain unblocking, drainage surveys and drain repair work. For a no-obligation, free quote – Get in touch today!