How to get rid of a fatberg

Steve

So,

Both the kitchen sink and the dishwasher go to an outside drain.

This now seems to have a fatberg in it and it overflows onto the path everytime the dishwasher pumps out.

I poured a bottle of caustic soda into it earlier (6 hrs ago) and it didn't help.

Any tips?

Purgative

Can you rod the drain?

_Brian

One of the cleaner nozzles on a power washer is a great job.

irish_goat

Did you use dissolve the caustic first?

Calahonda52

It may not be fat, just silt etc
get yourself a sink and bath unblocker, which usually come with a nozzle adaptor.
Then get a short piece of hose and attach, this will allow you take all the water out of the gully trap. [Ice and lemon not required ]
Then get yourself a long spoon specifically designed for taking the crap out of the bottom of the gully trap.
.
If you just try and shove it down around the bend, the next blockage could be a lot worse.

long sleeved gloves, and some diluted demestos to reduce the odour.

Don't mix different drain cleaners
if using chemical use googles/full face protection

Czhornet

Run the hot tap for a while and then pour a few kettles of boiling water down the drain, it will help to move it on. if not +1 on the powerwasher jetting nozzle

https://www.efox.ie/shop_item.php?section1=Power%20Tools&section2=Washing

Calahonda52

Czhornet wrote: »

Run the hot tap for a while and then pour a few kettles of boiling water down the drain, it will help to move it on. if not +1 on the powerwasher jetting nozzle

https://www.efox.ie/shop_item.php?section1=Power%20Tools&section2=Washing

For the reasons stated above, this is bad advice.

Czhornet

Calahonda52 wrote: »

For the reasons stated above, this is bad advice.

I normally wouldn't go down the chemical route myself first off! I'd try manually rod/jetter first, adding chemicals when its already blocked isn't going to help as it cant get to the blockage to move it on

Suckit

I had this exact issue last year. Tried the hot water etc. (Ours was fairly stuck).
Bought this - https://www.woodies.ie/drain-clearing-tools-15ft-drain-clearing-tool-336193
Best buy in a long time, and the satisfaction....

Nobody allowed to rinse the butter dish or pour left over cream etc.. down the sink anymore, or anything ele that may have caused it over time.

loyatemu

Suckit wrote: »

I had this exact issue last year. Tried the hot water etc. (Ours was fairly stuck).
Bought this - https://www.woodies.ie/drain-clearing-tools-15ft-drain-clearing-tool-336193
Best buy in a long time, and the satisfaction....

Nobody allowed to rinse the butter dish or pour left over cream etc.. down the sink anymore, or anything ele that may have caused it over time.

did you use it in the gully outside, or through the sink?

Suckit

loyatemu wrote: »

did you use it in the gully outside, or through the sink?

First down the sink, got the water flowing, then went outside and up the gutter. It pulled a lot out .

Edited.
Maybe not a fatberg..
It was blocking back up to the kitchen though.

Was still very satisfying getting rid...

Steve

Well that was one of the nastiest jobs I've ever done..

Clean as a whistle now.

I dug out as much as I could from the shore with an old soup ladle, the water level didn't budge though.
Luckily, there's a junction about 3m away so I took the lid off and could see the tail of the berg emerging from the join. This meant the berg was all the way up the pipe to the shore :eek:

I remembered I actually had a pipe unblocker for the power washer, bought in Lidl last year, so after a bit of a hunt I found it and set it up.

It still took over an hour to totally clear the gunk out, there were fist sized lumps of hardened fat and leaves arriving out of it (don't worry, I was scooping them up as they arrived:D). Really amazed at how well that yoke worked.

Anyways, job done, and thanks for all the tips.

Off now to burn my clothes!

looksee

Steve wrote: »

Well that was one of the nastiest jobs I've ever done..

You mean you have never unblocked a sewer?? :eek::eek:

I bought one of those cheap little power washers years ago when Woodies (never the cheapest) were having an opening sale. Cost me about €30. It has paid for itself over and over.

brevity

looksee wrote: »

You mean you have never unblocked a sewer?? :eek::eek:

I bought one of those cheap little power washers years ago when Woodies (never the cheapest) were having an opening sale. Cost me about €30. It has paid for itself over and over.

I’ve unblocked the pipe to our septic tank a number of times and just the grease trap thing once. I would do the septic tank pipe 100 times over the grease trap. It’s ****ing rank.

dastardly00

Steve wrote: »

Well that was one of the nastiest jobs I've ever done..

Clean as a whistle now.

I dug out as much as I could from the shore with an old soup ladle, the water level didn't budge though.
Luckily, there's a junction about 3m away so I took the lid off and could see the tail of the berg emerging from the join. This meant the berg was all the way up the pipe to the shore :eek:

I remembered I actually had a pipe unblocker for the power washer, bought in Lidl last year, so after a bit of a hunt I found it and set it up.

It still took over an hour to totally clear the gunk out, there were fist sized lumps of hardened fat and leaves arriving out of it (don't worry, I was scooping them up as they arrived:D). Really amazed at how well that yoke worked.

Anyways, job done, and thanks for all the tips.

Off now to burn my clothes!

God knows why I am asking this... But you have any photos. For some reason I'd like to see what it (the fatberg) looked like

Calahonda52

dastardly00 wrote: »

God knows why I am asking this... But you have any photos. For some reason I'd like to see what it (the fatberg) looked like

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/oct/29/bus-sized-fatberg-cleared-from-london-sewer

looksee

You know those moulded little piles of rice that they serve in posh Indian restaurant, like the rice has been shaped in a cup then upended onto the plate. Well it looks like a bigger, dirtier one of those. People used put the melted fat from chips down the drain in the days when lard was used, it would escape a fair distance still liquid, then clog up the sewer further down. Mank.

GrumpyMe

looksee wrote: »

...People used put the melted fat from chips down the drain in the days when lard was used, it would escape a fair distance still liquid, then clog up the sewer further down...

It seems "they" still do!

Suckit

looksee wrote: »

You mean you have never unblocked a sewer?? :eek::eek:

I bought one of those cheap little power washers years ago when Woodies (never the cheapest) were having an opening sale. Cost me about €30. It has paid for itself over and over.

Never..
Definitely not something that big. I was picturing the hassle we had..
Out neighbour was going mad last year and asked to access out drain while I was in work. He thought/thinks another neighbour was flushing nappies and he was using rods to unblock it all. He spent a few hours at it he told me after.

Apparently the smell backed up into his house.

Steve

looksee wrote: »

You mean you have never unblocked a sewer?? :eek::eek:

Oh, I have, but then I knew what i was dealing with. A bit of poo and toilet paper was nothing compared to this. I've even had to unblock sea toilets from the outside in the past..

Steve

dastardly00 wrote: »

God knows why I am asking this... But you have any photos. For some reason I'd like to see what it (the fatberg) looked like

I thought about taking some pics, however I was gloved up and wasn't going to risk contaminating the phone!!
It looked pretty much like what Calahonda52 posted only smaller scale.
What was in the shore looked like a blocked toilet in a nightclub full of vomit.

Steve

GrumpyMe wrote: »

It seems "they" still do!

Never pour fat or grease down the sink, however, I'm thinking it may be coincidental that this only happened since we replaced the dishwasher last year.
I had to unblock it about 5 years ago, there was no fatberg, only silt on that occasion.

BarryD2

Steve wrote: »

Never pour fat or grease down the sink, however, I'm thinking it may be coincidental that this only happened since we replaced the dishwasher last year.
I had to unblock it about 5 years ago, there was no fatberg, only silt on that occasion.

Yeah, God knows what the average person on public sewage pours down the sink or flushes down the toilet. If you have to maintain your own drains & septic tank, you tend to be a lot choosier!

Another good reason for 'water / sewage charges'.

Suckit

Spent far too long looking at these things.
I feel a little sick - https://www.thejournal.ie/fatberg-removed-from-sewer-wicklow-4544566-Mar2019/

Steve

BarryD2 wrote: »

Another good reason for 'water / sewage charges'.

What has that got to do with the topic being discussed?

Hotblack Desiato

Steve wrote: »

I remembered I actually had a pipe unblocker for the power washer, bought in Lidl last year, so after a bit of a hunt I found it and set it up.

They have it in again now https://www.lidl.ie/en/p/spring-garden/drain-cleaning-set/p37165

Alun

Hotblack Desiato wrote: »

They have it in again now https://www.lidl.ie/en/p/spring-garden/drain-cleaning-set/p37165

Do those only fit the Lidl power washers or will they fit Karcher ones too do you know?

cruizer101

It look like it comes with an adapter, the metal end with two pins looks like the one that fits lidl and many other washers but the second pic has what looks like an adapter with the more flat sticky out bits that karcher uses

Alun

Yes, it does look like it, but I remember a few years ago I bought some kind of power washer accessory from Lidl and while on the face of it the attachment looked like it would fit my Karcher washer it was subtly different and didn't fit. At least with Lidl there's usually no problem bringing something back if it doesn't fit.

Alun

FYI, I've just bought one of these, and it DOES come with an adapter. I've also confirmed it fits on my Karcher washer, so all good!

Suckit

Alun wrote: »

Do those only fit the Lidl power washers or will they fit Karcher ones too do you know?

This is an old thread (9 years) but they reckon the old ones used to. Bored over tea, saw your question
Post #5 and #8
https://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=206160
i didn't read past page 1.

Alun

See my new post just before yours.

Suckit

Alun wrote: »

See my new post just before yours.

Ah. Late post, but I'll leave it anyway, no harm.

Steve

Alun wrote: »

FYI, I've just bought one of these, and it DOES come with an adapter. I've also confirmed it fits on my Karcher washer, so all good!

Only gripe with it was when I un-boxed it it was wound up like a clock spring and trying to untangle it was a pain.
I'd suggest laying it flat somewhere for a while and then coiling it loose & hanging on the wall in the shed.
You'll thank me for this when you go to use it..

Man Vs ManUre

Go to the gym and exercise. And don’t eat so much cr@p.

delly

Man Vs ManUre wrote: »

Go to the gym and exercise. And don’t eat so much cr@p.

Either you have not read the thread or you're just taking the mick, either way your irrelevant post isn't required here thanks.