Vlog

• Tree roots can cause all sorts of havoc with blocked drains and drain repairs
• Simply jetting away and clearing the tree roots is not always the best solution. In some circumstances it may provide a temporary fix but may end up costing more in the long run with the same recurring problem. 
• At Plumbdog we look for long term solutions which ultimately saves our customers time and money
• Check out more of our VLOGs & don’t forget to like and subscribe to our YouTube channel!

The Job: Blocked Toilet

In today’s video, our Plumbdog Richard is on a property in Huntingdale, Western Australia. Today’s job is to fix a clogged toilet, which perpetually keeps blocking up. The toilet installed in the bathroom seems to be pretty old, typical for these older toilets, the waste goes from the bathroom in an old earthenware pipe.

The toilet clogs are that the tree roots have penetrated underneath the pipe, where it forms a connection to the ceramic toilet pan.

The cleaning of the roots using a high-pressure jet will only be partially possible because if it hits the ceramic connector point on the pan, it will smash. Our customer was presented the customer with two possible options to deal with the situation.

Option 1: Remove the Toilet Pan

The first way is to remove the toilet pan and put it through a high-pressure water jet and then into the drain. The high-pressure water jet will ensure to clean the roots out. But the problem that this step comes with is that the pan will have to be replaced on being removed, making this step a temporary fix. The other issue with this step is that the roots will only be temporarily removed, as they will grow back. Cutting the root is like giving a haircut, which means it needs to be periodically done. Every time the roots grow back, the pan will have to be replaced, and also the drains will have to be cleared, making this process not very feasible.

Option 2: A Better Option

The next option suggested by Richard, which is not only more practical but permanent, is to leave the root-infested pipe in the ground and instead install a new ‘P- trap’ suite, which will make for a gateway for the waste to go through the wall instead of the floor.

In simple terms, this will serve as installing a brand new PVC pipe, which will be connected to the old earthenware pipe externally. On getting customer approval, Richard starts digging and gets to work.

Richard puts his gear inside the pipe, and its output being visible on the CCTV shows us how the roots are still inside the pipe. Richard now removes the toilet pan using a jackhammer from the concrete, and in the process, it breaks from the point where the ceramic joins the airway. Richard gets rid of the roots inside by removing the pan, and also gets rid of the base and replace it with a new one.

While drilling and taking out the old PVC, Richard finds out that this was realigned before, which means that the roots have been here for quite some time. But realigning was not the permanent fix, and therefore the process of installing the P- trap’ suite is so important.

To help the future plumbing jobs, Richard also installs an inspection point which they can directly put the drain gear inside and complete the drain cleaning. In the end, Richard successfully replaces the new toilet suite, installs the P-Strap suite, and what he is left with is the root infested earthenware pipes.

• It’s fun for our Plumbdogs to get our paws dirty and dig things up but we need to be safe and know what other services lead into the property.
• Watch as Richard shares some knowledge that any good plumber should know when taking on a job like this.
• Learn how you can check your pipes for a gas leak using this simple method with simple materials you should have at home.
• Check out more of our VLOGs & don’t forget to like and subscribe to our YouTube channel!

Another day for our top dog Richard as he headed off to Wilson, WA for a water leak detection job.  There was already an initial visit to the property, and he was able to identify where the burst water pipe and fixed it with a temporary repair.  Two to three weeks later he comes back to complete the work, and that is to lay new supply pipes.  This would mean he would have to dig around and that is why he brought an excavator for the job.  Part of what he needed to do was to locate all the other supply services such as the water, electricity, and gas supply. On one side of the property, Richard would have to manually dig through this small corner area where the gas meter is. Armed with his good old shovel he uncovered the Atco gas main line. However, while digging he was able to notice something that was not supposed to be in the picture, he smells gas. From a burst water pipe, we have now a suspected gas leak too!

Licensed Plumber and gasfitter. . . All rolled into one

Plumber’s hat OFF and now gasfitter’s hat ON! Since Richard was able to expose the gas pipes he will now investigate where the leak is coming from.  He was able to uncover an old rusty galvanized pipe connected to a pretty new yellow PVC pipe.  It is quite simple on how to find a pipe leak; all we need is some soapy water. Mix regular dishwashing detergent with water and place them in a spray container. After making the mixture, spray it on the pipe then wait and observe.  He saw that bubbles started to form on the rusty part of the galv pipe and he could even hear a faint hissing sound, thus confirming the leak.  Bubbles forming in an area is an indication of leak and this needs to be reported.

Gas leak = Alarm bells

Before he continues any further with his digging, he will need to report the gas leak to ATCO gas by calling their helpline so they can dispatch a technician onsite. Due to the nature of the problem, it will be deemed as an emergency and will need to be dealt ASAP, within the next hour or so. Important reminder: any gas leak should be reported right away to a gasfitter or the supplier.

The work done by the previous technician was not a great job job. Instead of extending the new pipe up until the rusty galvanized pipe they just had it cut up to a certain portion.  The leak would have been avoided if they replaced the entire line.

We have all the gear and every idea and that’s why we believe we are the best maintenance plumbing experts in Perth. Licensed plumbers and Gasfitters, give us a whistle!

• Ever asked a plumber to remove tree roots from your blocked drains without digging up your property or lifting up pavers?
• If others can’t we can. We’ve got all the gear and every idea! 
• Plumbdog specialise in blocked drains and drain repairs
• Check out more of our VLOGs & don’t forget to like and subscribe to our YouTube channel

In today’s video, our Plumbdog Richard is at a property in Bibra Lake, Western Australia. Today’s client is facing two issues, both related to water blockage. The first issue is with the toilet system as it is not flushing anymore. When Richard tries to flush it, the water fills up to a pretty high level but drains very slowly. The other issue that the client is facing is with the laundry, as one can hear strange glugging noises which is also a cause of concern.

Inspecting Blocked Drains

After it’s clear that the drains are blocked. Richard comes at the property’s backside and points towards a pipe behind him, which is the vent from where the air enters inside the drain. The function of the drain is to flush out the water and allow the air to come inside. We can hear the glugging sounds because there’s a blockage around the vent which Richard suspects are the tree roots that are growing inside the drain. These blockages tend to be present in the space around the toilet, the vent, and also the laundry.

The fact that the toilet present on the front side of the house is working just fine is that the tree is causing a problem in this side of the house, and they need to be cleaned out to get the toilet few flowing and get rid of that googling sound. One way to clean these drains is by digging this end of the house and clean the drains, but the customer is not very keen on letting us dig because they have laid the tiles only recently.

The good part is that the customer knows about the inspection shaft present in the driveway. Using this inspection shaft, we can put the CCTV equipment down the pipes and find our way around the property to figure out the blockage issue and clean it by using the jet combined. Richard now puts in the CCTV 30 meters upstream, finding the way through all the various bends and figures out the tree roots that have been causing the blockage in the drains. He needs to be very careful as the path is very tricky, and putting pressure on the wrong side can cause hefty damage.

Using CCTV & High Pressure Water jetter

Through the CCTV, we can see the clogging due to the tree roots on the pipe’s dry end. As the CCTV moves forward, the movement becomes restricted as it gets very thin. The roots are thick enough, not even to let the water pass through, and that’s the reason for the drainage issue. Richard now uses his jetaxe nozzle to clean the blockage and annihilates the roots from the pipes. After getting done with the process, he goes and flushes the toilet to see the results and finds out that the procedure has been a success, and the flush is working just fine. The nozzle that he used is adequate to get rid of 100 percent roots causing the blockage.So in case you are facing any blockage issue at your place, then wait no more and give us a whistle. Our plumdog will reach your place and help you get rid of all the drain blockages completely.

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• If you’ve been following us for a while now you may have seen some of the interesting things we’ve found using our specialised CCTV equipment.
• Richard shares one of his funny CCTV stories.
• Fixing Blocked Drains and Sniffing out the problem all in one go is what we do best. 

Blocked Drains Caused This Basement to Get Flooded

A client from Claremont calls for help as their basement got flooded, squishy wet carpet and all.  Richard headed there and inspected the place. He found out that there were issues with the stormwater drain pipes. The property is around 50 years old and tree roots had already made their way in and became the reason for the clogging. As much as we want to be able to finish work in a day or as fast as possible, there are instances such as this that a few visits are needed to make sure we give quality work. The property is a 4-unit apartment and Richard had to do multiple visits and was able to clear a massive amount of tree roots in the different areas and pipes.

A Final Sneak Peak

As a final inspection Richard used one of our state-of-the-art gadgets, a CCTV drain camera, in all the hopper pipes and make sure that all are free flowing from top down to the ground.  One by one he inspects each apartment pipe and on the last top apartment he encounters an obstruction.  Making his way through the maze of pipes at first, he thought it was a tennis ball. To get a clearer view he used a hosepipe and flushed it with water and what a surprise he found!

Funny Surprise!

After thinking that it was some kind of a ball, it seemed to be the bottom part of a water bottle. He had to make sure of his hunch, armed with a lot of patience and his gadgets he tracked it through the network of pipes. He followed the bathroom pipes down to the walls and ceiling and it led him to one of the lower unit’s laundry area.  When he was able to pin-point where the obstruction is, he cut the pipe near the 90-degree PVC bend and VOILA, stuck upside down a plastic water bottle. How did it get there, no one knows? It’s just one of the funny days in our line of work. You will never know what to expect what comes out of those drain pipes!

When you have problems like flooding in your property always call professionals to solve the problem. Our licensed plumbers can resolve your plumbing issues quickly and efficiently as we are armed with years of experience.  We also make sure that they are fully equipped with state-of-the-art tools for accurate troubleshooting. That’s why we say we have all the gear and every idea!