shower not draining

[imported_post]

Hello
We had problems with the shower not draining properly last week. Top floor flat. Had plumber in for a thorough clean
and all seemed fine. Two days later (Thursday?), this came up in the shower. Have reported to Ryman.

I think there is a problem with the main drain. Are you aware of other problems?

[imported_post]

Hello.  Which block is this problem at?

We had the main drains pressure washed no more than 8 weeks ago so I would be surprised if it was an issue with the soil stack run.  Generally problems occur from the lower floors up, and not the top down.

Do you pour fats down your sink when washing up? and did the plumber check drainage from all sinks, bath and toilet?

[imported_post]

Many thanks for getting back to me so quickly.
The flat is in the South sea Street block.
Have these main drains been recently cleaned
as well?
I will contact the plumber again to
make sure he cleared all of the interior drains.
From what point are drains communal?

The plumber did mention that the shower
pipe is connected to the kitchen drain and
does not go straight to the main drain. Do you know if this
is the way the flat was designed? Any advice based on previous
experiences. And yes, I have asked tenants
NOT to pour grease down the sink.

[imported_post]

We had all the main runs pressure washed from the garage.  From past experience blockages occur on the horizontal run and not the vertical. Thus the most common point of blockage is the horizontal run from the communal stack to the Thames water drain via the garage.  It was these runs that were recently jet washed.  I suppose there may be a remote possibility that there is a blockage at just the top of the soil stack but this would mean it would affect all water drainage for both top floor flats.

I am not familiar with the plumbing but it seems logical to me there would be a stack for kitchen, bath, shower and basin waste and a separate stack for the toilet.  Most often it is kitchen waste that is the culprit as people assume you can flush anything down it.

I looked through your previous posts and I see that you had a similar issue in 2015 that was resolved by a second visit by a plumber.

If you don't have any luck with the domestic plumber than I would try a company called DCPM who have looked after soil stack issue at RQ in the past.  Rynew should have the contact details.  They can be difficult to get in touch with so Rynew may advise a different contractor.

Hope that helps.
Regards
Simon

[imported_post]

Hello again
And thanks for all the useful advice you give here Simon.

We yet again had waste water from the kitchen ending up
in the shower tray. The plumber cleared the pipes, again, but I realised
that the waste water goes from the kitchen to the shower and THEN on to
the main soil stack. Not the other way round (from shower to kitchen to the
main soil stock)  which I thought was the standard solution. Can someone confirm
this is the case? Obviously this is not ideal, as the kitchen waste  water has to travel
for many lateral metres.

The waste water from the Kitchen can be seen flowing  just a few centimeters below the shower waste so if there  is a stoppage on the lateral drain between the shower and the main stack, kitchen
Waste water would end up in the shower, which is exactly what is happening.

Now, at least twice, this has occurred just after the stack has been jet washed.
And this might be far fetched, but could it be that the jetwashing of the stack somehow clogs
the lateral waste pipes towards the flats on the top floor?

Does any other  top floor have similar problem?
Where is the main vertical stack situated?
We really would like to find a long term solution.
Linda

[imported_post]

The stack does not get cleaned any higher than the bottom of the first floor, as it would cause flooding.

The internal plumbing is the responsibility of the leaseholder, however we have just had maintenance carried out on a top floor flat in 1RQ due to a faulty durgo valve.

Perhaps speak to Rynew and have their maintenance chaps attend.  You will have to cover the cost of inspection but Fred will have a better idea than someone else as he is familiar with the pipe work at RQ.  Access to the rodding point may be required to clear any blockage discovered in the stack.

Hope that helps.

Marie our property agent will be back at Rynew on Monday 1st October as she is currently on Holiday.

[imported_post]

Does any other  top floor  have similar problem?

Top floor Rainbow Quay here and had the same problem a few days ago, the kitchen waste water ended in the shower, when the dishwasher was working. I called Rynew and the plumbers came and cleaned the pipes today. Still haven't tried the machines in the kitchen yet. So answers to your other questions though sadly.

[Author]

Posts