Drain Unblocking in Ironbridge

A blocked drain announces itself: toilets that will not clear, gullies backing up in the yard, that unmistakable smell. Most blockages are caused by the usual suspects, fat and grease, wipes, roots that have found a joint, or a pipe defect that has finally caught enough debris to close the bore.

Gorge drainage runs steeply and through old fabric. Falls are severe, which moves water fast but also means a blockage backs up a long way in a short time, and pipe runs serving cottages built into the hillside can take routes no plan records. Much of the below-ground pipework dates from the same period as the houses — salt-glazed clay, short sections, many joints — and ground movement over the decades has pulled joints open and put steps into runs that were once true. Clearing a blockage on this ground frequently turns up the reason it happened.

Mains sewerage reaches the main gorge settlements, but the properties strung along the valley sides and the farms on the plateau above frequently do not have it. Cottages built for ironworkers and tile makers, converted works buildings and isolated houses up the side valleys run on private systems, many of them old, undocumented and inherited with the house.

How drain unblocking works, in full →