Drain Detectives

We are contacted by many prospective house purchasers every week. They have normally just received a homebuyers report from their surveyor.

The report will advise that the purchaser get the property’s drains inspected to check for any defects, that may lead to subsidence.

The report will inevitably suggest they find a suitable drainage company to arrange to have a drain survey and a drain test carried out at the property.

But which one do you need or do you need a drain test and a drain survey?

Continue reading “Do I need a drain test or a drain survey before I buy a house?”

Your drainage contractor may come across pitch fibre at your property, and when he does, he may be shaking his head, with a barely disguised smile.

Here we explain everything you need to know about the dreaded pitch fibre.

Continue reading “Pitch fibre – what you need to know?”

We are pleased to announce that Drain Detectives are now members of Crystal Palace Business Club. It is a real privilege to support South London’s number one team. We may not be official CPFC sponsors (one for the future, maybe), however, we hope in our own small way to boost our local club. Continue reading “Drain Detectives join Crystal Palace Business Club”

There you are busily working away, without a second thought for what’s happening with your drains. And why would you? The toilets, sinks and urinals are doing what they always do. Everything magically disappears down the plughole, around the U-bend. Absolutely perfect, but…

Continue reading “Why have planned maintenance for your drains?”

When we launched Drain Detectives in 2017, we spent a long time thinking about what the name of our new company should be.

We had looked at a lot of the other drainage companies for ideas and most were combinations of the usual suspects: drain, dial, rod, clear, blocked, flow, easy, fast, services, jet and drainage. All very sensible… Continue reading “Choosing a name for your drainage company”

We are pleased to announce that Drain Detectives have now been accepted as members of the National Association of Drainage Contractors (N.A.D.C.). Continue reading “We are now members of the NADC”

Drain rods are probably the first tool your drain engineer will reach for when he arrives at your property to clear a blocked drain or manhole.

However, a week doesn’t go by when we don’t get a call from a frustrated customer who has got drain rods or an attachment stuck in the drain.

In experienced hands, drain rods are perfect for clearing a drain blockage. Continue reading “Problems using drain rods to unblock drains”

You don’t need to have a drain survey before you buy your house, do you?
Money is tight when you are buying a new home, so many things to pay for, and if the drains are all ok, it would just be a waste of money, wouldn’t it? Continue reading “Why have a pre-purchase drain survey?”

This is the question that comes up most often when domestic customers call us about a problem they are having with drains on their property.

Why does it matter?

If the drains are your responsibility, then you must pay for blocked drains to be cleared and all drain repairs. If however, the drains are the responsibility of the local water authority, then “it’s happy days”, because they must do any repairs and you don’t pay a penny. So it is quite important to know.
Continue reading “Who is responsible for your drains?”

This is our first post of hopefully many, over the coming months and years. What can you expect in terms of content? There will be probably the usual standard posts about what should or should not be put down the toilet etc.

Then maybe the odd interesting anecdote from our wonderful drain engineers out on the road, hopefully without too many graphic images (!), but maybe with the odd nugget of wisdom from “inside the manhole”.