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Drain Addict - Uncut — “Uncut # 1” — A drain that another plumber could not clear

Oliver (Drain Addict and Drain Addict - Uncut @ YouTube; Drain Go) is called in by another plumber to deal with a challenging drain blockage.

The other plumber had tried using a drain snake to clear it, but wasn’t successful. Dirt was also being brought back on the snake, suggesting a broken pipe underground.

Oliver starts by unreeling and hooking up the high-pressure water jetter’s hoses, and otherwise preparing his equipment. He then begins by jetting the line through an inspection opening that’s within a raised section of the property’s front yard, right next to the sidewalk and the nearby road.

It doesn’t take Oliver very long to clear the drain. He then sends down the camera, and while there doesn’t appear to be any significant root infiltration or other obstructions, a large break is noticed in the wall of the clay pipe.

He uses the pipe locator, along with the sonde in the large camera head, to try to find where exactly the pipe is broken. Unfortunately, he seems to ecounter some sort of interference, and isn’t able to get a good fix on the location. After switching to the smaller camera head sonde, however, he is able to eventually locate the break in the pipe, which happens to be under the middle of the nearby sidewalk.

After cleaning up some sewage that had collected around the inspection opening and washing off part of the sidewalk, Oliver packs up his gear and jetting equipment. He also gives an extra shoulder-length rubber glove he has to the other plumber.

Drain Addict — “Blocked Drain 938” — Bricks and roots clogging a drain

Oliver (Drain Addict @ YouTube; Drain Go) is working in the backyard of a house where it appears that bricks have been dropped down the boundary shaft, and another blockage is causing a shower and toilet to back up.

He starts by trying to remove the bricks. Using the drain camera, he shows how one brick is already near the connection to the mains, while the other is closer to the boundary shaft. A reverse nozzle is attached to the jetting hose, and this is used, without water, to hook the farthest brick. He’s able to pull it back away from the city’s main line.

The closer brick ends up being pulled back, too, and Oliver puts his entire arm down the drain to try to retrieve the brick by hand. Although it isn’t easy and it does take some effort, with the help of a long screwdriver he’s able to dislodge and then remove the nearest brick.

He uses the reverse nozzle on the jetting hose to once again try to hook the remaining brick that’s still in the drain, but the brick’s alignment makes it difficult to move. After some more work with the jetter, the brick does move somewhat, but still not in a way that allows him to remove it. Eventually, he decides to try to pull the brick back using a wet/dry vacuum, but the vacuum doesn’t seem to have enough suction power to sufficiently attach to the brick.

Oliver moves on to trying a large metal hook on the end of some flexible rods. While he is able to move the brick, he isn’t able to retreive it. With it eventually ending up in the city’s line, he calls the city to have their crew retreive it at some point.

In the home’s bathroom, he begins by jetting down the shower’s drain, to see if that can be used as an access point. Unfortunately, that doesn’t work, so he ends up drilling a hole through the toilet’s porcelain instead. Using that as an access point, he’s able to jet down along the bathroom’s branch line, and he pops the blockage. Much of the backed-up sewage in the shower drains away.

Using the camera through the access hole he drilled in the toilet, Oliver inspects the line and finds that some roots still remain after the initial jetting. He does some more jetting to get those all cleared away.

Once the drain line is clear of roots, he hoses down the more solid chunks of sewage remaining in the shower. He then affixes a rubber stopper to the toilet, to seal up the access hole he had drilled into it earlier. Some cardboard that had been placed down on the floor leading from the back door of the home to the bathroom is cleaned up, and then he uses an old towel to wipe up the water that remains on the tile floor. To confirm that the line is clear, a couple of successful toilet paper flush tests are performed.

Drain Addict — “Blocked Drain 936” — Clearing roots from a toilet branch line

Oliver (Drain Addict @ YouTube; Drain Go) has been called in by Isaac, a plumber, to help with a wastewater drain system where flushing an upstairs toilet causes a downstairs toilet to make a gurgling sound. There is what appears to be a vertical stack pipe along the outside wall of the building, and the drain line is thought to run below a concrete walkway next to the building.

From an inspection opening outside, Oliver starts by sending the drain camera down the line toward the toilets. Some small roots are seen along the way, with a more significant blockage being found some distance down the pipe. The pipe locator is used to find where the blockage is located, and markings are left on the concrete above the pipe using pink spray paint. Given the location relative to the building and the external vertical pipe, Oliver thinks there might be roots within the branch line leading to the toilet.

He moves the camera and jetting reel inside the bathroom. During a previous drain cleaning performed by somebody else, a large hole had apparently been smashed through the ceramic drain portion of the cemented-in toilet, and then covered up using duct tape. Oliver reuses this existing opening, and sends the camera down the toilet’s branch line. Some more roots are soon discovered in the pipe, and the pipe locator is used outside the building once again to find and mark where the obstruction is. The location suggests that the vertical pipe on the outside of the building may be a vent pipe, rather than the stack that the toilets are directly connected to.

They decide to jet the line from the outside inspection opening, and Oliver quickly clears away the roots. It appears as though they may be entering through an old inspection opening at the top of the pipe that is now inaccessible below the concrete walkway. While removing the jetting hose, he clears away some more roots that are observed coming in around another old inspection opening near a different branch line junction.

Isaac has to leave, but before he goes, he helps perform a toilet paper flush test. He flushes some toilet paper down the line, while Oliver watches at the inspection opening outside the building. While some water is observed flowing past the inspection opening, the toilet paper isn’t seen. Isaac performs another flush with more toilet paper, and the paper is clearly seen flowing by on this second attempt.

A small piece of cut-away root at the bottom of the inspection opening shaft is removed using a pincher on a long pole, and Isaac gives Oliver some duct tape he can use to patch up the hole in the toilet’s drain. A final visual inspection of the line is performed by feeding the drain camera through the hole in the toilet, confirming that the pipe is now clear.

Oliver clears away some of the existing tattered duct tape covering the hole in the toilet, and then patches it using the roll of duct tape that Isaac had given him. Another test of the toilet shows that it’s flushing fine, and then the inspection opening cover outside the building is screwed back in place.

Drain Addict — “Blocked Drain 937” — Roots in a sewage system

Oliver (Drain Addict @ YouTube; Drain Go) has been called in by Isaac, a plumber, to work on a bathroom sewage system that isn’t draining.

Isaac cuts out part of the vent pipe along the outside wall of the building to create an opening for accessing the sewage system, rather than having to use a nearby gully that is full of sewage.

Using this new access point, Oliver begins to jet the line. He eventually breaks through the blockage, and the backed-up sewage drains away. The drain camera is used to try to discover what the problem might have been, but there’s still some residual murky water remaining in the pipe. Isaac goes inside the bathroom and runs some cold water to try to make it easier to see using the drain camera. With the remaining sewage displaced by clear water, an inspection is performed using the drain camera. Evidence of roots is observed.

Oliver decides to jet up toward the toilet, to ensure that part of the system is clear. Isaac flushes some toilet paper down the toilet to help them determine how the toilet connects to the system. Even after a few flushes, dirty water is still coming past the camera. Oliver uses the camera to check up the line connecting to the bath tub and floor drain, and it seems clear, except for some roots that he is able to remove by hand. After some more water runs through the toilet connection, it eventually comes through clear.

The reverse nozzle is used to try to direct the jetting hose back up the pipe leading to the toilet, but the first attempt isn’t successful. The jetter accidentally causes Isaac, who’s in the bathroom near the toilet, to get splashed with some water. Another attempt at sending the hose back up toward the pipe leading to the toilet is successful, and Oliver jets away any roots that might be there.

Some further inspection of the system is performed using the drain camera, and more roots are discovered farther along. Oliver jets the line some more, and then the camera is used again to determine that it might be near an inspection opening. Roots and disjointed pipes are also noticed. The pipe locator is used to find this location, and it does appear to be at the inspection opening. The lid is removed, and the camera is observed in the pipe.

Oliver moves the jetting reel and the camera to this inspection opening, and performs some more jetting to clear up the roots that were observed earlier. He then moves the jetting reel to the boundary trap shaft’s inspection opening. While he jets from there to the earlier inspection opening, Isaac pulls the drain camera backward, capturing footage of how the reverse nozzle works to cut away roots. Eventually the nozzle reaches the inspection opening’s connection.

With the line now clear, Isaac performs a toilet paper flush test, but Oliver doesn’t notice the paper come through at the boundary trap. Just to be sure the system is clear, he ends up using a bucket to send more water and toilet paper through the system, while Isaac films at the boundary trap’s inspection opening. This test is successful.

Oliver replaces the gully’s lid, and then shows how Isaac has repaired the vent pipe that had been cut earlier, with the repaired segment now including an inspection opening in case access is needed in the future.

Drain Addict — “Blocked Drain 933” — Root blockage in a sewage pipe

Oliver (Drain Addict @ YouTube; Drain Go) is at a house with a backed-up sewage system.

In the yard, right next to the boundary trap inspection opening, is the stump of a large tree that has been cut down at some point. This suggests that there might be roots in the pipe.

Once the inspection opening lid is removed, there are a large number of flies inside the riser pipe, and roots are visible deeper within the pipe.

The hand lance is used to do some initial clearing of the roots that are visible in the shaft. That’s enough to pop the blockage, and the backed-up sewage begins to drain. The lance is then used to cut some of the roots that still remain. Eventually, Oliver puts his arm down into the shaft through the inspection opening, and manually pulls out a number of the root fragments.

After a brief inspection with the drain camera, a nozzle replaces the lance on the jetting hose, and it’s used to start clearing away the roots that are deeper within the system. While using the camera to check on the progress, some damage to the pipes is noted. More clumps of roots are also noticed throughout the drain.

Using the pipe locator, the point where the pipe leading back to the house switches between plastic and clay piping is found, and it’s marked above-ground using spray paint.

Some more jetting is done to clean up the remaining roots. Once they’re gone, Oliver rinses off some splatters on a wall near the inspection opening, and then has somebody inside the house flush the toilets. The water and some toilet paper pass through the system, indicating it’s flowing again.