What Are Drainage Maintenance Services and Do You Need Them
An overview of drainage maintenance services for homeowners, landlords and commercial property managers in London and Essex.
Drainage maintenance covers the routine checks and cleaning that keep a drainage system working properly, rather than the reactive call outs made once something has already gone wrong.
What falls under drainage maintenance
Drainage maintenance is a broad term that can include drain unblocking, high pressure jetting, CCTV drain surveys, drain descaling, gully clearance and pump servicing. The common thread is that the work is planned rather than triggered by an emergency.
For a single home this might mean an annual jet of the kitchen waste and a check of the outside gullies. For a commercial site or block of flats, it usually means a scheduled programme covering several drain runs and access points.
Why property managers rely on it
Commercial property managers are often responsible for shared drainage serving multiple units, and a blockage in one section can affect several tenants at once. Scheduled maintenance reduces the chance of a shared drain failing during business hours or over a weekend.
Landlords with multiple properties face a similar issue on a smaller scale. A tenant reporting a blocked drain is disruptive and can delay other work, so many landlords prefer to have drains checked and cleaned between tenancies.
What a typical maintenance visit includes
- Inspection of accessible drain runs, gullies and manholes
- Removal of silt, leaves and debris from external gullies
- High pressure jetting of runs prone to grease or scale build up
- CCTV drain survey where a full internal check is needed
- Checks on drain pumps where fitted
How often maintenance is needed
There is no single answer, since it depends on the type of property, the age of the drainage system and how it is used. Commercial kitchens and busy communal drains generally need more frequent attention than a single domestic property with well maintained pipework.
A CCTV survey is a useful starting point if you are unsure, since it shows the current condition of the pipework and helps decide a sensible interval for future visits.
Getting started
If you manage a property portfolio or a commercial site and want to move away from reactive call outs, our team can carry out an initial survey and recommend a maintenance schedule suited to the site. We also remain available for 24 hour emergency call outs across London and Essex should anything arise between visits.