Blocked drains are a widespread problem on construction sites. In fact, it seems that the building industry actually expects that the drains will get blocked during the course of the building project, because it’s common for jetting and camera surveys to be carried out at the end of every project as standard.
Why do the drains get blocked so frequently during construction?
Well, common ways are when telehandler forklifts or dumpers damage the lids of inspection chambers, allowing for the ingress of dirt, rubble and all kinds of debris to fall into the drains below. This can then wash down the pipe runs when it rains, and this will soon block the drains up.
Sometimes other tradespeople might remove inspection chamber lids or damage them for example, scaffolders might install scaffolding over the top of the manhole cover, which could cause damage.
What problems can blocked drains cause?
One of the main problems with blocked drains is the cost of clearing them. Workers often have to lie on the ground, bending into the inspection chamber to manually dig them out, or using a suction excavator or road sweeper to suck the debris out on deeper chambers. Then there is the cost of jetting drains out, which can be a huge task if they are all clogged up across a large site. All of this is also time-consuming, so can delay a building project.
Another issue, particularly on housebuilding sites, is where part of the site might be occupied by homeowners, who will be unhappy to find that their drains keep blocking up because of blocked pipes in the next phase of the building project. This can have a big negative impact on a developer’s reputation.
The other concern is the unknown of what might end up getting into the drains and what damage it could do. If drains are damaged by rubble or sharp objects that have fallen in, replacing parts of the drainage system is an expensive but often unavoidable task for groundwork contractors.
Surely it would be better to stop the rubble, dirt and rubbish from getting into the drains in the first place!
This is why we have worked over the past couple of years on inventing and testing a new system to keep drains from getting blocked.
Meet the MuckStopper!
So here is how to stop your drains from getting blocked during a building project.
When you install your drainage inspection chambers, install a MuckStopper 450 into each one. You simply push them into the first riser section and then complete the rest of the drainage installation as usual.
Now, if any inspection chambers get damaged, or anything falls into them, the MuckStopper will catch it and prevent it from getting into the pipes below. The pipes beneath it will still function as intended without obstructing their flow. The great thing about the MuckStopper 450 is that we’ve designed it to fit all major brands of inspection chambers, including Polypipe, Wavin and Brett Martin, to name a few.
During the building project, you can conduct regular inspections to see whether anything has fallen in; if it has, you can pull the MuckStopper up using the purpose-built pole that we supply, empty the muck out and then replace it.
When the project is coming to completion, which could be several months or even a year later, you can remove the MuckStopper for the last time just before you set the manhole cover and frame in place. Then you can take the MuckStopper on to your next project to keep the drains clear again!
Written by
Mark Chambers
Marketing Manager
As Marketing Manager, Mark plays an active role in running strategic projects to increase our brand profile.
