This month has been the month for old drain cleaning signs from the 50’s still attached to basement ceiling rafters. Drains have had issues for years, older cast iron pipes were easily damaged by tree roots, while newer PVC pipes are rarely damaged by tree roots but often blocked by disposable diapers, feminine sanitary products and last but not least the overuse of toilet paper and so called flushable wipes.
New low water use toilets should not be used on older drains, they were designed for older toilets that would have a really good full flush of water to move the waste through the larger diameter pipes and into the sewer.
Water saving toilets often have such poor flush characteristics that it’s not only a problem for the newer smaller drains, it’s a problem just getting the flush to move the load out of the toilet bowl.
How times have 
changed since B&N Sewer Service would have attached this sign, probably a older guy in bib overalls and a helper in a Chevy van with a set of sewer cleaning rods that were pushed down the pipe to clear the undetermined blockage.
There were no cameras on scopes with a digital film of the blockage, no hydro jet sewer cleaners, no flushable locators that could be tracked on an iPad as they went through the pipes.
Back in S&K’s day, life just like houses, it was simpler.
Leave a Reply