Drain unblocking, drain surveys and relining in Malta

Most blockages are cleared with rods or with a high-pressure water jetter that breaks up fat, wet wipes, silt and roots. Jetting is quick, but it only removes what is in the pipe. If the pipe itself is cracked, displaced at a joint or has roots growing through it, the blockage tends to come back.

That is where a CCTV drain survey comes in. A camera on a cable or crawler travels through the drain and records its condition. A proper survey report includes the recording, a written description with distances along the pipe, and a sketch or plan of the drain run. Home buyers sometimes order one before exchanging contracts on an older house, particularly where there are large trees near the drains.

Damaged pipes can often be repaired from the inside. Relining inserts a resin-soaked liner that hardens into a new pipe within the old one; patch repairs fix individual defects. Where a pipe has collapsed, excavation may still be the only option.

Blocked drains are often urgent, and urgent jobs are where price disputes start. If you invite a trader to your home for urgent repairs, the usual cooling-off right for contracts agreed at home does not apply to that repair. Agree the call-out charge, the hourly or fixed rate and what counts as extra work before the van arrives, and ask for it in a text or email.

Be wary of a clear-then-survey-then-reline sequence being sold in one visit under pressure. If the drain runs freely after jetting, you can take the survey recording away and decide on repairs later.

• which fittings are affected: one sink, all downstairs drains, the whole house
• whether water is coming up in an inspection chamber, a gully or inside
• whether neighbours have the same problem
• if you know it, where the inspection chambers are and whether you can lift the covers safely
• whether you need clearing only, or a CCTV survey with a written report
• for businesses: kitchen grease traps, opening hours and access

Most household blockages come from a short list of causes: cooking fat and oil poured down the sink, wet wipes and other items flushed down the toilet, and tree roots finding their way into old clay pipes. Chemical drain cleaners rarely shift a solid blockage and can make the drainage company's work more hazardous. Food businesses often have extra duties on grease management that their water company can explain.

Whether the refit needs a development permit from the Planning Authority depends on what is built and where; in apartment blocks, the rules of the condominium also apply. Ask before you commit, and let the business tell you which documents it needs from you.

Electrical installation work is carried out by licensed electricians; ask to see the licence and the certificate for the finished installation. Maltese businesses are registered with the Malta Business Registry, so ask for the company registration and VAT numbers, and check whether the quote includes VAT.

Source: mbr.mt

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