{"id":11621,"date":"2025-11-27T04:43:10","date_gmt":"2025-11-27T04:43:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bdsdrainage.co.uk\/blog\/?p=11621"},"modified":"2025-11-27T04:43:10","modified_gmt":"2025-11-27T04:43:10","slug":"case-study-using-jetting-unit-cctv-drainage-camera-manhole-keys","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bdsdrainage.co.uk\/blog\/case-study-using-jetting-unit-cctv-drainage-camera-manhole-keys\/","title":{"rendered":"Case Study: Using a Jetting Unit, CCTV Drainage Camera & Manhole Keys"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

If you\u2019ve ever lived in London, you\u2019ll know our drains have a mind of their own. One week everything is flowing beautifully, and the next week you\u2019re wondering why your garden smells like something out of a horror film. This job was one of those situations. A customer called us about an overflowing outside manhole, and honestly, if you\u2019ve ever walked past one of those when it\u2019s backed up, you\u2019ll know it\u2019s not the sort of smell you forget.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thankfully, drain unblocking is what we\u2019ve been doing since 2009, so we were more than ready for it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Problem<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A Fully Charged Manhole With No Visible Entry or Exit Points<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

When we arrived at the property in London, the first issue was obvious before anyone even spoke: the foul smell. The client mentioned that waste had started to creep out from the sides of the manhole, and that was understandably their biggest worry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What made this job tricky wasn\u2019t just the blockage itself \u2014 it was the fact the chamber was completely full. You couldn\u2019t see where the water was meant to come in or go out. Imagine trying to fix a drain while staring at a manhole full to the brim and thinking, \u201cRight\u2026 where do we even start?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s where experience and the right tools make all the difference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Investigating the Blockage Using Drain Rods and CCTV<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Before we even thought about using the jetter, we needed to figure out where the system flowed. So the team started by using drain rods to gently probe the chamber. It\u2019s always a bit like being a detective \u2014 you poke around, gather clues, and eventually the pipes reveal what\u2019s going on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following the direction of the rods, we located another manhole further along the line, and this one was empty. That confirmed the blockage was somewhere in the run between the two chambers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At this point, the specialised CCTV drainage camera came out. If you\u2019ve never seen one in action, it\u2019s surprising how much it helps. You can literally watch the blockage on-screen, see cracks, see fat deposits, wipes, roots \u2014 you name it. And in this case, the camera let us pinpoint exactly where the pipe was blocked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Clearing the Blockage Using a High-Pressure Jetting Unit<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Once we knew where the trouble was hiding, we brought out the jetting unit. High-pressure water jetting is one of those things people always imagine as dramatic \u2014 like blasting a fire hose down a hole \u2014 but the reality is much more controlled. It cuts through the blockage bit by bit until the flow starts returning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We continued jetting until the fully charged manhole finally began to drop. And once it started moving, it cleared beautifully. The whole system began to flush itself through again, which is always a satisfying sight, especially when the customer has been stressed about smells and overflowing waste.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To be sure everything was properly cleared, we gave it another short burst with the jetter, just to tidy up the last bits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Double-Checking Everything With CCTV & Functional Tests<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A drain might look<\/em> clear, but we never rely just on appearances. So, after jetting, we put the CCTV camera back in the pipework to check the condition of the line. No cracks, no remaining obstructions, no cause for concern. Exactly what we like to see.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Next, we ran the indoor taps for a few minutes and flushed the toilets several times. Everything flowed perfectly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Only then did we put the manhole cover back on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Project Photos<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n
\"Manhole<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Manhole<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Manhole<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Client Feedback<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Relief, Short Notice Service & A Job Done Right<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The client was genuinely pleased \u2014 not just because the job was completed, but because we came out at short notice. They said they were impressed with how well the job was handled and that it was done \u201cso well\u201d considering the state the manhole was in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Honestly, comments like that really do make our day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why This Job Mattered<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Aside from the unpleasant smells and the overflow, a fully blocked manhole can cause real damage to a property if left untreated. Wastewater can seep into foundations, cause damp, attract pests, and let\u2019s be real \u2014 nobody wants that outside their back door.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Having the right tools (jetting machine, CCTV camera, manhole keys) and a team that knows how to use them properly means the job gets done safely, cleanly and quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another Successful Drain Unblocking Across London & The South East<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Since 2009, BDS Drainage has been helping homeowners and businesses across London with everything from blocked sinks and toilets to major drainage investigations. We\u2019re highly rated on Google and Trustpilot for good reason \u2014 we show up, we solve the problem, we tidy up, and we don\u2019t leave until everything is working the way it should.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Need Help With a Blocked Drain?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019ve got foul smells, overflowing chambers, slow sinks, or drains that just aren\u2019t behaving, give us a call. We cover all of London and the South East \u2014 including Essex, Kent, Surrey and the surrounding areas.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you\u2019ve ever lived in London, you\u2019ll know our drains have a mind of their own. One week everything is flowing beautifully, and the next week you\u2019re wondering why your garden smells like something out of a horror film. This job was one of those situations. A customer called us about an overflowing outside manhole, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11629,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11621","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-case-study"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bdsdrainage.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11621","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bdsdrainage.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bdsdrainage.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bdsdrainage.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bdsdrainage.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11621"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bdsdrainage.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11621\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bdsdrainage.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11629"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bdsdrainage.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11621"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bdsdrainage.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11621"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bdsdrainage.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11621"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}