GB2491838A

GB2491838A - Device for clearing blockages and cleaning pipe work

Info

Publication number: GB2491838A
Application number: GB201109862A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Robert Mackenzie
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2011-06-13
Filing date: 2011-06-13
Publication date: 2012-12-19
Also published as: GB201109862D0

Abstract

The invention relates to a device for clearing blockages and cleaning pipe work by means of water pressure. The device comprises a conduit 2 connected to a water source i.e. a tap at one end and a hand held sealing means 3 at the other end which is held over a drain plug until the blockage is cleared. A valve may be fitted at the sealing means end to control the flow of water.

Description

Hydra Clear This invention relates to a device for clearing blockages and cleaning pipe work.

Blocked drains are a common problem experienced by most people on the planet with indoor plumbing, blockages occur in kitchen sinks, bathroom sinks, shower trays & baths to name but a few, or the problem could be a slow draining pipe work with a partial blockage.

There are a number of recognised ways to clear these blockage's, during my years owning a Corgi registered business I used all or most of the usual methods with varying success rates.

The pipes under a sink, shower or bath can be manually disconnected and cleaned, but this can prove difficult for the homeowner or a diy person without appropriate technical skill, especially if some of the pipe work has been boxed in and is inaccessible. Hand held plungers can be used but these often fail to clear blockages effectively in my experience and only apply pressure to a blockage momentarily. Suction pump plungers use a similar method to traditional plungers but with a hand pumped action, they are not particularly effective in my experience. Draining rods/wires, in particular some of the thin metal rotational type are used for domestic sinks but often cannot turn sharp corners that are experienced in some pipe work layouts found in domestic situations. Chemicals can be used but they are polluting, cannot be re used once they are down the drain, and have the potential to cause burn injuries, also they take some time to work, they are often more effective when left overnight.

While trying to clear a stubborn blockage in a bathroom sink that didn't respond to any plunger or chemical means of unblocking, and also had boxed in pipe work with tight bends proving impossible to get access to disconnect or use rods, I developed my own tool which I have described as Hydro Clear, this proved faster & more effective in clearing the aforementioned blockage than any previous means I have seen available to purchase on the UK market or anything I had seen available to buy Worldwide over the internet.

The Hydro Clear comprises of an attachment to a source of water, a length of conduit to convey the water from the water source to a sealing piece that is manually held onto the start of the pipe work. For example, the attachment to water source can be in the form of a rubber tap connector to connect a length of conduit or clear hose pipe to a manually held sealing piece, the hand held sealing piece is held on top of the blocked sink grill, the tap is then turned on and the water from the tap flows through the pipe work, the water supply with sustained pressure and agitation from the flow volume of water quickly and effectively erodes away any blockages till clear.

Unlike different forms of plungers that apply pressure momentarily, the Hydro Clear hand held sealing piece can be comfortably held over any sink grill, shower or bath trap for several minutes, applying constant pressure with little or no physical exertion. It is not limited like rod/wire cleaners by sharp degree bends as water can flow around any series of sharp bends easily. It has no polluting effect unlike chemical cleaners and doesn't need to be left overnight for maximum effect, it is also has the advantage of being re usable. Hydro Clear can be used with a different sealing piece on the end of the flexible conduit pipe to clear blocked WC's with the same method.

On the accompanying diagram Figure 1. show's a Hydro Clear device suitable for domestic kitchen & bathroom sinks, shower tray grills/traps and baths. On figure 1, part no.1 is a tap connector, part no.2 a length of clear flexible hose pipe, part no.3 a sealing piece designed to give an effective temporary seal when held manually by hand over a sink grill, shower trap or bath outlet.

Figure 2. Shows a Hydro Clear device suitable for clearing blockages in a WC. On figure 2 part no.1 represents the tap connector, part no.2 a tightening device to seal the tap connector to appropriate tap or end of shower hose, part no.3 a length of flexible conduit, part no.4 is a sealing piece designed to give an effective temporary seal in a WC, in order to flush through a blockage.

Similar concepts to the Hydro Clear are the Drain Clear Power Drain Cleaner by Trademark HomeTM, but this concept differs in the fact that the end piece uses a water jet pushed down a sink grill to clear a blockage and not a sealing piece held on top of a grill like the 1-lydro Clear concept, in practice the Drain Clear Power Drain Cleaner by Trademark HomeTM would allow water to flow back up into the sink if it met a large blockage as it does not create a seal at the grill or start of pipe work, the Hydro Clear is fundamentally different in design as it creates a seal & relies on sustained water pressure with flow of water eroding blockages, as opposed to small jet of water striking a blockage with the Drain Clear Power Drain Cleaner by Trademark HomeTM.

Also a product called Drain King' uses a piece that is attached to a garden hose using regular click lock fittings, the Drain King fitting clears pipe work by use of water but the fitting must be pushed inside a piece of pipe, which means disconnecting the pipe work, pushing the Drain King fitting inside, waiting for the rubber sealing piece to expand before water flows down the pipe. The Hydro Clear concept has the advantage of not requiring a separate garden hose pipe and fittings, and not having to disconnect your pipe work to clear a blockage. The sealing piece is simply held over the offending grill or trap.

Claims

Claims 1. A device to clear blockages and clean pipework using water, comprising of an attachment to a source of water, a length of conduit to convey the water from the water source to a sealing piece that is manually held onto the start of the pipework.
2. A device to clear blockages that contains a valve to control water flow at the sealing piece end where the pipework starts if a distance from the primary water source control.
3. A device to clear blockages in pipework using water, that incorporates a manually hand held sealing piece to cover kitchen & bathroom sink grills, shower & bath traps.
4. A device to clear blockages in pipework using water, that incorporates a manually hand held sealing piece to create a seal in a WC.