Ask Mrs. Clean: House Cleaning, Stain Removal and Organizing Tips

[poppy_dance]

Hi there
I'm new here!
I have a recurring problem with drains - we have a manhole cover on our driveway and when the drains get blocked, there is no warning from inside, the first we know about it is when liquid is flowing down the drive!! Obviously, this manhole is covering the stuff that goes to a foul sewer (rain and foul water go to the same place in my area in the UK), so when it rains, I have no way of telling whether the drain is clear because the whole drive becomes wet! I have tried placing a plastic shower curtain over the manhole, and that kept it dry, so I could lift the curtain after heavy rain and know that the drain had not overflowed, if that makes sense? Anyway, the curtain blew off and I can't think of a more permanent solution so I am just assuming that a leak has occurred whenever it rains. It upsets me greatly as I am huge on hygiene. I have banned shoes from the main body of the house - people leave them in the 'hall' of our house. The thing is, the hall has to be crossed in order to get to the stairs and into the lounge (small house), so people walk in the house in shoes, take them off in the hall but then we walk through where they have crossed in their shoes, thus rendering it very difficult to prevent any potential germs from this wretched drain! I mop the hall daily, twice daily, but can't keep up with everyone passing through.
If the driveway path is dry with no residue (there was never any residue, it was just water based sewage), can I assume that the risk of nasty germs is minimal? And if I mop with bleach and hot water downstairs and hoover upstairs regularly, am I doing enough to prevent an infestation should a drain back-up occur again?

I did everything I could the last time it leaked, I disinfected the driveway and backyard, plus scrubbed all carpets and floors. I went truly overboard. I cleaned all our shoes, all cushions and bedding went in hot washes, cleaned the couches, tables, ornaments. I cleaned EVERYTHING that might have touched the floor at some point, even though I keep the floor very clean. I even went through the wardrobe and cleaned all the clothes. It was completely over the top considering there was no sewage directly in the house.

[mrscleannw]

Hello poppy_dance and welcome to Mrs. Clean's Forum!
I need to ask a few more questions before I can reply with a possible solution. In the U.K. does the government take care of the storm drains/sewer drains or is this your responsibility? I am asking because the first and best way to deal with this issue would be to fix the drainage system. In the U.S., if the sewer backs up, you call the utility company and they will come out and fix it. It seems, from what you are telling me that it is not functioning properly.
Any solution that I can offer at this point, would be to clean up the mess after versus preventing the problem in the first place. If you cannot fix the drainage problem, let me know and I will let you know of some possible solutions to cleaning up after! Hopefully I can save you some time and give you a solution that is more manageable!
Mrs. Clean

[poppy_dance]

Hi Mrs Clean!
The problem has been fixed, apparently. The blockage was fixed, so I cleaned everywhere and that was that. But then during a heavy rainstorm, I noticed a bad small and water flooding from the manhole. The drain was still blocked, so I had to clean everywhere AGAIN! The problem has now been fixed again, the guys came out and smashed a load of bricks away from the entrance to the drain, so more could get through if that makes sense? There has been no evidence of another leak- I've kept a good eye on it, but I can't help but panic that when it rains heavily, there may be a 'trickle' from the manhole that I wouldn't be able to see because the whole drive is wet anyway. So, yeah, I don't know that the drain is working properly but there is no evidence that it isn't. The point is that I don't want to have to disinfect everywhere if I discover the wretched thing has blocked again, so shoes aren't allowed into the main part of the house. Ideally, I'd prefer to be proactive as you suggest, but it seems there's no predicting the functionality of this drain! So I just don't know what else I can do to make sure there are minimal germs in the house! As I said, there's no evidence of sewage on the driveway, and I suppose this risk is the same with everyone - no one knows when their drains are going to overflow.
I would just like to know what I can do to keep the germs at bay.

[mrscleannw]

It sounds like you, hopefully have your issue solved with the drain. To answer your question about how to keep the germs at bay, you can try hydrogen peroxide and then vinegar. A link is attached to a site that explains how to use these non-toxic products.

http://www.ehow.com/how_2072242_nontoxi ... ctant.html

These common household products are also a very inexpensive solution for cleaning a large area. They are easy to use and are likely already in the house and ready to use if the problem arises. I hope this helps you feel a little better about keeping the germs down.

For your driveway and outside area you could use a bottle that fits onto your garden hose and fill it with either one of those products and hose off your driveway to keep it from being tracked into your house.

I hope this helps. Let us know how it all works out.

Mrs Clean

[nelsonclassic]

Hello friend,
To get rid out of germs at bay you can try vinegar it's really effective.
For further problems I need to visit the site or need to see the pictures.So if you can send me pictures, or contact to local plumber because he can suggest you best after a proper inspection.

Regards,
Nelson
Sewer And Drain Cleaning