Many people become very confused when it comes to understanding the definition of, and the difference between, a gully, a drain and an inspection chamber. Of course, this confusion doesn’t matter too much in the normal course of events, but when it comes to trying to explain a problem to a plumber over the phone, or trying to order materials from a plumber’s merchant, understanding and clarity are everything. Greenford Plumbers can identify these items.

Gullies.

A gully is a grid covered, water filled trap like a U-bend that you can see at the open end of the drainage system. Or put another way, it’s the bit somewhere outside the kitchen that takes the waste water from the kitchen sink, or the bit that you see at the bottom end of rainwater pipe (and which keeps getting blocked with leaves). A Greenford Plumber understands drains.All gullies need servicing, but it is the kitchen waste gully that you need to keep a special watch on, because it is prone to getting blocked by the remnants of food, etc. In older houses, there is often a two part drainage system. Wastewater runs down one pipe system, and sewage from the toilet runs down a dedicated soil pipe. The waste water from the upstairs bath tub and bathroom wash basin runs into a funnel shaped hopper (usually seen on the outside wall somewhere near the bathroom window), down the waste pipe and into a grid covered gully. There it is joined by waste water from the kitchen sink, and moves on to an inspection chamber and into the sewer. The waste from the toilet runs down its own dedicated stack or soil pipe straight into the inspection chamber, where it is washed on its way by the wastewater from bathroom and kitchen. In the newer houses, there is usually a single stack system. The waste from the baths, washbasins, kitchen sink and toilet’s run down the same large diameter pipe. Sometimes the water from the kitchen sink discharges directly into its own trapped gully.
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