Blocked drain: drain unblocking 24/7, with drain rods, jetting and camera

• Several outlets draining slowly at once: shower and basin, bath and kitchen.
• Water coming up in the shower or bath when you flush or empty the sink.
• Gurgling in other rooms, or a sewage smell coming up through the plugholes.
• The blockage comes back a few days after it was first cleared.
• The plunger does nothing and the water won't go down at all: the blockage is deep in the pipe.

Only one outlet blocked? The blockage is usually close by, in its trap: see blocked toilet or blocked sink.

• Stop running water anywhere in the home, and don't flush again.
• Don't start the washing machine or dishwasher: their pump-out sends more water into a drain that isn't emptying.
• Don't pour chemical drain cleaner into standing water: it won't reach a blockage further down, it just sits in the pipe and makes our job more hazardous.
• In a block of flats, if water is coming up from the stack, tell the property manager or the neighbours upstairs.

Shower and bath draining worse and worse

Hair and soap build up past the plughole, inside the pipe. We clean the shower trap where it can be reached, then run the auger through.

Shared waste pipe blocked

When the kitchen, bathroom and toilet share one pipe, a blockage there stops all of them. We locate it from the symptoms, then clear it.

Building stack

If water comes up in a flat because of the stack, the blockage is in the common parts. We can work for the building manager: see our page for property managers and businesses.

Outside drains and inspection chambers

Between the house and the sewer, waste water runs through an underground pipe with one or more inspection chambers. Grease, wet wipes or deposits can block it. We go in through the chamber and clear it with an auger or by jetting.

A blockage that keeps coming back

A blockage that keeps coming back has a cause: build-up in the pipe, something stuck, a poor fall or a faulty joint. To find it rather than clearing it again and again, we run a camera through.

A small camera on the end of a cable is pushed along the drain. It shows where the blockage is and what's causing it, without breaking anything.

You see the images with the technician and know what needs doing, and what it costs, before you decide. We suggest an inspection when a blockage resists or comes back. You hear its price first. Two options: the camera run on its own, or with a written report and photos, useful for your property manager or insurer.

The price depends on where the blockage is, access and the time of day. A camera inspection is priced separately, and only if it's useful.

You always hear the total including 17% VAT before we travel, nights and weekends included. See our prices.

For a slow drain, a simple fix sometimes does it. Scoop out any standing water and try these in order, without forcing anything.

1. Hot water and washing-up liquid — Squeeze washing-up liquid into the plughole, follow with a litre of hot water, leave it a few minutes and rinse. No boiling water on plastic (PVC) pipes: it can warp them.
2. Bicarbonate of soda and vinegar — Leave for 30 minutes, then flush with hot water. It helps with light build-up and smells, not with a stubborn blockage.
3. The plunger — Enough water to cover the cup, the overflow blocked with a damp cloth, then about ten firm pumps.
4. A hand drain snake — Feed the cable into the pipe while turning the handle. It reaches a few metres, not the building's stack or a pipe under the floor slab.

Call us if the water still won't go down, several outlets are affected, or a chemical drain cleaner has already been used. Avoid caustic soda and acid, and never mix two products. Step-by-step help is in our guide blocked drain: what to do.

• No cooking fat down the kitchen plughole: let it set and put it in the bin.
• A strainer over the shower drain catches hair.
• Only toilet paper goes down the toilet. Wet wipes, even "flushable" ones, don't break down fast enough and cause blockages further along.
• Regular maintenance: once a month, pour very hot (not boiling) water with a little washing-up liquid down the kitchen drains.
• A drain that blocks again and again can be cleaned out by jetting, so the pipes start clean.

Public Google reviews, shown in their original French.