Drain cleaning and unblocking in Sussex, Surrey & London
A blocked drain is rarely sudden. Fat, soap, silt and root hair build on the pipe wall over months until the bore is a fraction of what it should be, and then one ordinary Sunday is enough to close it completely. Which is why a drain that has blocked once will usually block again, and sooner.
Rodding punches a hole through the obstruction and the water runs away, so the job looks finished. Jetting strips the deposit off the full circumference of the pipe and flushes it out of the system. We do the second one, put a camera down afterwards, and show you what the run actually looks like — because a drain that keeps blocking in the same place has a reason, and it is usually a defect rather than anything that went down the sink.
Our approach
How we clear a blocked drain
Camera first wherever we can get one in, because how a drain is blocked decides how it should be cleared. Putting 3,000 psi through an old cracked clay run can turn a blockage into a collapse.
- 1
CCTV drainage survey
Where waste water is escaping rather than supply water, the fault is usually a cracked, displaced or root-invaded drain. The camera carries a sonde so we can mark the position of the defect on the surface above, and the footage doubles as evidence for an insurer or a neighbour dispute.
- 2
Mechanical rodding and drain snake
Not every drain wants 3,000 psi. An old, cracked or badly laid run can be made worse by jetting, and some access points simply will not take a jetting hose. Rods and a powered snake give a controlled mechanical clear, and are often the quickest answer to a blockage sitting within a few metres of a gully or chamber.
- 3
High-pressure water jetting
Rodding punches a hole through a blockage. Jetting removes it. The nozzle throws jets rearwards, which both propels it along the run and scours the full circumference of the pipe as it travels, so fat, silt, scale and root hair all come away rather than being pushed further down the system. It is the difference between a drain that runs today and a drain that runs next winter.
- 4
Chain knocker descaling and coring
Some deposits have effectively become part of the pipe. Scale in an old cast iron stack, concrete or grout run into a drain during building work, and hardened fat all resist jetting. A flexible shaft carrying a chain head spins inside the pipe and takes the deposit back to the wall without damaging the pipe itself, restoring the full bore rather than a channel through the middle of it.
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Pipe and cable tracing
Knowing where a pipe actually runs, as opposed to where the drawings say it runs, prevents the two most expensive mistakes on any leak job: digging in the wrong place, and putting a spade through a live service. We mark the route on the surface and record the depth.
What happens
Look, clear, check, report
The check afterwards is the part most people never get, and it is the part that tells you whether this was bad luck or a defect that will do it again.
- 1
Look
Camera down the nearest access point to find where the blockage sits, what it is made of, and what condition the pipe is in. If the run is full we clear enough to get the camera moving, then look properly.
- 2
Clear
Rods, a powered snake, high-pressure jetting or a chain knocker, chosen for the pipe rather than for our convenience. Fat and silt jet out; hardened scale and concrete have to be cut.
- 3
Check
The camera goes back down the cleared run. You see the bore restored, and you see any cracked joint, root ingress, displaced section or standing water that caused the blockage in the first place.
- 4
Report
Footage, the position of any defect marked on the surface with a sonde, and a written summary. Enough for your own records, an insurer, a managing agent or a sale.
Pricing
Published rates, no call-out fee
Charged by the half hour with a half an hour minimum, and no premium for an emergency. All prices exclude VAT at 20%.
- Weekdays7am – 6pm, Monday to Friday£54.00+ VAT
- Evenings & weekends6pm – 9pm weekdays, plus all day Saturday and Sunday£69.75+ VAT
- Late night9pm – 7am, every day£90.00+ VAT
Questions
Drain cleaning and unblocking: your questions
How much does it cost to unblock a drain?
Our published half-hourly rate applies, with a half-hour minimum, no call-out fee and no premium for an emergency. Most domestic blockages are cleared within the first hour, so a typical job is one or two units of time rather than a fixed price invented on the doorstep.
How quickly can you come out to a blocked drain?
The phone is answered 24 hours a day and we target a one-hour response where waste water is coming back into a property. A slow drain that is still running can usually be booked for the same day or the next morning.
What is the difference between rodding and jetting?
Rodding pushes a way through the blockage so the water runs again. Jetting fires water backwards at up to 3,000 psi through a nozzle that pulls itself up the pipe, scouring the full circumference and flushing the debris out of the system. Rodding buys you weeks. Jetting restores the pipe.
Will jetting damage my drains?
Not when it is used on the right pipe, which is exactly why we put a camera down first. An old clay run with open joints or an existing fracture can be made worse by high pressure, and those we clear mechanically instead.
Who is responsible for a blocked drain, me or the water company?
Broadly, pipes inside your boundary serving only your property are yours. Shared drains and the public sewer transferred to the water companies in 2011. A camera survey establishes which side of that line the blockage sits on, which matters because one of them you pay for and one you do not.
Do you clear blocked drains for landlords and managing agents?
Regularly. Blocks of flats, HMOs, restaurants and pubs make up most of our repeat drainage work. We invoice the agent directly, report in writing, and can set up a preventative jetting schedule for commercial kitchens where fat is the recurring cause.
Can you reach a drain with no manhole or access point?
Usually. We trace the run with a sonde and a locator to establish where it goes and how deep it is, and can often work from an internal stack, a gully or a rodding eye instead. Where a new access point is genuinely needed we will say so and price it before doing anything.
My drain keeps blocking in the same place. Why?
Because something is holding the debris. A displaced joint, a partial collapse, root ingress, a section laid at the wrong fall, or scale narrowing the bore. Clearing it again will work again, for a while. The camera survey is what turns a recurring annoyance into a specific repair.
Related services
- Drain and sewer leak detectionCCTV surveys of foul and surface water drains, with the defect located and marked on the surface above.
- Commercial leak detectionOffices, retail, hotels, schools, care homes and managed blocks, surveyed with minimum disruption to trading.
- Pipe location and mappingMapping where pipes and services actually run, and how deep, before anyone excavates or drills.
- Damp and mould surveysEstablishing whether you have a leak, rising damp, penetrating damp or condensation, because the fix for each is completely different.
Drain cleaning and unblocking near you
We cover 74 towns, cities and boroughs across Sussex, Surrey and London.
Sussex
Need drain cleaning and unblocking?
Call for free advice, or book a survey online. No call-out fee, and we will tell you honestly if you do not need us.