A drain that
runs again
Water rising in the sink, a bath that takes half an hour to empty, a smell coming up from the waste. A blockage can almost always be cleared without breaking anything open — the only questions are which tool, and how far from the outlet the trouble sits.
How we clear it
Two methods,
one camera
Method 01 · Machine rodding
A rotating flexible rod works through the blockage and breaks it up. It handles hair, cloth and hardened grease. Gentle on the pipe, so it suits flats and older systems.
Method 02 · High-pressure jetting
Water at high pressure scours deposits off the full circumference of the pipe, not just a hole through the middle. Used on longer runs and underground drains — the drain then stays clear far longer.
Check · Camera in the pipe
Shows whether the run is properly clear, and whether something worse is behind the blockage — a crack, a collapsed section or root ingress. Cleaning does not fix any of those.
Choosing the tool
It depends on what caused the blockage and how old the pipe is. You do not put high pressure into brittle cast iron.
We tell you the cause
If the same drain blocks three times a year, there is no point simply clearing it again — the fault is usually the fall, a narrowed bore or a cracked pipe.
A written record
We put in writing where exactly the blockage was. In a block of flats that makes the conversation with the managing agent much shorter.
Where we clear
From the sink
to the connection
Most calls are kitchen sinks. But the same tools go into everything from a shower gully to the underground run beneath the building.
- Kitchen sink. The single most common job. Congealed fat builds up on the pipe wall until only a thin channel is left.
- Bath, shower, basin. Hair and soap. Rodding is usually enough; with a shower gully we clean the trap as well.
- Toilet. Wet wipes, sanitary products, toys. The blockage tends to sit just behind the pan, so nothing has to come off the wall.
- Soil stack in a block of flats. When waste water backs up at a neighbour's below you. Cleared from the roof or the basement, agreed with the managing agent.
- Underground drains. The run through the basement and under the building out to the connection. Here jetting and a camera check earn their keep.
- Rainwater downpipes and gullies. Leaves and silt. A blocked downpipe will get into the render or the basement in the first real storm.
Tell us what is blocked and whether it has happened before. That is usually enough for us to know which tools to load.
FAQ
About drain cleaning
Will cleaning damage old pipework?
That is exactly why the method is chosen around the age and the material. Corroded cast iron that is holding together on deposits alone can start to seep once it is cleaned out — we tell you that in advance. It isn't caused by the cleaning; it's the condition of the pipe, which the cleaning merely reveals.
Who pays for it in a block of flats?
Roughly: anything beyond your flat in the shared stack is usually the building's or the managing agent's business, while a blocked trap or connecting pipe inside the flat is the owner's. We write down where exactly the blockage was, which makes it much easier to settle with the agent.
How often should drains be cleaned as a precaution?
In an ordinary household you don't need to think about it — just don't pour fat down the sink or flush wet wipes. For restaurants, commercial premises and blocks of flats with underground runs, regular cleaning does pay; we suggest an interval based on what the camera shows.
Not draining?
Give us a ring
Tell us what is blocked and whether it is the first time. That tells us which tools to bring.