A blocked drain can show up as slow-draining water, gurgling sounds, unpleasant smells, or in more serious cases, water backing up and overflowing. We clear blocked drains across Cheam and Sutton for both external and internal drainage.
External drains commonly block due to leaves, silt, grease, or root ingress from nearby trees, while internal drains more often block due to food waste, fat, wipes or hair. An engineer will usually be able to tell from the symptoms which part of the system is affected before deciding on the best method to clear it.
If a blockage keeps returning despite being cleared, it is often worth having a CCTV survey to understand the underlying cause rather than repeatedly clearing the symptom.
Signs of a blocked drain
- Slow-draining sinks, baths or showers
- Gurgling sounds from plugholes or the toilet
- Unpleasant smells from drains or outside gullies
- Water backing up or pooling around an outside gully
- Multiple fixtures affected at the same time
Common causes
Fat, oil and grease solidifying inside pipes, wipes and sanitary items that do not break down, leaves and silt collecting in external gullies, and tree root ingress into older clay pipework are all common causes we see across the area.
What we do to clear a blockage
Rodding
A traditional and effective method for clearing many blockages, using flexible rods to break up and push through the obstruction.
High-pressure jetting
Used for more stubborn blockages or grease build-up, jetting clears the full width of the pipe rather than just punching a hole through the blockage.
CCTV investigation
Where a blockage recurs or the cause is unclear, a camera survey can identify issues like root ingress or a collapsed section of pipe.
How charging works
Blocked drain clearance is charged at our daytime drainage rate, with a one hour minimum and 30 minute increments after that. See /our-rates for current pricing.
