Drain Cleaning and Drain Clearance in London
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Drain cleaning, or drain clearance, is for drains that still run but run slowly, gurgle or smell: kitchen and bathroom wastes, soil stacks, outside gullies and the shared runs under houses and flats. Call 07861 933265 to book, or at any hour if it has started to back up. There is no call-out fee, and our work carries a 12-month guarantee. If the drain has stopped completely, see blocked drain.
How a drain is cleaned
- Rodded, then jetted. Rods break up what is in the pipe; water carries it away and scours the walls. Rodding on its own leaves a channel through the fat, and the drain blocks again within months.
- The right head for the job. A rotating cutter for root hair, a descaling head for fat, a straight nozzle for silt.
- Checked afterwards. Where a run keeps blocking, a camera survey through the cleaned pipe shows whether it is cracked, displaced or dipped.
- No caustic chemicals. Drain crystals in standing water leave a hot caustic pool for the next person to work through. We clear mechanically or with water.
Houses, flats and shared drains
Converted flats stack modern bathrooms onto Victorian waste stacks never sized for them, and many terraces share one drain along the back of the row. Inside your boundary, a drain serving only your property is yours; Thames Water says sewers shared with neighbours are its responsibility, even under gardens. In a block or conversion, the freeholder or the leases usually decide who pays for the private part. We work out which before anyone pays.
Staying ahead of it
Most cleaning in London is about two things: fat building up in the long, shallow waste runs that kitchen extensions create, and roots growing into old clay joints. Roots come back every year, so a drain near mature trees is better cleaned on a schedule than cleared in an emergency. Keeping a private drain clear also reduces how badly a storm surge in the sewer affects you.
Areas we cover
One rate card for all of these areas, with no extra charge for distance. Every area page lists the streets it covers.
Questions people ask
What is the difference between drain cleaning and unblocking?
Unblocking gets water moving again in a drain that has stopped. Cleaning takes a drain that still flows but slowly, and strips the fat, silt or root hair lining it so the full bore is back. If yours gurgles and drains slowly, cleaning is the job, before it turns into the other one.
My drain keeps blocking. Why?
A drain that blocks in the same place has a physical cause, such as fat building up, roots at a clay joint, scale, or a dipped section that holds water. Cleaning deals with the build-up; a camera survey shows whether there is damage underneath.
Can I clear it myself first?
For one slow sink, yes. Use a proper plunger, or take the trap off and empty it. If several fittings back up together, or an outside gully is overflowing, stop and call, because every further flush adds to what has to come back out.
Do chemical drain cleaners work?
On hair in a basin trap, sometimes. On a fat-lined underground drain, no; they cool, set below the blockage and add to it, and they make the drain hazardous for whoever opens it next.
How often should drains be cleaned?
A household drain, only when it shows symptoms. A run with known root intrusion, about once a year. A shared rear run behind a row of Victorian terraces, every couple of years is sensible.
How much does drain cleaning cost in London?
There is no call-out charge. It is £110 for the first hour, then £45 for each additional half hour, plus the cost of parts, and the same at any hour of the day or night.
Sources
- Sewer pipe responsibility, Thames Water