A blocked toilet or shower is more than an inconvenience, especially if it is the only one in the house. We clear the blockage, check whether the problem is in the bathroom pipework or further down the drain, and tell you how to stop it happening again.
What we clear
- Blocked toilets
- Showers and shower trays that will not drain
- Baths and basins
- Soil stacks and waste pipes
- The outside drain and manhole the bathroom runs into
Common causes
- Wet wipes, including ones labelled flushable, which do not break down like toilet paper
- Hair and soap scum, which build up in shower and bath waste pipes
- Sanitary products, cotton buds and nappies flushed down the toilet
- Too much toilet paper in a drain with a poor fall or a damaged section
- A blockage further down in the outside drain, which backs up into the lowest toilet or shower first
If more than one thing is blocked
If the toilet, shower and sinks are all slow, or water comes up in the shower when the toilet is flushed, the blockage is usually in the main drain outside rather than in the bathroom. We check the manholes, clear the drain with rods or high pressure jetting, and use a CCTV camera if it keeps happening.
Old cast iron soil stacks
Older houses often have cast iron soil stacks that have corroded or scaled up inside, narrowing the pipe. We can descale them and coat the inside using Picote brush coating, which seals the pipe without taking it out of the wall. More on drain repairs.
Stop flushing and turn off the water to the cistern using the isolation valve on the pipe, usually a small screw you turn with a flat screwdriver. Then call us on 01775 720015.
