Blocked Drains and Drain Unblocking in Manchester
Sinks, baths, toilets and outside gullies cleared the same day, with a camera survey when a drain keeps blocking and you want to know why.
- Same day for most blockages reported before noon
- Emergency cover for overflowing drains
- Mechanical clearance, no chemicals
Drains cleared properly, and the cause explained
A blocked drain is one of the few plumbing jobs where the fix can be quick and the reason for it is still worth knowing. We clear the blockage on the day, usually within the first hour, and if it is the second time that drain has blocked we can put a camera down it and show you exactly why. Call 07343 065023 for a same-day visit or book a daytime slot through the contact page.
Inside the house
Kitchen sinks block with fat and food that has cooled in the trap and the first bend of the waste. Bathroom basins and showers block with hair and soap. Toilets block with wipes, whatever the packet says, and with the occasional toy. Most of these are cleared by hand with rods, a plunger or a drain snake through the trap, without dismantling anything, and the engineer will explain what came out and how to keep it from coming back. A basin that drains slowly and a tap that drips into it are two separate faults; our taps and toilets team can deal with the tap on the same visit, or our guide to how to stop a leaking tap shows you how.
Outside the house
Outside gullies and manholes are where the older pipework in Manchester shows its age. The clay drains under Victorian terraces in Chorlton and the pre-war semis in Didsbury and Prestwich have joints that have shifted a little over a century, and each one catches debris. Tree roots find the cracks. When rods cannot shift it, high-pressure water jetting will, and it scours the pipe wall at the same time so build-up takes longer to return.
If the water is coming up rather than going down, treat it as an emergency: sewage backing up into a bath or a gully overflowing towards the house is what our emergency plumber attends at any hour. Water escaping from a pipe rather than a drain is a different problem, and our guide to what to do when a pipe bursts covers that.
When we recommend a camera survey
Only when a drain has blocked more than once, before you buy a house, or when there is subsidence or a smell that a clearance does not remove. The survey is recorded, you receive the footage and a plain-English report of the defects and where they are, and the repair is quoted separately in writing. Everything else we do is on the plumbing hub.
Water coming up, not down?
Sewage in the bath or water rising from an outside gully is an emergency. Call and we attend around the clock.
Call 07343 065023Not urgent? Book a daytime slotHow a drain visit runs
- Stage 1
Locate the blockage
Which outlets are affected tells us whether it is a single waste, the internal stack or the drain outside.
- Stage 2
Clear it
Rods or a snake for simple blockages, high-pressure jetting for compacted fat, scale and roots.
- Stage 3
Prove the flow
Every affected outlet is run and the drain watched at the next manhole downstream.
- Stage 4
Explain the cause
What came out, why it built up, and whether a survey is worth it or not.
If more than one thing is draining slowly, it's the shared run, not the sink. Don't buy the chemical.
Rodding, jetting or a camera survey
We use the lightest method that will do the job, and explain why before starting.
Rodding
- Best for
- Simple blockages in traps and short runs
- Time on site
- Under an hour
- What you get
- A clear drain
High-pressure jetting
- Best for
- Fat, scale, roots and long external runs
- Time on site
- One to two hours
- What you get
- A clear, scoured pipe
CCTV survey
- Best for
- Repeat blockages, pre-purchase, subsidence
- Time on site
- One to two hours plus a written report
- What you get
- Recorded footage and a defect report
Drain clearance rates
- 01Inside the houseInternal blockage cleared, standard hoursFrom£95Sink, basin, bath, shower or toilet
- 02OutsideExternal drain jettingFrom£150Gullies, manholes and runs to the boundary
- 03When it keeps blockingCCTV drain survey with reportFrom£195Recorded footage and written findings
Indicative placeholder — confirm against /pricing before publishing. Out-of-hours callouts are charged at a higher rate, confirmed before dispatch.
Full pricing and what is includedMore plumbing services
- Emergency Plumber24-hour emergency plumber for Manchester and Greater Manchester. Burst pipes, leaks, no water, overflowing toilets and failed boilers, with an engineer on the way within 60 minutes.within 60 minutes
- 02Leaks and Burst PipesLeak tracing and burst pipe repair across Manchester. Ceiling stains, damp walls, dripping pipework and frost-split copper, found and fixed properly by qualified plumbers.
- 03Taps and ToiletsTap and toilet repairs across Manchester. Dripping and seized taps, cisterns that keep running, weak flushes, cracked pans and like-for-like replacements, done in a single daytime visit.
- 04Bathrooms and ShowersShower repair and bathroom plumber for Manchester homes. Showers not working, leaking baths, low pressure, thermostatic valves and like-for-like toilet or basin replacements, booked this week.
- 05Boiler and Hot WaterBoiler repair and hot water faults across Manchester. Gas Safe registered engineers for boilers that have stopped, lost pressure or run cold, plus cylinders, immersion heaters and pumps.
- 06Plumbing MaintenancePlanned plumbing maintenance for landlords, letting agents and businesses in Manchester. Scheduled checks, priority callouts, boiler servicing, gas safety records and one monthly invoice.
Ask me anythingQuestion 01 of 05Question 02 of 05Question 03 of 05Question 04 of 05Question 05 of 0501Is a blocked drain an emergency?
A toilet that will not flush in a home with one bathroom, sewage backing up into a bath or shower, or water rising from an outside gully towards the house all count, and we attend those around the clock through our emergency plumber service. A slow-draining basin or a gurgling sink can wait for a daytime visit at the standard rate, and we will tell you which is which on the phone.
02Which drains am I responsible for?
Since 2011 the water company has owned most shared sewers and the lateral drains beyond your boundary. You remain responsible for the pipework that serves only your property and sits inside the boundary. If the blockage turns out to be in a shared or public section we tell you, because United Utilities may clear it without charge, and we would rather lose the job than bill you for something you did not need.
03What causes drains to block repeatedly?
In the Victorian terraces of Chorlton and Levenshulme it is usually old clay pipes with displaced joints that catch fat and wipes, or tree roots from a street tree finding a crack. In newer builds it is more often a poorly laid run with a belly that holds water. A one-off clearance treats the symptom. A CCTV survey shows the cause, and we only recommend one when a drain has blocked twice.
04Do you use chemicals to clear drains?
No. Drain chemicals rarely shift a real blockage, they damage older pipework and they make the job hazardous for whoever opens the drain next. We clear blockages mechanically, with rods and a plunger for simple ones and high-pressure water jetting for compacted fat, scale or roots. Jetting also scours the pipe wall so the same build-up takes longer to return.
05Can you clear a drain in a flat or apartment block?
Yes, and we do a lot of it in Ancoats, the Northern Quarter and Salford Quays. Apartment blocks share soil stacks, so a blockage below your flat can affect several floors, and access to the stack often runs through communal risers and concierge. We liaise with the building manager, work within their access rules and invoice the responsible party, whether that is you, the freeholder or the managing agent.
Blocked today, cleared today
Daytime rates for planned visits, emergency cover around the clock, and no chemicals.
If more than one thing is draining slowly, it's the shared run, not the sink. Don't buy the chemical.
