Blocked toilet unblocking across all 32 London boroughs, for homes and commercial premises. Send the form to request a quote.
We fix a steady set of problems across London properties. We explain the cause first, because you should know why it happened before we agree any work.
Every visit follows the same steps. As a result, you get the same standard of work whether the job is a quick clearance or a detailed survey.
Stop flushing. Each flush on a blocked toilet pushes more water towards the rim and can flood the floor. Lift the cistern lid. If the pan is close to the rim, close the isolation valve or hold the float up so it cannot refill. Put towels around the base and keep children and pets out of the bathroom.
If the water level is low and only a little paper is involved, a flange plunger may clear it. Press it firmly over the outlet and try a few times. Avoid chemical drain cleaners in a toilet pan, because they can damage seals and older fittings. If two or three tries do nothing, or the water is rising, stop and send the form for a quote.
A blockage in the pan or trap affects one toilet only. The water rises slowly and drains slowly, while the other fixtures behave normally. A blockage further down the drain shows up differently. The toilet gurgles when you run a basin or bath, or more than one fixture backs up at once. Water in an outside gully after a flush points the same way.
When it is the drain, the fix is rodding or jetting along the run. See our blocked drains service and our drain unblocking service to learn how we clear those jobs. If the same toilet keeps blocking, a CCTV drain survey can show whether a displaced joint, a collapsed section or roots are catching waste.
The most common cause is flushing things that do not break down. These include wet wipes, even those labelled flushable, as well as cotton wool, sanitary products, cotton buds and paper towels. They collect in the trap or further down the run and build into a solid blockage. Too much toilet paper in one flush can do the same.
In older London homes, the toilet often joins the stack or lateral drain through a clay pipe. Joints that have shifted over the years can catch waste. An older cistern may also give a weak flush, so less water carries the waste along. Both make repeat blockages more likely, even in a careful household.
In a flat, the cause is often a shared soil stack rather than your own toilet. A stack in a converted house serves several floors, so a blockage can show up in more than one flat. Suspect the stack if your toilet clears briefly and then blocks again, or if your neighbours have the same problem.
Who pays for the work depends on where the blockage is and on your lease or tenancy. The owner, freeholder or managing agent usually deals with drains and stacks inside a building. The water company owns public sewers. If you rent, tell your landlord or managing agent first. We can attend and tell you where the blockage is, which helps you show the owner what went wrong.
Central London blocks often have one stack serving many fixtures. These include mansion blocks, conversions and mixed-use buildings. We cover Westminster, Camden, Islington, Kensington and the rest of central London, as well as every other borough. Access can be tight in older buildings, so tell us on the form if the toilet is in a basement or a shared building.
Restaurants, offices, hotels, care homes and schools see more blocked toilets, because people use the fixtures far more often. A blockage can put a washroom out of use. Please say on the form how many toilets are affected and whether other fixtures are backing up. We provide commercial toilet unblocking across London.
We unblock toilets in all 32 London boroughs. That includes terraced houses in Hackney and Islington and mansion blocks in Westminster and Kensington. It also covers converted houses in Lambeth, Wandsworth and Lewisham, and flats by the river in Tower Hamlets and Southwark. We cover outer boroughs such as Bromley, Croydon, Enfield and Barnet too.
Where we suspect a fault in the drain, we follow up with a CCTV drain survey. That way we avoid clearing the same blockage again and again.
We do not publish a fixed figure because it depends on those factors. Request a quote online and we will confirm the price with you.
We inspect the toilet, the trap and the reachable drain run. This shows whether the blockage sits in the fixture or further along the stack or lateral drain.
We use the method that fits. Drain rods suit blockages we can reach, while high-pressure jetting suits deeper blockages and grease build-up.
We test-flush the toilet and check the flow downstream before we leave. If we find a structural fault, we advise on next steps, including a CCTV survey.
The cost depends on the type of job. A standard home blockage costs differently from a commercial job, a difficult-access job or an urgent job out of hours. Request a quote online, and we will confirm the price with you before any work starts.
Stop flushing, because each flush adds water with nowhere to go. If the water is near the rim, turn off the isolation valve on the cistern supply if you can reach it. Put towels around the pan. A flange plunger is often enough for a blockage in the toilet itself. Make a seal over the outlet and push firmly. Avoid chemical cleaners in the pan, because they can damage older ceramic and seals. If it does not clear after two or three tries, ask for help.
If only the toilet is slow or overflowing, the blockage is usually in the pan or close to it. Look at the other fixtures too. If the sink, bath or shower drains slowly or gurgles when you flush, the blockage is probably further down. Water rising in an outside gully points the same way, and a plunger will not reach it.
A fault in the shared soil stack often causes repeat blockages in flats. A partial blockage in the stack can affect every floor. Other causes include a weak fall in the pipe and older cisterns with a low flush volume. Items that should not be flushed can also build up in the run. A CCTV check of the stack can find the root cause.
That depends on what caused the blockage and where it sits. A blockage in the pan or trap is usually quicker to clear than one further along the drain or in a shared stack. We test the flush and the flow downstream before the job ends. Request a quote online to arrange a visit.
One blocked toilet in a home with several bathrooms is a nuisance, but not usually an emergency. Treat it as an emergency if it is your only toilet. Do the same if waste is backing up or overflowing, or if there is a sewage smell indoors. In those cases, you need urgent attendance.