Is a Blocked Drain an Emergency? When to Call 24/7

When is a blocked drain an emergency?

A blocked drain is an emergency when it is putting your health, your home or your business at risk right now. If sewage is coming back into the property, water is spreading towards electrics, or you have no working toilet, it should not wait until tomorrow.

Call a drainage engineer straight away if any of these apply:

• Sewage is backing up through a toilet, shower, bath or floor drain.
• An outside drain or manhole is overflowing onto a path, garden or driveway, or towards the house.
• Your only toilet is blocked and will not clear with a plunger.
• Water is near electrics, such as sockets, an appliance or the consumer unit.
• A commercial kitchen’s drains are blocked, so washing up or food preparation cannot continue safely.
• Water is coming in through a basement or lower-ground floor, especially during heavy rain.
• Someone vulnerable lives in the home, such as a young baby, an older person or someone who is unwell, and the toilet or drains are out of action.

Sewage carries bacteria and viruses, so backflow into a home is a health hazard as well as a mess. The sooner the drain is cleared, the less cleaning and damage there is afterwards.

When can a blocked drain wait for a booked appointment?

A blocked drain can usually wait for a booked appointment when only one fitting is affected, the water is draining (even if slowly), and you have another working toilet. In those cases, booking a convenient slot is often the sensible choice.

Online bookings let you choose a day and a three-hour window: morning (9am to 12pm), afternoon (12pm to 3pm) or late afternoon (3pm to 6pm). If a slow drain gets worse before your appointment, you can still call us at any time.

What should you do while you wait for an engineer?

While you wait, stop water going into the blocked drain, keep people away from any dirty water, and protect your belongings. These simple steps stop the problem getting worse.

1. Stop using water. Do not flush, run taps, shower or use the washing machine or dishwasher, as all of it drains into the same pipe. Ask everyone in the household, and neighbours if you share a drain, to do the same.
2. Turn off the water if needed. If an appliance or pipe is still feeding water in, close the stopcock.
3. Keep children and pets away from the affected room and any wastewater outside.
4. Protect your belongings. Move rugs, towels and valuables out of the way and put old towels down to contain spills.
5. Ventilate. Open windows if there is a sewage smell.
6. Take photos. They help with insurance claims and, if you rent, with reporting the problem to your landlord.
7. Find the manhole. If you know where the inspection chamber is, make sure the engineer can get to it, for example by unlocking a side gate or clearing pots off the cover.

What if water is near electrics?

If water is near electrics, keep away from it and do not touch switches, plugs or appliances that are wet or standing in water. Water and electricity together are a serious risk of electric shock.

Only turn the power off at the consumer unit (fuse box) if you can reach it without standing in or touching water, and with dry hands. If you cannot do that safely, leave the area and get help from an electrician. Do not use any electrical item that has been soaked until it has been checked.

How should you handle sewage safely?

Treat any sewage as a health hazard: wear rubber gloves, avoid contact with your skin and eyes, and wash your hands thoroughly afterwards. Do not try to clear raw sewage with bare hands or household tools.

• Wear gloves and, ideally, boots and old clothes you can wash on a hot cycle.
• Do not eat, drink or smoke while cleaning up.
• Once the drain is cleared, clean hard surfaces with hot soapy water, then disinfect.
• Soft furnishings and carpets soaked in sewage may need professional cleaning or replacing.
• Never mix bleach with other cleaning products or drain cleaners, as this can release harmful fumes.

Is an overflowing outside drain my responsibility?

An overflowing outside drain may or may not be your responsibility, depending on whether the blockage is in your own drain or in a shared or public sewer. A drain that serves only your property and sits within your boundary is generally yours; since 1 October 2011, shared private sewers and lateral drains have generally been the water company’s, which across London is Thames Water.

If you are not sure, a drainage engineer can lift the covers, find the blockage and tell you where it is. If your neighbours’ drains are also backing up, that is a strong sign the problem is in a shared section. Basement and lower-ground flats, common in boroughs such as Kensington and Chelsea and Westminster, are more exposed to backflow in heavy rain, and an anti-flood (non-return) valve can help prevent repeats.

Why is it worth acting quickly?

Acting quickly limits the damage. A blocked drain that keeps receiving water will eventually overflow at its lowest point, which is often a ground-floor toilet, shower or outside gully, and sewage damage to floors and walls takes far longer to put right than the blockage itself.

For most blockages our engineers use mechanical rodding or high-pressure water jetting to clear the pipe. You can read more about our blocked drains, blocked toilet and drain jetting services. If the drain keeps blocking, a CCTV drain survey can show why.

Need emergency help with a blocked drain?

Pipe & Drain Cleaners works across all of London, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, including weekends and bank holidays. For an emergency, call 0800 470 0946 and we will get an engineer to you as quickly as possible. For anything that can wait, book a time slot online.

Frequently asked questions