Drain unblocking in London
A sink that drains slowly. A toilet that will not clear no matter how many times you flush it. A drain outside that has started backing up onto the patio. Ninja Plumbers clears all three with rods and jetting equipment rather than a bottle from the supermarket, and if the cause is not obvious, a drain camera finds it rather than us taking a guess.
- Gas Safe registered and fully insured
- DBS-checked engineers
- Emergency callout available 24/7
- Price agreed before work starts
- Workmanship guaranteed
Monday – Sunday, 7:00 AM – 10:00 PM · Out-of-hours emergency? Call 020 3576 5825
Get a price for drain unblocking
Three details get an engineer moving. The rest is optional.
Thanks — we’ve got it
We’ll come back to you on the number you gave us. If it’s urgent and you’d rather not wait, call 020 3576 5825.
What this includes
- Blocked sinks, baths and showers
- Blocked toilets and soil stacks
- External drains, gullies and manholes
- High-pressure jetting
- CCTV drain surveys
- Recurring blockages traced to their cause
Worth knowing first
A little of this might mean you do not need to call us at all — we would still rather you knew it.
Please do not use caustic drain cleaner
It rarely does much against a proper blockage, it is hard on older pipework, and it leaves whoever comes next reaching into a trap full of caustic liquid. That is a real problem in London’s older housing stock, where the pipework is more delicate than people assume. If you have already tipped some down, just tell us when you call so we turn up prepared for it.
A blocked toilet, first move
Stop flushing. Each flush adds more water to a pan that cannot drain and is how a blockage becomes a flood. If the water level is dropping slowly on its own, it is a partial blockage and can usually wait for a normal appointment.
More than one thing draining slowly
If the sink, bath and toilet are all slow at once, the blockage is in the shared soil stack or the drain outside, not under any one fixture. That is useful to know before anyone starts taking a trap apart.
If it keeps coming back
A drain that blocks repeatedly has a reason: root ingress, fat build-up, a collapsed section, or a badly laid pipe. Clearing it again and again costs more over a year than surveying it once and fixing the cause.
What affects the price
Many blocked drains are cleared in a single visit, but not every visit involves the same work. The price depends on where the blockage sits, what it is made of and how easily the equipment can get to it.
Indoors or underground
A blocked sink trap or bath waste is a hand-tool job. A blockage in the underground drain, reached through a manhole in the garden or the front path, needs rods or a jetter and more time. Knowing which fixtures are affected usually tells us which it is.
What the blockage is made of
Paper and waste usually rod through. Kitchen fat that has set hard along the pipe, compacted wipes, or scale built up inside old cast iron need high-pressure jetting to shift properly, which is heavier equipment and a longer job.
Getting to the manhole
A manhole cover that lifts easily saves time. One that has rusted shut, been paved or decked over, sits inside the house under a hallway floor, or is in a neighbour’s garden and needs their say-so adds work before clearing can even start.
The call-out
There is a call-out charge, and the price for clearing is agreed with you once the engineer has seen the blockage and before any work starts. If you are new to Ninja Plumbers, £25 comes off that first call-out, though it cannot be combined with other offers.
The price is agreed before any work starts. We take card and cash.
Common questions
Who is responsible for the drain, me or the water company?
Broadly, pipework inside your property boundary is yours, and the shared sewer beyond it is Thames Water’s. We will tell you which side of that line the problem is on, and if it is theirs we will say so rather than charge you to fix it.
Do you do CCTV surveys?
Yes, for recurring blockages, for pre-purchase checks, and where an insurer wants evidence of what is actually wrong.
Can you clear a blocked toilet the same day?
In most cases, yes. Ring the booking line, describe what is going on, and we will give you an honest answer on timing rather than a hopeful one.
What about drains in a block of flats?
We work on shared stacks and communal drainage for managing agents and freeholders. Speak to the management line for that work.
Can I keep using the sinks and washing machine while I wait?
Best not. Anything that drains into the blocked section adds water with nowhere to go, and it comes back up at the lowest point — often a downstairs toilet, a shower tray or a gully by the back door. Upstairs bathrooms count too, because they usually join the same drain further down. Hold off on the washing machine and dishwasher in particular, since they empty a lot of water at once.
The blockage is outside. Do you need to come through the house?
Often, yes. In a London terrace with no side passage, the only way to a back-garden manhole is through the house, and the jetting hose may need to run through the hall as well. The engineer protects the floor on the way through. They also need to run taps and flush toilets afterwards to prove the drain is flowing, so someone needs to be in.
Drain unblocking near you
Local pages for the areas where this comes up most.
Related appliance work
These installations sit under this service, and each has its own page covering what is involved.
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Washing Machine Plumbing
Machines plumbed in properly, moved to a new room, or stopped from leaking where they stand.
More on washing machine plumbing -
Sump Pumps
Basements and cellars kept dry — pumps, backups, alarms and somewhere legal for the water to go.
More on sump pumps -
Saniflo & Macerator Pumps
A WC where there is no gravity waste — fitted, serviced and unblocked, with honest advice on whether you need one.
More on saniflo & macerator pumps -
Dishwasher Plumbing
Dishwashers connected properly — including the integrated ones that have to go in before the door does.
More on dishwasher plumbing
More drainage work we take on
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Blocked Toilet
A toilet that will not flush away, or one that keeps blocking. Cleared, with the cause explained.
More on Blocked Toilet -
CCTV Drain Surveys
A camera down the drain shows what is actually wrong, rather than guessing from what keeps happening above ground.
More on CCTV Drain Surveys -
Drain Repairs
A drain that is actually broken, not just blocked — repaired by digging it up or, where the run allows, without digging at all.
More on Drain Repairs -
Surface Water Drainage
Rainwater with nowhere to go — standing water on patios, paths and gardens, given somewhere to drain.
More on Surface Water Drainage -
Gutter Repair
Blocked, leaking, sagging and overflowing gutters cleared and repaired, along with the downpipes below them.
More on Gutter Repair
Need drain unblocking in London?
Describe the problem and give us your area, and we’ll tell you the price before anyone starts work.