Who is responsible for a blocked drain, me or the water company?

Broadly: drains inside your boundary serving only your property are yours. Shared drains and sewers beyond your boundary belong to Severn Trent in this area, and they clear those free. If next door's loo is backing up at the same time as yours, it's likely a shared sewer, so call Severn Trent before paying anyone. We'll tell you honestly which side of the line your blockage sits on.

Do the supermarket drain unblocker liquids work?

On a slow, greasy kitchen sink, sometimes. On a proper blockage, rarely, and the caustic liquid sitting in the pipe makes it nastier for whoever clears it properly afterwards. One bottle is a fair try. If it didn't work, stop pouring and call.

My toilet keeps blocking. Why?

A one-off blockage is bad luck. A toilet that blocks monthly has a cause: wipes (even the flushable-labelled ones aren't), an object part-lodged in the pan or soil pipe, or poor pipework fall. Repeat blockages are worth investigating once rather than plunging forever.

Drain cover lifted on a driveway with drain rods laid out ready

Fast response

Blocked drains in Warwick

Sinks, toilets and outside drains cleared properly. And if the blockage is legally Severn Trent's problem, we'll tell you before you spend a penny.

Call 07565 917596 Request a callback

What we clear

Blocked kitchen and bathroom sinks
Blocked and overflowing toilets
Slow-draining showers and baths
Outside drains, gullies and manholes
Emergency clearance when the house is unusable
Repeat-blockage investigations, finding the cause instead of treating symptoms forever

Before you pay anyone: whose drain is it?

This one saves people real money, so it goes first. Drains inside your boundary that serve only your house are yours to fix. Shared drains, and pretty much everything past your boundary, belong to the water company. Around Warwick that's Severn Trent, and they clear blockages in their sewers free of charge.

The quick test: ask the neighbours. If their loo is gurgling too, it's probably the shared sewer, and your first call should be Severn Trent, not a drainage firm. If it's just your house, it's likely on your side. Not sure? Ring us and describe it. We'll tell you honestly, even when the honest answer means no job for us. Our responsibility guide has the full breakdown.

Cleared, not poked

There's a difference between shifting a blockage and clearing a drain. Shove a rod through a wipes blockage and water flows again for a fortnight, until the remainder re-forms. We clear the pipe properly and tell you what caused it, because the cause is the useful part. Fat down the kitchen sink, wipes down the loo, or a gully full of leaves each autumn all have different fixes, and only one of them involves us coming back.

Toilet blocking every few weeks? Something's wrong beyond bad luck: an obstruction half-lodged in the soil pipe, or pipework laid with barely any fall. Worth one proper investigation instead of clearing it again every month. See drainage services for repairs and re-runs.

Questions

Drain questions, answered

Is it my drain or Severn Trent's?

Inside your boundary, serving only you: yours. Shared or beyond the boundary: theirs, cleared free. Check with the neighbours, then check with us if you're still unsure. Full details in the guide.

Should I try drain unblocker liquid first?

One bottle on a slow kitchen sink is a fair shout. If it didn't shift it, stop. More bottles won't help, and whoever clears the drain next gets a caustic surprise waiting in the standing water.

What causes most blockages?

Kitchen: fat and grease, which set in the pipe like candle wax. Bathroom: hair and soap. Toilet: wipes, always the wipes. "Flushable" means it leaves the bowl, not that it breaks down. Bin them and most household blockages never happen.

Water going down slowly, or not at all?

Call before it becomes a floor problem. Honest advice on whose job it is, then a fast fix if it's ours.

Call 07565 917596