Drainage Guide
What to Do When You Have a Drainage Emergency
Not every blocked drain is an emergency, but some genuinely are — and knowing the difference, plus what to do while you wait for help, makes a real difference to the outcome.
What Actually Counts as an Emergency
- Sewage backing up into a toilet, bath, sink or floor drain
- An external gully or drain flooding towards the building
- Complete loss of drainage affecting the whole property
- A burst or collapsed drain causing visible flooding or ground subsidence
- Strong, persistent sewage smells suggesting a break or blockage nearby
If none of these apply — a single slow-draining sink, for example — it's still worth dealing with promptly, but it's not the same level of urgency.
What to Do While You Wait
- Stop using water in the property if safe to do so — toilets, sinks, washing machines and dishwashers can all make a back-up worse
- Move valuables and furniture away from any area at risk of flooding
- Don't attempt to dig or excavate yourself — you risk damaging the pipe further or working blind on something a CCTV survey would show clearly
- Note when it started and what you've noticed — this speeds up diagnosis when the engineer arrives
- Keep the area ventilated if there's a strong smell, opening windows where possible
What Happens When You Call
We ask a few quick questions to understand severity and prioritise genuine emergencies. You'll get a fixed price before anyone is dispatched — including out of hours — so there's no uncertainty about cost on top of an already stressful situation.
After the Immediate Problem Is Fixed
Once the emergency is resolved, it's worth asking what caused it. A one-off blockage from debris is different from a structural issue that will recur — if the cause points to something structural, a CCTV survey will confirm it so you can deal with the root cause, not just the symptom.