Is the blocked drain outside my house mine to fix?

Usually yes, up to the point where it joins a shared or public sewer. If your drain only serves your property, it is yours. Once it takes flow from a neighbour it is generally Yorkshire Water's responsibility. Working out which is which needs the drain running, so it is something to look at once it is flowing rather than while it is blocked.

Will you need to dig?

Rarely for a blockage. Digging is for broken or collapsed pipework rather than something that is simply blocked, and most blockages are dealt with without anything coming up.

How quickly can you get here?

We are out of Wetherby and cover the surrounding towns around the clock. For an emergency we can often be with you inside the hour.

Blocked drains

An outside drain that backs up is usually telling you something specific. Where it backs up, and how fast, narrows down the cause before we lift a single lid.

The blockage comes first. Working out why it happened is a separate job, and normally a separate visit, because a camera cannot see anything until the drain is running again.

0113 418 281924 hours, 7 days a week · no call-out fee

A brick manhole standing full of foul waste because the run below it is blocked — Plate 01A manhole standing full of foul waste, which places the blockage in the run below it. Jetted through rather than rodded, because rods punch a hole and jetting takes the pipe back to bore.

Signs you are looking at this

Water standing in the gully or chamber long after rain has stopped
A gurgle from the downstairs toilet when the washing machine drains
Smell outside near the chamber, particularly in warm weather
More than one fitting draining slowly at the same time, which usually means the problem is outside rather than under a sink

How we deal with it

01Lift the lids. We work out which chamber is holding water and which is running clear. That alone tells us roughly where the blockage sits.
02Work at it. Rods for a soft blockage close to the surface, a high pressure jetter for grease, silt or roots further along.
03Prove it runs. We flush it through and watch the chamber. A drain that looks right for a moment is not the same as a drain that runs.
04Flag anything obvious. Where something about the run looks likely to cause the same trouble again, it is worth knowing about while we are still there.

What it costs

Charged by the hour, from arrival, with no call-out charge. Most blockages are straightforward and we get on with them. Where a job turns out to be more than it looked, that is a conversation at the time rather than a surprise at the end.

How our pricing works →

When you do not need it

A drain that runs away properly afterwards rarely needs a camera on top of it. There is little sense paying to confirm what the drain is already showing you.

Common questions

Is the blocked drain outside my house mine to fix?: Usually yes, up to the point where it joins a shared or public sewer. If your drain only serves your property, it is yours. Once it takes flow from a neighbour it is generally Yorkshire Water's responsibility. Working out which is which needs the drain running, so it is something to look at once it is flowing rather than while it is blocked.
Will you need to dig?: Rarely for a blockage. Digging is for broken or collapsed pipework rather than something that is simply blocked, and most blockages are dealt with without anything coming up.
How quickly can you get here?: We are out of Wetherby and cover the surrounding towns around the clock. For an emergency we can often be with you inside the hour.

24 hours, 7 days a week

Drain backing up? Ring us.

We can usually tell you what is likely wrong before we set off, and roughly what it will take to put right.

0113 418 2819

No call-out charge. We only charge from arrival.