Signs You Have a Blocked Drain

A blocked drain rarely appears overnight. Most blockages build up slowly from fat, wipes, silt or tree roots, and the early warning signs are easy to miss. Spotting them early can save mess and stress.

Gurgling plugholes and toilets: if your sink, bath or toilet makes a gurgling sound after use, air is being forced through standing water. This often means a partial blockage further down the pipe.

Slow-draining sinks, showers and baths: water that sits in the basin or takes minutes to clear is one of the most common signs. If several fittings are slow at once, the problem is likely in the main drain rather than a single trap.

Bad smells from outdoor gullies or manholes: a sewage smell around outside drains, or a manhole cover with water close to the top, suggests waste is not flowing away as it should.

Water backing up: water rising in an outside gully, or a toilet level that rises when you run a tap, means the drain needs attention soon.

What to do: stop running water into the affected drain, keep children and pets away from any overflow, and make manhole covers easy to reach if it is safe. Please avoid pouring strong acids or caustic drain chemicals down the pipe. They can damage pipework, harm you, and make the job more dangerous for the engineer who clears it.

Instead, call a local drainage engineer who can find the cause and clear it safely. AB Drainworks covers homes and businesses across Guildford and Surrey.

Think your drain is blocked? Call AB Drainworks on 01483 323204 or 07917 726634.