Blocked Toilets & Sinks Cleared in North West London

What should I try first on a blocked toilet?

Try a plunger first, and stop flushing. Every flush adds more water to a bowl that cannot empty, and the next one may overflow onto the floor. A toilet plunger has a flange, a soft sleeve below the cup that seals into the outlet at the bottom of the pan. A flat sink plunger will not seal and mostly splashes. Let the water level drop to about half, put the plunger in so the cup is under water, then push and pull firmly a dozen times without breaking the seal.

When the water drops with a gurgle, flush once to check. If the water will not move at all, or keeps returning to the same level, the blockage is beyond the pan's reach. That usually means something solid, such as a toy, a wad of wipes or a toilet freshener cage, sitting in the trap. A toilet auger can retrieve it without scratching the glaze. A coat hanger cannot, and it can scratch the pan permanently.

Blocked basin or kitchen sink: how to clear the trap

Most basin and sink blockages are in the trap, the bend of pipe directly under the plughole. On a basin it is usually hair and soap. On a kitchen sink it is fat, coffee grounds and food scraps. Plunging works if you seal the overflow first. Hold a wet cloth firmly over the overflow slot, or on a double sink, over the other plughole. Without that, the pressure escapes and nothing moves.

If plunging fails, the trap can come off. Put a bowl underneath, unscrew the trap nuts by hand and empty it. Check the rubber washers are seated before refitting, then run the tap and look for drips. If the trap is clear but the sink is still slow, the blockage is further along the waste pipe or in the gully outside.

• Kitchen sinks often share a trap with the washing machine or dishwasher hose, so lint and grease meet in one place
• Bottle traps on basins unscrew at the base and clean in a minute
• Older solvent-welded traps do not unscrew and may need cutting out and replacing

Why do baths and showers block, and where is the trap?

Baths and showers block with hair bound together by soap and conditioner. The blockage builds slowly, so the first sign is water pooling around your feet for longer each week. Many shower trays have a trap you can reach from above. Lift the grille, then pull out the inner dip tube or cup and clean it. A bath trap is under the bath, behind the panel, and on tiled-in baths there may be no easy access at all.

In those cases we work through the plughole with a small auger rather than cutting a panel. A hair catcher on the plughole costs very little and prevents most of these calls. In a shared house, fit one on every shower at each change of tenancy.

What not to pour down a blocked toilet or sink

Do not pour chemical unblocker into a fitting that is full of standing water. It will not reach the blockage, and the next person to plunge or remove the trap gets splashed with caustic water. If you have already used a product, tell us before we start. Never mix two drain products, or a drain product with bleach. Some combinations give off harmful fumes.

Hot water and washing-up liquid will not shift a fat blockage either. Thames Water explains that water cools as it travels further down the drain, and the fat then clumps and clings to the pipe. Scrape fat into the bin once it has set, and wipe greasy pans with kitchen roll before washing them.

Macerator (Saniflo-type) toilets

A macerator toilet pumps waste through a small-bore pipe, which is how a toilet can sit in a basement or under the stairs, away from the main drain. Its blades and pump are designed for toilet paper and human waste only. Wipes, cotton buds, dental floss and sanitary products wrap around the blades or jam the narrow pipe. The signs are a motor that runs on, hums without pumping, or cuts in and out.

Switch the unit off at its isolator before anything else, and do not pour chemical unblockers into it, as they can damage the seals and internal parts. We isolate it, open it up, remove the object and test the pump. If the motor or pressure switch has failed, we tell you whether a part or a replacement unit is the better spend.

When is it the drain, not the toilet or sink?

If more than one fitting is blocked or slow at the same time, the problem is almost always in the drain they share, not in any one fitting. Typical signs are the toilet water rising when the bath empties, or the kitchen sink and the downstairs toilet both being slow. Thames Water gives a rule worth knowing. If upstairs fittings are affected but downstairs works, the blockage is more likely inside the house.

If downstairs backs up first, or a gully outside is full, look at the drain. Plunging a toilet against a blocked drain only pushes water back up elsewhere. That is a different job, covered on our blocked drains page, and the drain may even be Thames Water's to clear for free.

Tenant misuse or landlord repair: who pays?

Keeping the sanitation installations in repair and working order is the landlord's job. For most residential tenancies under seven years, section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 lists basins, sinks, baths and sanitary conveniences among the installations the landlord must keep in repair and proper working order. That duty does not cover damage the tenant causes by failing to use the property in a tenant-like manner. A toilet blocked with wipes, a nappy or a child's toy, or a sink blocked with cooking fat, is usually a cost the landlord can fairly recharge.

A blockage caused by a failing pan connector, a sagging waste pipe or a trap that was fitted badly is a repair. We photograph what we remove and note the cause on the invoice. That record is useful evidence at check-out, when the deposit is being discussed.

What changes the cost?

Where the blockage sits and how easy it is to reach. A basin trap that unscrews by hand is quick. A tiled-in bath with no panel, a boxed-in toilet or a solid object lodged in the pan's trap takes longer. Macerators take time because the unit has to be isolated and opened safely, and a failed pump needs a part.

If a chemical unblocker has already been used, we have to work more carefully, so tell us when you call. If the blockage turns out to be in the drain, we tell you before doing more.

Certificates and defined jobs are a fixed price confirmed before we attend; repairs are charged by the hour, with the rate and an estimate confirmed before we attend.

Where we clear toilets and sinks

We attend blocked toilets and sinks across Harrow, Kenton, Stanmore and Edgware, and in Wembley, Kingsbury, Queensbury, Pinner, Wealdstone, Hatch End, Mill Hill, Burnt Oak, Colindale and Hendon. Many calls come from shared houses and converted flats, where several people use one kitchen and one or two bathrooms. Hair and fat build up faster there, and a clean-out at each change of tenancy prevents most mid-tenancy call-outs. Letting agents can book through a monthly account, and we send the photographs straight to the agent.

Plumbing by area: Plumbers in Harrow, Plumbers in Kenton, Plumbers in Stanmore, Plumbers in Edgware, Plumbers in Bushey, Plumbers in Colindale, Plumbers in Hendon, Plumbers in Mill Hill, Plumbers in Northolt, Plumbers in Northwood, Plumbers in Pinner, Plumbers in Ruislip and Plumbers in Wembley.

When we will tell you to call someone else

If the blockage is in a shared drain or the public sewer, Thames Water clears it, and we will say so rather than charge you. Blockages caused by a structural defect in an underground pipe need a camera survey, which we do not carry out. If a toilet repeatedly blocks because the pan or the pipe run is poorly designed, we will explain the cause; refitting it is a toilet replacement, which we quote separately.

Why people trust us

• Repairs tested before we leave, and the area left clean
• A walk-in office on Kenton Lane, not a serviced address
• We diagnose first and tell you what we have found before doing more
• A time slot rather than a morning-or-afternoon window
• Work photographed before and after, and reported
• We tell you when you do not need something we sell

We are building a review profile under this name and would rather show you none than borrow someone else's. Ask us for references from landlords and we will put you in touch.

Official sources

• Thames Water: Blockages, causes and who is responsible
• Thames Water: Fats, oils and grease
• legislation.gov.uk: Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, section 11
• legislation.gov.uk: Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, section 13 (leases to which section 11 applies)

Last reviewed October 2026 by EliteShires Property Services.