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Unblocking a drain in London costs £100 to £350 for most jobs: £50 to £90 for a sink or toilet cleared from inside the home, £75 to £125 to rod an outside drain, and £100 to £300 for high-pressure jetting. A CCTV survey to find the fault is £90 to £400, typically £250.
| Job | London low | London typical | London high | UK typical | What moves the price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blocked sink, basin or toilet, cleared from inside the home | £50 | £70 | £90 | Outside London £30 to £75; plunged or rodded through the trap | |
| Outside drain, rodded from the manhole | £75 | £100 | £125 | Outside London £60 to £90; fats, oils and grease are the usual cause | |
| High-pressure water jetting | £120 | £175 | £250 | £185 | Outside London £70 to £125; for a blockage rodding cannot shift or a pipe coated along its length |
| CCTV drain survey | £90 | £250 | £400 | £250 | £90 for a basic blockage inspection, £250 to locate a fault, £350 for a full survey with mapping, £350 to £450 for a larger property |
| CCTV survey with jetting first | £250 | £350 | £450 | Jetting before the camera goes in adds £100 to £150; the typical figure here is the £250 survey plus the lower jetting add-on | |
| Plumber by the hour, first hour, weekday | £86 | £105 | £140 | £75 | How a general plumber charges for a blocked sink or toilet; one firm starts at £85.50 plus VAT; UK call-out about £75 plus about £60 an hour; nights £90 to £220 |
The price follows the method. A sink, basin or toilet blocked at the trap is plunged or rodded from inside the home for £50 to £90 in London, against £30 to £75 elsewhere, and an outside drain is rodded from the manhole for £75 to £125. When rodding cannot shift it, or the pipe is coated along its length, high-pressure jetting is £100 to £300. A CCTV survey, £90 to £400 and typically £250, is for blockages that keep coming back or a drain that must be located before anyone digs.
Who pays depends on where the blockage sits. Since 1 October 2011 Thames Water has owned the shared sewers and the lateral drains that connect to the public network; you keep the pipe from your house to the shared section and the plumbing indoors. Check with the neighbours first: if their drains are fine, the problem is on your section. A survey you commission is yours to pay even if the fault turns out to be on Thames Water's pipe.
London's Victorian terrace drainage was never built for the cooking load of a house in multiple occupation, and fats, oils and grease are the leading cause of blockages.
Prices last checked: September 2026. Based on published 2026 London drain unblocking guides and price pages (Fantastic Services, MyJobQuote, two London drainage firms) and Thames Water guidance on private sewers, checked September 2026. The survey-with-jetting figure combines the UK average survey with the lower jetting add-on.
£100 to £350 for most jobs, against £80 to £250 in the rest of the UK. A sink or toilet cleared from inside is £50 to £90, an outside drain rodded from the manhole £75 to £125, high-pressure jetting £100 to £300 and a CCTV survey £90 to £400. Firms confirm they add a surcharge out of hours but do not publish it, so ask when you book.
Only if the blockage is in a shared sewer or a lateral drain that connects to the public network; Thames Water has owned those since 1 October 2011. The pipe from your house to the shared section, and everything indoors, is yours. Check with the neighbours: if their drains are fine, the problem is on your section. Drains shared between houses that never reach a public sewer stay the joint responsibility of the households using them.
£90 to £400 in London and £250 on average across the UK: £90 for a basic blockage inspection, £250 to locate a fault, £350 for a full survey with mapping and £350 to £450 for a larger property. A pre-purchase survey is £250 to £350. You need one for a blockage that keeps returning or before any digging. If you commission it, you pay even when the fault is on Thames Water's section.
Rodding first. An outside drain rodded from the manhole is £75 to £125 in London and clears most simple blockages. Jetting, £100 to £300, uses high-pressure water for a blockage rods cannot shift or a pipe coated with grease along its length, and it is often done before a camera survey, adding £100 to £150. Inside the home, a sink or toilet is usually plunged or rodded for £50 to £90.
Fats, oils and grease are the leading cause, and London's Victorian terrace drainage was never built for the cooking load of a house in multiple occupation. Before you call, ask the neighbours whether their drains are backing up too: if they are, the fault is likely on the shared section that Thames Water owns; if not, it is on your pipe. Leave manhole covers and the pipes themselves to the engineer.
Written by Shay Hazan, PROS AI.
£90 - £350per job
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