Guide
How much to unblock a drain: 2026 UK prices
Updated
Unblocking a drain is cheap; most jobs take under an hour. Know which price you are quoted: a fixed job price, an hourly rate, or an unneeded emergency rate.
Drain unblocking prices, job by job
| Scenario | Typical price |
|---|---|
| Blocked sink, bath or toilet, rodded or plunged | £80–£150 |
| Blocked outside gully or manhole, rodded | £80–£150 |
| Jetting a stubborn or greasy blockage | £150–£250 |
| Jetting plus CCTV survey to find a recurring fault | £250–£500 combined |
| Emergency out-of-hours callout | Standard price plus 50–100% |
These are typical market ranges from 2026 quotes, not fixed prices. Firms price the same blockage differently: a fixed price per blockage, or an hourly rate with a minimum. National brands often charge more than the local firm with the same jetter in the van. Get two or three prices before anyone attends; our form does that in a minute.
Of the 17 drainage firms and price guides we read, four publish a figure at all. Across their 8 published prices for a household drain unblocking job the median is £100, with a range of £60 to £250 (our drain price index).
Cost of unblocking a toilet or sink
A blocked toilet, sink or bath is the cheap end of the trade: the £80–£150 row above, usually cleared with a plunger or hand rods from inside. Fantastic Services publishes a simple blocked sink or toilet from as little as £30. That sits inside a wider £80–£250 for drain unblocking outside London.
A sink unblocking service quoting more than a standard callout should tell you why. Usually the blockage is further down the waste pipe, or in the outside drain it joins.
Drain jetting cost
High-pressure jetting clears grease, scale and silt that rods only push around. It is the step up in price: typically £150–£250 a job.
Cofton DJS publishes jetting from £150, against manual rodding from £100 and an evenings, weekends and bank holidays callout from £180. If a drain needs jetting more than once, pay for a CCTV survey before the third visit.
What moves the price
- Access. A gully by the back door is quick. A manhole under decking, or no manhole at all, is not.
- Cause. Wipes and grease rod out cheaply. Roots, scale and collapsed pipe do not, which is when a CCTV survey earns its fee.
- Time of day. The same blockage costs 50–100% more at 11pm. If the water is holding and not coming up through the floor, waiting for morning is usually the cheapest decision available.
- Whose drain it is. If the blockage sits in a shared sewer or beyond your boundary, it is the water company's problem, not yours. Check before you spend anything: see who is responsible.
Three rules before you book
- Ask what the price includes. A proper quote covers the callout, the labour and the unblocking. "From £45" adverts usually exclude the part that clears the drain.
- Ask the emergency rate before they set off. Reputable firms tell you the out-of-hours uplift on the phone. If they won't, call the next one.
- Don't pay for repeat visits to the same blockage. A drain that blocks again within weeks has an underlying fault. Stop paying £100 a time and get it surveyed.
Off-the-shelf chemical unblockers are fine for a slow bathroom sink. But caustic product in a fully blocked drain leaves standing chemicals the engineer must work in, and some firms charge extra for that. Rods or a plunger first; chemicals only where water still drains.