What To Do With a Blocked Sewage Drain | Express Drainage Surveys

Encountering a blocked sewage drain can be a deeply unpleasant experience and can cause serious plumbing problems for your household or business. As well as really foul odours, you’ll probably notice slow-draining toilets and even sewage backing up into the property or garden – and it can get worse if not dealt with quickly.

Knowing what to do with a blocked sewage drain, who is responsible for fixing it and when you should call in the professionals to prevent much bigger health issues is important. That’s why this month at Express Drainage Surveys, we’re looking at all of those things and more, including the warning signs, the steps to take and whether there are preventative measures to avoid the issue recurring.

What is a blocked sewage drain?

Starting with a simple explanation, a sewage drain – also called your foul water drain – carries the wastewater from the sinks, baths, toilets, showers and appliances in your property from inside all the way to the wider sewer network.

This is different to your surface water drains, which just take care of rainwater. Sewers deal with waste, which can create serious health and hygiene risks when the pipework gets blocked.

The blockage could affect multiple properties depending on its location. Plus, sewage drains are interconnected, so the issue may arise further along than the original cause.

Common signs of a blocked sewage drain

The more familiar you are with the early signs of sewage blockages, the more you’ll be able to prevent them and their severe consequences. Common indicators can include:

Toilets that take forever to drain when flushed
Water rising in the toilet bowl
Bubbling or gurgling sounds from plugholes
Sewage-like smells around the outside of the property
Wastewater is backing up through sinks and showers
Overflowing external inspection chambers

Should you notice that more than one of your fixtures is affected, this can often point to the blockage being in the main sewer rather than a localised issue inside the property.

Steps to take when you discover a blocked sewage drain

Stop using your water right away. You need to limit the amount of water in the system, so don’t run taps, flush toilets or run appliances.
Keep affected areas restricted. Stop any pets or children from accessing rooms where sewage has backed up into the property to avoid them coming into contact with harmful bacteria.
Ventilate your property. Try to disperse any unpleasant odours by improving the circulation of air. That means opening windows or doors wherever safe to do so.
Locate inspection chambers if safe to do so. If you can tell there is no active overflow, try checking your inspection chamber to see whether it is full.
Call for professional help. You can quickly get to the bottom of where the issues lie by bringing in drainage professionals, which will also help to resolve matters sooner rather than later.

What NOT to do when a sewage drain is blocked

Do not use chemical cleaners: This is ineffective and could cause more damage to your pipework.
Do not attempt to rod or jet the drain without experience: If you don’t know what you’re doing, you could push the blockage deeper.
Do not lift manhole covers if sewage is overflowing: This could expose you to harmful gases and hazardous waste.
Do not enter drains or confined spaces: This is very dangerous and should only be done by those with specialist training and equipment.
Do not ignore any recurring blockages: Repeat blockages indicate you have a more serious underlying structural problem.

Who is responsible for a blocked sewage drain in the UK?

It can be confusing to know who is responsible for dealing with a blocked sewage drain, but here is a general rule of thumb you can use to help you navigate this tricky subject:

Private drains: If the blocked drain is on your property and is your private drain, then it is your responsibility because the blockage point itself falls within your property boundary.
Shared drains: These are drainage pipeworks serving more than one property, which used to mean responsibility was shared between the two. However, since 2011, legislation has changed, and it is now the responsibility of the local water company. This helps to reduce disputes and delays.
Public sewers: If the blockage occurs in a portion of the network outside your or your neighbour’s property boundary, it’s likely to be a public sewer and therefore the local water company will be responsible for taking care of it at no cost to you.

When to contact your local water company

Now we’ve looked at who is responsible for a blocked sewer drain, if it’s outside of your property boundary, you should know that you can contact the local water company immediately if:

You spot sewage overflowing from a public or shared manhole
You realise that multiple properties are affected by the blockage
You suspect that a blockage is present in a public sewer

This will allow the water company to send out their team to assess the public sewer and deal with the blockage. However, they cannot carry out repairs or inspections on your private drainage system.

When to call the private drainage specialists

If you know that the blockage is likely within your own private drains and within your property boundary, it’s time to call in the professionals. You may not know the cause of the blockage or whether there is extensive structural damage, but the sooner you deal with the issue, the sooner you can get back to using the water in your property.

At Express Drainage Surveys, we provide professional CCTV drainage surveys using the latest technology, helping to uncover the location and cause of any sewer blockage on your property.

As dedicated specialists, we offer a wide range of services so that you can have any issue taken care of and resolved, helping to avoid recurring blockages and repeated disruption to your household or business. Read more about some of our popular services in more detail below:

Have your blocked sewer drain resolved quickly and correctly – contact our team today and we’ll be happy to arrange for expert diagnosis with clear evidential reporting to put your mind at ease.