Two very different problems
Toilets block for two reasons that look identical from the bathroom and need completely different work. Either something is caught in the pan or the branch pipe immediately beyond it, or the drain further down is restricted and the toilet is simply the lowest and widest opening where the problem shows.
Telling those apart is the first thing we do, and it takes seconds. If every other fitting in the property drains normally, the fault is local. If the shower is slow and the kitchen sink gurgles, the toilet is a symptom and clearing the pan would achieve nothing.
What causes it
- Wet wipes, including the ones sold as flushable, which pass the pan intact and gather at the first bend
- Sanitary products and nappies, which swell substantially once wet
- A heavy load of paper in a pan with a weak or low-volume flush
- An object dropped into the pan, which is more common than people admit
- A restriction in the soil stack or the drain outside, with the toilet only reporting it
In converted buildings the soil stack is shared, so one flat’s habits become every flat’s blockage. It is worth saying plainly to tenants, because it is one of the most expensive avoidable call-outs there is.
How we deal with it
The bathroom gets protected before anything else happens. After that the order matters: clear what is in the pan, then confirm the rest of the run is actually moving, because a toilet that flushes while the shower tray fills has not been fixed.
- Check whether other fittings in the property are draining normally
- Protect the floor and surrounds
- Clear the pan and trap with the tool matched to the type of blockage
- Where the pan is already clear, move to the soil stack and the run outside
- Test with a full flush and check nothing is backing up elsewhere
Removing a pan is a last resort, not a first move. The overwhelming majority of blockages clear from above or from the drain outside.
What it costs
A blocked toilet is normally cleared at the fixed £120 plus VAT rate, with no call-out charge whatever the hour. If the fault turns out to be in the drain rather than the toilet, we tell you before doing anything further, because that is a different job with a different price.
We also check the pan seal and the cistern fill before leaving. A pan that was already cracked gets pointed out at the start, not discovered afterwards.
When it is more than one toilet
Two or more affected toilets in the same building is not a coincidence and not a toilet problem. It means the shared soil stack or the drain below is restricted, and the right first move is to open the chambers outside rather than touch any of the pans.
In a block or a converted house this usually makes it a building matter rather than a single flat’s, which affects who pays. We set out what we found in a form the freeholder or managing agent can act on.