Blocked toilet? We'll clear it and find out why
Water rising to the rim or gurgling after a flush? We clear the pan, check the drain beyond it and tell you the cause.
- Toilets cleared from £80
- No call-out fee
- A fixed price agreed before any work starts
- If we can't clear it, you don't pay
- Engineers with you usually within 60 minutes
Signs of a blocked toilet
A blocked toilet rarely jams all at once. It usually gives you a few flushes of warning:
- The bowl fills higher than usual after a flush, then drains away slowly.
- The water in the pan sits lower than normal between flushes, which can point to a partial blockage or a problem with the vent pipe.
- Paper swirls round and stays put.
- Bubbles or a gurgle come up through the pan when the bath or basin empties.
- A sewer smell in the bathroom returns soon after you've cleaned.
Just the toilet, or the drain? How to tell
This matters because the fix, and the price, depend on where the blockage sits. A toilet-only blockage lives in the pan or the bend just behind it. A drain blockage is further down, in the pipe that every fitting in the house shares.
It's probably just the toilet if
- Every sink, bath and shower in the house drains normally.
- It started straight after something went down: a thick wad of paper, a wipe, a child's toy.
- Any other toilets in the house flush without trouble.
If a basin or bath is slow on its own and the toilet is fine, that's a different problem with a different fix: see our page on the blocked sink.
It's probably the drain if
- Flushing makes the bath or shower gurgle, or water appears in the shower tray.
- The toilet and sink are blocked at the same time, especially on the ground floor.
- The downstairs toilet fills up when someone flushes upstairs.
- The manhole outside is full of water or paper.
Checking the manhole safely
Light plastic covers on newer homes usually lift with a screwdriver in the slot. Leave heavy cast iron or concrete covers alone. If the chamber is full, the blockage is further down the drain. If it's empty while the toilet is backed up, the blockage is between the house and that chamber. Either way, a plunger won't reach it. Our page on the blocked outside drain explains what happens next.
Plunger dos and don'ts for a blocked toilet
A plunger clears plenty of simple toilet blockages. Used badly, it just sprays dirty water round the bathroom.
Do
- Use a toilet plunger with a flange, the soft lip under the cup that fits into the outlet. A flat sink plunger can't make a seal.
- Lay old towels round the base and put on rubber gloves.
- Make sure the cup is under water, then press down gently at first to push the air out.
- Pump firmly up and down a dozen or so times, keeping the seal, then lift off.
- Test with a bucket of water poured in steadily rather than the flush, so a failed attempt can't overflow.
Don't
- Keep flushing to force it through. Each flush adds water with nowhere to go.
- Plunge when the bowl is brim full. Bail some into a bucket first.
- Carry on if other fittings are backing up. That's the drain, and plunging just moves water about.
- Use a plunger on a macerator toilet (more on those below).
What not to try on a blocked toilet
- Caustic soda and drain unblockers. They don't break down wipes or sanitary products, and they leave a pan of hot, corrosive water that can splash onto skin and into eyes.
- Mixing bleach with other cleaners. Some combinations give off toxic gas, and a bathroom is a small space.
- Wire coat hangers. They scratch the glaze inside the pan, and the rough patches catch waste for years. They can also push the blockage further down, where it's harder to reach.
- Kettles of boiling water. A cold ceramic pan can crack from the sudden heat.
How we unblock a toilet
- We check the rest of the house first
Running a basin and looking in the nearest manhole tells us whether it's the toilet or the drain, before anything else happens.
- You hear the price
You get a fixed price to clear it. If it turns out to be the drain, you hear that price too, and you choose.
- The pan and trap are cleared
A professional plunger or a toilet auger (a steel cable with a guard that protects the porcelain) shifts most blockages. If a toy or phone is wedged in the bend, we may take the pan off and refit it.
- The drain beyond is checked
If waste has collected further down, we rod or jet it from the manhole.
- A proper flush test
Several flushes with paper, watched at the manhole, and a look at what came out, so you know what caused it.
Blocked macerator toilets
A macerator toilet (Saniflo is the best-known make) sends waste into a box behind the pan, where blades chop it up and a small pump pushes it through a narrow pipe. It's how people fit a toilet in a loft, cellar or garage far from the main drain.
The signs of a blocked macerator toilet are different: the pump runs on and on, hums without emptying, cuts in at random, or water rises in a shower or basin that drains into the same unit. Wipes, sanitary products, cotton buds and limescale on the switch are the usual causes.
Switch it off at the fused spur before doing anything. Don't plunge it and don't pour in chemicals, as both can damage the unit. We can clear the pipe it pumps into. If the fault is inside the unit itself, we'll tell you honestly whether it's a job for us or for the maker's service engineer.
Blocked toilet cost
- Blocked toilet cleared at the pan or trapfrom£80
- Toilet and sink blocked together, cleared from the drain£80 to £200
- Pan lifted to remove a stuck objectFixed price from a photo
- Hard scale in the soil pipe, removed by jettingfrom£150
Included: clearing the blockage, a flush test watched at the manhole, and leaving the bathroom as clean as we found it.
What pushes the price up: lifting the pan, a blockage in the drain rather than the trap, or scale that has narrowed the soil pipe (the large vertical pipe the toilet empties into).
All prices include VAT. The same price day, night, weekends and bank holidays. Every rate is on our prices page.
What toilet unblocking can and can't fix
It can fix blockages in the pan, the trap, the soil pipe and the drain below, whether the cause is paper, wipes, scale or a dropped object.
It can't fix a toilet that leaks at the base, a cracked pan, or a weak flush caused by a faulty cistern. Those need a plumber. It also can't cure a toilet that blocks because the drain below has cracked or sunk. If yours keeps blocking after being cleared, book a CCTV drain survey so you can see the pipe before paying for another unblock.
Blocked toilet in a rented home
In most tenancies the landlord is responsible for keeping the toilet and drains in working order, but a tenant can be asked to pay if the blockage came from something they flushed. Tell your landlord or letting agent before booking, unless waste is backing up and you can't reach them. Our guide on who is responsible for blocked drains covers tenants, landlords and flats in more detail.
Recent toilet unblocking jobs
The latest toilets our engineers have cleared, and what was causing each one.
Real, dated jobs from the job log appear here: town and postcode district, the problem, what was done, and a photo. Nothing shows until real jobs are logged. Service: blocked-toilet.
Our guarantee on toilet unblocking
- If we can't clear it, you don't pay.
- If the same drain blocks again within 30 days, we come back free.
A second blockage from wipes, nappies or sanitary products flushed after our visit isn't covered, which is only fair. Read the full terms on our guarantee page.
Areas we cover for blocked toilets
Our engineers set out from Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch and clear blocked toilets in homes across Dorset and Hampshire.
Blocked toilet FAQs
Why does my toilet keep blocking?
The usual reasons are wipes or too much paper, a build-up of limescale inside the trap or soil pipe, or a fault in the drain below such as a dip, a root or a cracked joint. Some low-flush toilets, especially early designs, struggle to carry waste far enough. If it blocks more than once a month, the drain is the more likely cause.
Why is my toilet gurgling?
Gurgling means air is being pushed or pulled through the water in the pan. A partial blockage in the drain below is the most common reason, especially if it happens when another sink or bath empties. A blocked or missing vent on the soil pipe can do the same. Either way, it's an early warning worth acting on.
How much does it cost to unblock a toilet in the UK?
With us, clearing a blocked toilet costs from £80. No call-out fee. It costs more if the blockage turns out to be in the drain rather than the pan, if the pan has to come off, or if the soil pipe needs descaling. The price is fixed and agreed with you before any work. All prices include VAT.
Who do I call to unblock a toilet?
If only the toilet is affected, a blocked toilet plumber or a drainage engineer can clear it. If the sink, bath or shower is also slow, or the manhole outside is full, call a drainage engineer, because the blockage is in the drain and needs rods or a jetter. Our engineers carry both kinds of kit, so you only need one visit.
Should I keep flushing a blocked toilet?
No. If the first flush rises instead of draining, stop. Each extra flush sends more water into a pan that can't empty, and the next one may go over the rim. Put a note on the door so nobody else tries, and turn off the isolation valve on the cistern's supply pipe if you want to be sure.
Is there a mess?
There shouldn't be. Our engineers lay down covers, work from the manhole wherever they can, and clean the pan and floor before leaving. If sewage has already overflowed before we arrive, we clear the drain and tidy up, but heavily soaked flooring may need a specialist clean.
Why are my toilet and sink blocked at the same time?
Because they share a pipe further down. When the toilet and a sink or bath back up together, the blockage is almost always past the point where their pipes join, usually in the underground drain or the first manhole. Plunging won't reach it. The drain needs clearing from outside, and then everything upstream empties at once.
Why won't my macerator toilet flush properly?
Most often, something the blades can't cut has jammed the unit, such as a wipe, cotton bud or sanitary product. Limescale on the pressure switch can also stop it starting or stopping properly. Switch it off at the fused spur, don't plunge it, and describe the sound it makes when you call.
Get your toilet working again today
Call 0800 246 5347 or send a photo of the pan and the manhole with a callback request, and we'll tell you which it is and what it will cost.