Signs a drain is blocked
- Sinks draining slowly in more than one room
- Water rising in the toilet when you flush
- Gurgling from plugholes or the toilet
- A smell from an outside gully or manhole
- A manhole cover lifting, or a gully pooling with water
Drain unblocking in Swansea
Many Swansea houses are Victorian terraces in Uplands, Brynmill and St Thomas, where one drain runs behind several houses before it reaches the sewer. The covers are lifted first to find whether the blockage is in your own pipe or the shared length.
Shared houses near the Singleton campus block more often with cooking fat and wipes. On Gower, some houses drain to a septic tank, and the pipe from the house to the tank is cleared as a private drain.
Get a quote in SwanseaWhat changes a drain job around Swansea
A blockage in a shared run backs up into the lowest house on the row. That shared length is normally Welsh Water’s to clear, and your own pipe up to it stays yours.
Kitchen fat and wipes block drains in Brynmill shared houses. Between tenancies, back-yard manholes are easier to reach and each sink, bath and toilet can be tested once the drain runs.
Water backing up from a road gully is for Swansea Council to clear, and a blocked public sewer is Welsh Water’s. Both are reported to them directly.
The pipe from the house to the tank belongs to the owner. A tank filled to its inlet backs the pipe up as a blockage would, so the date it was last emptied matters.
Areas of Swansea we cover
- City centre and Maritime Quarter SA1
- St Thomas and Port Tennant SA1
- Uplands and Brynmill SA2
- Sketty and Killay SA2
- Mumbles and south Gower SA3
- Gorseinon and Gowerton SA4
- Fforestfach and Penlan SA5
- Morriston and Clydach SA6
- Llansamlet and Birchgrove SA7
What we unblock
Indoor fittings cleared with plungers and augers, with traps taken apart where needed.
Leaves, silt and fat lifted out of yard gullies and the pipe beyond them.
Chambers emptied and the blocked run rodded or jetted through to the next chamber.
Grease-blocked waste pipes from sinks and dishwashers cleared in cafés, pubs, shops and canteens.
How a blocked drain is cleared
- Find the blockage
The covers are lifted, and the blockage lies between the last full chamber and the first empty one.
- Clear it
Rods or a jet go in from the full chamber and break up the blockage until the water drops.
- Check the flow
Water is run through the fittings to confirm the drain is flowing before the covers are replaced.
What the price depends on in Swansea
- Whether the blockage is in one fitting or the underground drain
- How easy the manholes are to reach and lift
- Whether rods clear it or jetting is needed
- What the blockage is made of, such as wipes, fat or roots
- Whether the manholes are in a back yard, a rear lane or inside the house
- Parking for city-centre jobs, such as permit bays or a rear lane
Drain unblocking in Swansea: questions
Who clears a drain shared by a row of terraced houses?
Usually Welsh Water. Lifting the manholes shows whether the blockage is in the shared length or in your own pipe.
Do you clear drains in Mumbles and on Gower?
Yes, including Mumbles, Bishopston, Pennard and the south Gower villages. For a house on a septic tank, the work covers the drains between the house and the tank.
Can a drain be cleared at a student house between tenancies?
Yes. Give the date the house is empty, where the keys are collected and whether the drains have blocked before.
Is parking a problem for jobs in the city centre?
It can be. Mention a rear lane, permit parking or a nearby loading bay with the other details.
Blocked drain in Swansea?
Send the postcode, which fittings are backing up and whether a manhole outside is full.
This service is carried out by Fixwise Property Services, a Dragon Multi-Trade brand.