Question 1

Our house in Helensburgh sits well back from the road, how much of the drain is ours?

Accepted Answer

Normally everything from the house to the point where your drain joins the public sewer, which in the upper town is usually under the road. On a deep plot that can be most of the garden. If the drain is shared with a neighbour, or with the other flats in a divided villa, the section below where the pipes meet is usually split between the owners. Scottish Water can confirm where its sewer runs on your street. Call 07988 591331.

Question 2

How much does it cost to unblock a drain?

Accepted Answer

We give you a clear price before we set off, based on what you describe and whether it's an internal blockage or an external one. That price is what goes on the invoice.

Question 3

Will you make a mess clearing it?

Accepted Answer

No. We sheet up where needed and clean down properly afterwards. Drainage work has a reputation for being grim, and most of that comes from people who don't bother with the clean-up.

Question 4

Do I need a CCTV camera survey?

Accepted Answer

Not for every blockage. A one-off blockage with an obvious cause doesn't need one. Where it earns its place is a drain that keeps blocking, since that pattern usually means a structural problem, a collapsed section, root ingress or a bad fall, that clearing alone will never fix.

Question 5

My flat's drain is blocked but I live in a tenement, is it my responsibility?

Accepted Answer

Often not, and this is the most common drainage question we get in Glasgow. If the blockage is in the shared stack serving multiple flats, it's usually a common repair handled through the factor rather than a private one. Finding out which it is comes first, and a camera survey is what settles it.

Question 6

What's the difference between rodding and jetting?

Accepted Answer

Rods physically push through a blockage and are quick and effective on straightforward obstructions. High-pressure jetting scours the full diameter of the pipe and clears fat, scale and root fibres that rods just punch a hole through. Jetting costs more and lasts longer, we'll tell you which the blockage actually needs.

Question 7

What causes most of the blockages you see?

Accepted Answer

Fat and grease cooling and hardening in the line is the biggest single cause, followed by wet wipes, which do not break down no matter what the packet says. In older properties, root ingress through cracked clay pipework and bad falls from decades-old alterations account for most of the repeat blockages.

Question 8

Are wet wipes really that bad?

Accepted Answer

Yes, genuinely. Flushable is a marketing word, not a technical one. They stay intact, catch on any imperfection in the pipe and then collect fat around themselves. A large share of the repeat call-outs we attend come down to them.

Question 9

All my drains are slow at once, what does that mean?

Accepted Answer

That the blockage is downstream of everything, in the main line out rather than in any one fixture. It's more urgent than a single slow sink, because there's nowhere for anything to go once it backs up fully. Worth calling sooner rather than waiting.

Question 10

Can you fix the drain as well as clear it, if it turns out to be damaged?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Where a survey shows a collapsed section, root damage or a joint failure, we can repair or reline it. We'll show you the footage and explain what's actually needed rather than just telling you it needs digging up.

Question 11

Do you cover commercial drains as well as domestic?

Accepted Answer

Yes, including grease trap emptying and scheduled maintenance for businesses where a blocked drain stops you trading. See our commercial drainage page for that side of it.

Question 12

How do I stop it blocking again?

Accepted Answer

Fat and oil into a container and the bin rather than the sink, wipes in the bin regardless of the packet, and a drain strainer in the kitchen sink. For repeat blockers with a structural cause, prevention is the repair, not the habits, which is exactly what the survey is for.

Question 13

Do you do drain jetting, or just rodding?

Accepted Answer

Both, and which one we reach for depends on the blockage rather than on preference. Rodding shifts a lot of straightforward blockages quickly. Drain jetting is what clears fat, roots and years of build-up that rodding pushes past rather than removes, and it cleans the pipe wall rather than punching a hole through what is sitting in it. There is a vehicle-mounted jetter on the van, so you are not waiting on a separate visit for it.

Question 14

Is emergency drain unblocking a different service?

Accepted Answer

No, it is this one, out of hours. Sewage backing up into a shower or a manhole overflowing is not something we ask you to book in for, and the phone is answered around the clock. Same team, same jetter and camera on the van, we just come now rather than Tuesday.

Question 15

Only the downstairs toilet is slow, does that mean the main drain is blocked?

Accepted Answer

Possibly not. If the upstairs toilet, the bath and the kitchen sink all drain normally, the problem is more likely in the short branch from that toilet, or in the toilet itself. If the downstairs toilet gurgles or rises when a bath is emptied upstairs, the blockage is further down, below the point where the branches meet. Tell us which it is when you call 07988 591331.

Question 16

Will jetting damage an old clay drain?

Accepted Answer

Not at the right pressure with the right nozzle. Old clay is strong along its length and weak at the joints, and a long villa run in Helensburgh has a great many joints between the house and the road, so the jetter is run steadily rather than forced at a stoppage. Where a pipe is already cracked or a joint has dropped, the camera shows it, and at that point the honest answer is a repair, not more jetting. Call 07988 591331.

Question 17

We cannot find a manhole anywhere in the garden, can the drain still be cleared?

Accepted Answer

Usually, yes. There is nearly always an access point somewhere, often a rodding eye near the house or a chamber under turf or gravel. Failing that, the run can be reached through a gully, and a camera with a locator shows where it goes, so the buried chambers can be found and left uncovered for next time. Call 07988 591331.

Blocked Drains in Helensburgh

About Helensburgh

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A stoppage a long way down the garden

Chambers lost under lawns and gravel

Downpipes joined to the foul drain

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Helensburgh Questions

Drain Backing Up? Paul's Team Will Clear It.