A blocked bath or shower leaves you standing in water, and it can damage the floor if left too long. Hair and soap scum cause most blockages, while narrow shower-tray pipes clog even faster. Our engineers use flexible drain snakes and micro-jetting nozzles for these narrow pipes, plus low-profile tools for trays set into the floor. We also check past the trap, so a hidden blockage does not come back.
Before you send a request, our guide 7 Warning Signs You Have a Blocked Drain explains what to look for and what your options are. It also covers the questions we usually ask when you get in touch.
We remove the drain cover or waste fitting to reach the trap. We check for hair and debris there that we can clear by hand.
We feed a flexible drain snake through the waste pipe to break up and pull out the blockage. However, a stubborn clog needs a rotating head to remove packed hair and soap deposits.
We flush the cleared pipe with water. Where needed, we use a micro-jetting nozzle to remove buildup left on the pipe walls, so the pipe runs at full bore again.
We fill the bath or run the shower to full capacity. This confirms the water drains at the right rate, with no gurgling or slow flow left behind.
What you pay for bath or shower drain unblocking depends on how easy the tray is to reach, and whether the blockage sits further downstream. We confirm the price before we start. Request a quote online to find out what your job costs.
Fitting a simple hair catcher over the plughole is the single best way to prevent blockages. These cheap mesh or silicone guards catch hair before it reaches the waste pipe. Clean the guard after each use, since a weekly hot water flush keeps the drain clear too.
Usually, yes. Slow drainage almost always means a partial blockage is forming in the trap or waste pipe. Sometimes the issue is a venting problem instead — if air cannot enter the pipe behind the draining water, it creates a vacuum that slows the flow. Our engineers check for both causes.
If the bath shares a waste pipe with other fixtures, common in many Poole properties, a blockage in that shared section can affect the bath, basin, and sometimes the toilet. Consequently, when several fixtures drain slowly at once, the blockage likely sits in the underground drain rather than one waste pipe.