Emergency drainage in London
Sewage backing up or water rising through drains is a health risk as well as a mess. Stop using water in the property and request urgent help.
If you smell gas, or a carbon monoxide alarm sounds: don't smoke, light a flame or touch light switches, open the doors and windows, turn the gas off at the meter if you can reach it safely and it isn't in a cellar or basement, get everyone out, and call the National Gas Emergency Service free on 0800 111 999 before anything else — before calling us.
If anything is smoking or alight: get everyone out and call 999 first.
Sound familiar?
- Sewage backing up into a toilet, bath or shower
- Multiple fixtures draining slowly or gurgling at once
- Water rising from an outside gully or manhole
- Strong drain smell throughout the property
What your Hero will do
- 1Locate the blockage — internal pipework, external run, or shared drain
- 2Clear it by rodding or high-pressure jetting
- 3Tell you if the blockage is on the water company's side (which they must fix, free)
- 4Advise a CCTV survey if the blockage keeps recurring
When to call
As soon as waste water appears where it shouldn't. Stop running taps, washing machines and dishwashers immediately — every litre you add comes back up somewhere.
Common questions
Is the blocked drain mine to fix or Thames Water's?
Drains inside your boundary serving only your property are yours. Shared drains and lateral drains beyond your boundary are usually the water company's responsibility. A good drainage engineer will tell you honestly which side of the line your blockage sits on.
Is a blocked drain classed as an emergency?
A blocked drain is an emergency when waste is backing up or more than one fixture is affected: sewage coming up into a toilet, bath or shower, several fixtures draining slowly or gurgling at once, or water rising from an outside gully or manhole. Sewage backing up is a health risk as well as a mess, so stop running taps, washing machines and dishwashers — every litre you add comes back up somewhere — then request urgent help through London Heroes. Our team reviews every urgent request and matches it to an available verified Hero where we can. A single sink, bath or shower draining slowly while everything else drains normally is a partial blockage, not an emergency: request a booking through London Heroes at that slow-draining stage, before it blocks completely.