Ignite Plumbing & Heating
Blocked Drain in Norwich — Causes, Fixes, and Prevention
What's blocking your drain and how do we clear it? A practical guide to drainage problems in Norwich properties.
The most common causes
Kitchen: fat, grease, and food waste. Bathroom: hair, soap scum, and toothpaste. Toilet: non-flushable wipes, sanitary products, and cotton buds. External: leaves, tree roots, and collapsed pipes.
DIY methods — what works and what doesn't
Plunger: effective for toilet blockages and simple sink blocks. Chemical drain unblockers: useful for grease and hair, not for solid objects or root ingress. Drain rods: good for external blockages if you can access the chamber.
When to call a plumber
Call us when: multiple fixtures are blocked at once (whole system issue). The blockage keeps returning. You hear gurgling from other drains when you flush. There's sewage smell from drains inside the property.
High-pressure jetting
For stubborn blockages, we use high-pressure water jetting (up to 200 bar). This cuts through compacted fat, root ingress, and mineral deposits that no amount of rodding or chemical can shift.
CCTV survey
When blockages recur, we run a CCTV camera through the drain to identify the cause. Tree roots, collapsed sections, and bellying (sags in the pipe that collect debris) all show clearly on camera.
Prevention tips
Fit a drain guard in kitchen and bathroom drains to catch solids. Never pour fat down the sink — pour into a jar and bin it when solid. Never flush wipes, even 'flushable' ones. Consider a biannual drain maintenance jet.