Most of what makes a blocked drain worse happens in the first hour. Here is what actually helps while someone is on the way.
Stop running taps, using the washing machine or dishwasher, and flushing toilets on the affected run. Everything you send down has to go somewhere, and if the drain is blocked that somewhere is usually the lowest opening in the house.
This is the single most useful thing you can do and it costs nothing.
Lift the manhole cover outside if you can do it safely. If the chamber is full, the blockage is downstream of it. If it is empty, the problem is between the house and that chamber.
You do not need to fix anything, but being able to say which it is over the phone saves real time.
Do not pour boiling water down a blocked pipe, and go easy on chemical cleaners, if the drain is not draining, caustic product sits in the pipe rather than passing through it, and it is then sitting there when someone opens the system up.
Do not force a rod hard into a pipe you cannot see. A cracked pipe is a much bigger job than a blocked one.
Sewage coming back into the house, water rising and about to overflow, a burst pipe, or no usable toilet in the property, call straight away rather than waiting.
A drain that is slow but still draining is usually not an emergency and normally costs less to sort out as a planned visit.
Only if it lifts easily and you can do it without straining or standing over the open chamber. If it is heavy or seized, leave it, it is not worth an injury.
On a sink or a toilet, it is worth a try. On an outside drain or a full manhole it will not achieve much.
Not sure what you are looking at? Liam will tell you straight over the phone whether it is a job that needs someone out, or something that can wait.
Call 07352 554 345