If you have a blocked drain in Worcester Park, the first thing worth knowing is whose pipe it is in. Monster Drainage clears blocked drains across KT4 and North Cheam, and we always tell you whether the blockage is in your own drain or a shared one before any work is agreed.
Help is available 24/7, so a drain that blocks late at night does not have to wait until morning.
Is the Blockage Yours or Shared?
Worcester Park grew rapidly in the 1930s, and most of its homes are semi detached houses from that period. Builders often connected each pair, and sometimes a short row, to one drain running along the back or front gardens before it turned towards the sewer in the road.
The pipe that serves only your home, inside your boundary, belongs to you. Since 1 October 2011, any drain serving more than one property, and any pipe beyond your boundary, has been the water company’s responsibility.
So if the people next door are struggling too, the blockage may well be in the shared section. We check the chambers and tell you plainly where it is. If it is the water company’s to clear, you can report it to them. Many neighbours are surprised to learn they share a pipe at all, because the shared length is usually hidden under lawns and paths.
Clay Ground and Roots
The district takes its name from the Earl of Worcester, who became Keeper of Nonsuch Great Park in 1606, and like much of the land around it, it sits largely on clay. Clay swells after a wet winter and shrinks back in a dry summer, and that slow movement can ease the joints of older clay pipes apart.
A small gap is enough for a fine root to find water. Once inside, it thickens and spreads into a mat that holds back paper and wipes, the drain slows, and before long it blocks. Clearing the blockage brings the flow back, but roots will regrow, and a camera survey is the way to see which joint they came through.
Gullies and Rainwater
Not every overflowing drain outside is a foul drain. The gully at the foot of a downpipe takes rainwater, and on many homes the kitchen waste runs into a gully as well. Leaves and silt fill the trap under the grate, and a heavy shower then spills across the path.
Beverley Brook rises at Cuddington Recreation Ground and runs in a culvert for about a kilometre, a reminder of how much water moves through this area when it rains. A gully that overflows only in a downpour and drains away afterwards is usually just choked at the trap, which is a simple clearance. Lifting leaves off the grate before autumn and again in spring keeps most of these problems away.
Extensions, Patios and Hidden Chambers
Over the decades plenty of 1930s houses have gained a kitchen extension, a conservatory or a new patio at the back. Each of those can end up sitting on top of the original drain, and sometimes an inspection chamber disappears under paving or decking along the way.
A hidden chamber does not cause a blockage, but it makes one harder to reach. If you know roughly where the old cover was, or you still have plans from when the extension was built, have them ready when we arrive. Otherwise we trace the run from the chambers we can open and work from there.
Where a drain now runs beneath an extension, a camera is often the kindest way to check its condition, because it avoids lifting a floor to find out what is going on.
How We Deal With It
We locate the blocked length first, then use whichever method suits the pipe:
- Rodding from the chamber nearest the blockage
- Jetting to wash out fat, silt and loose root growth
- Emptying and clearing choked gully traps
- Unblocking toilets, sinks and baths indoors
- A camera survey when roots or damage are suspected
- Advice on keeping a shared drain clear in future
Read more about drain jetting and our CCTV drain surveys.
Covering KT4 and Nearby
We work across Worcester Park and North Cheam, and in neighbouring Stoneleigh and Old Malden, for homeowners, landlords and businesses alike.
Sewage Coming Up?
Waste rising in the toilet or seeping from a manhole is not something to leave overnight. Turn off appliances, avoid flushing and phone us about an emergency call out.
Rented Homes
For landlords, we explain which pipe was blocked and whether it was shared, so you can deal with tenants and the water company with the facts in hand. That makes it easier to agree what happens next.
Questions We Hear in Worcester Park
Q: My neighbour has the same problem. What does that mean?
A: It usually means the blockage is in a length of drain you share. That part has been the water company’s responsibility since 2011. We can confirm where it is so that whoever is responsible can deal with it.
Q: Can you clear it from the road?
A: Covers in the road normally belong to the water company, so a private drain is usually cleared from chambers on your own property, often in the front garden or the drive.
Q: What does a full manhole mean?
A: A brimming inspection chamber means the blockage sits further down the line, somewhere between that chamber and the sewer. If the chamber nearer the road is empty, the problem lies in the pipe between the two.
Q: Do I need a camera survey?
A: Not for a single blockage that clears well. A survey is worth having if the drain keeps blocking, if roots have been seen, or if you are buying a house and want to know what condition the drains are in.
Worcester Park Pages and Next Door
Our other Worcester Park pages, plus help in the areas next door:
Contact Us
For a blocked drain anywhere in Worcester Park or North Cheam, the number to ring is 08006 546213, or you can reach Monster Drainage through our contact page. Tell us whether next door has the same problem, as it helps us work out where the blockage is likely to be.