A toilet that blocks once is a nuisance. A toilet that blocks again a few weeks after it was cleared is telling you something about the pipe behind it. We clear toilets across Dorking, Westcott, Brockham, Newdigate and Pixham in RH4 and RH5, and when a blockage keeps returning we look for the reason, so the same problem is not left to come back.
Why Some Toilets Keep Blocking
When a toilet blocks again and again, the cause is rarely bad luck. Something in the pipe is catching waste that would normally pass straight through. The usual suspects are a displaced joint, a crack, a section that has sagged and holds water, roots coming in through an old clay joint, or hard scale narrowing the bore.
Plunging or rodding opens a path through the blockage but leaves the cause where it is. Within weeks, paper and waste build up against it once more.
What We Can Do on the Day
Repeat blockages need a little more time than a one off, because finding the cause is part of the job. Depending on the building, expect some or all of the following:
- Clearing the toilet and the pipe directly behind it
- Rodding or jetting the soil stack and underground drain
- Lifting inspection chambers in yards, passages and gardens
- Running a camera through a pipe that keeps blocking
- Explaining the cause and the options in plain terms
- 24/7 emergency help when sewage is rising
A Camera Shows What Rods Cannot
The way to break the cycle is to look inside the pipe. Once the blockage is cleared, a camera can be passed along the soil pipe and underground drain while we watch the picture. A CCTV drain survey shows exactly where waste is catching and why.
With the cause known, the choices become clearer. Scale or grease can be removed with high pressure jetting. A damaged length of pipe is a repair, and knowing its position avoids digging in the wrong place. The survey documentation is available for your property records or an insurance enquiry.
Flats Above High Street Shops
Dorking High Street runs along an outcrop of Lower Greensand, and many of its buildings have flats above the shops. Drainage in buildings like these can be complicated. A flat's toilet may share a soil stack with the shop below, the pipes may pass through the shop's ceiling, and the inspection chamber may sit in a rear yard or a passage used by several properties.
So a blockage in a flat is not always the flat's problem alone, and clearing it may need access to the shop or the yard. If you live above a shop, it helps to know who manages the building and how to reach the shop owner before you call.
Outside Toilets and Older Cottages in the Villages
Westcott, Brockham and Newdigate have their share of older cottages, and some still have an outside toilet or one added in a lean to at the back. These often reach the drain through old clay pipework with short, tight bends, laid long before modern fittings were around.
Pipes like these can be shallow, have open joints and hold silt from years of use. In a cold snap, an outside toilet that is rarely used can also suffer a cracked pan or a frozen cistern, which is a different fault from a blockage. We will tell you which one you have.
Is the Pipe or the Pan to Blame?
If the pan empties when the toilet is plunged but the water creeps back up later, the blockage is further down. If water comes up through the pan as a sink empties, the shared pipe below is blocked. If only the flush is weak, look at the cistern before the drain.
Homes, Shops and Offices in RH4 and RH5
We clear toilets for homeowners, tenants, landlords and businesses around Dorking. Shops and offices with customer or staff toilets can book us through commercial drainage, which looks at every pipe on the premises. For homes the aim is simple: a working toilet and a clear account of what went wrong.
Lowering the Odds of Another Blockage
Keep wipes, sanitary items and kitchen roll out of the toilet. If a pipe has been found to have a weak point, take extra care with paper until it is repaired. For an outside toilet that is seldom used, a flush every week or two keeps water in the trap and stops smells rising from the drain.
Common Questions From Dorking Homes and Flats
Q: My flat is above a shop. Who do I call?
A: Call us first if the toilet is overflowing. We can then work out whether the blockage is in your flat's own pipe or in a stack or drain shared with the shop. If access to the shop or a shared yard is needed, your landlord or managing agent can help arrange it.
Q: Why does my toilet keep blocking?
A: Usually because something in the pipe catches waste, such as a damaged joint, roots or scale. Clearing removes the blockage but not the cause. A camera survey finds it, so it can be dealt with properly.
Q: Can you clear an outside toilet?
A: Yes. Outside toilets often have older, shallower pipework, so we look at the condition of the pipe as well as clearing the blockage. If the pan or cistern has cracked in cold weather, we will let you know.
Q: Does a blocked toilet mean the manhole is full?
A: Not always. If the blockage is in the toilet or its branch pipe, the inspection chamber outside will be clear. If the chamber is full of standing water, the blockage is further along the drain. Lifting the cover, if it is safe to do so, tells you a great deal.
Contact Us
If a toilet in Dorking, or in one of the villages around it, has blocked or keeps blocking, ring the Monster Drainage team on 08006 546213 or write to info@monsterdrainage.co.uk. Tell us how often it has happened, and whether you live above a shop, and we will plan the visit around that.