Drain Jetting and Rodding

When a drain starts running slowly, gurgling or backing up, the cause is usually hidden somewhere along the pipe. That's why clearing it properly takes the right equipment as well as the right approach. Drain jetting and rodding are the two methods professional engineers rely on most, and at Plumbco we use both across homes in Dorset, Hampshire and Wiltshire. We choose between them based on the pipe size, the cause of the blockage and the state of your drains, so the method always suits the problem.

Our drain jetting equipment delivers up to 4,000 PSI of carefully controlled water pressure, while our electro-mechanical drain rodding machines deal with solid obstructions and smaller pipes where a more hands-on approach works better. Both services are available 24/7, and we never charge a call-out fee or add extra for nights, weekends or holidays.

Because we agree a fixed price before any work starts, you'll know what you're paying, whether we visit on a Tuesday afternoon or at midnight on a bank holiday. That means you get a reliable, properly finished job at a clear price, whenever the problem happens to appear.

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High-pressure water jetting works by pushing a concentrated stream of water through a specialist nozzle at up to 4,000 PSI, which is roughly 275 bar. The nozzle sits on the end of a flexible hose that our engineer feeds into the drain. As it moves along the pipe, it scours the walls clean and washes the loose debris down to the next collection point. Because no two blockages are quite the same, we fit different nozzles for different jobs: a forward-firing jet to punch through a solid blockage, a rotating head to strip away grease and scale, and a root-cutting nozzle where tree roots have found their way inside.

Drain jetting is often our first choice when the blockage has built up along the pipe walls rather than in one spot. These are the cases where we recommend it most:

• Grease and Fat Build-Up: This is the most common cause of blocked drains we see in homes. Over time, fat hardens onto the pipe walls. Jetting removes it completely, rather than just clearing a narrow channel through the middle.
• Silt and Sediment: Soil, grit and garden debris tend to collect in surface water drains, gullies and land drainage, slowly reducing how much water the pipe can carry.
• Tree Roots: A root-cutting nozzle cuts through roots growing inside the pipe and flushes them away. We often pair this with a camera inspection so we can see how much damage the roots have caused.
• Scale and Mineral Deposits: Hard water is common across much of our area, and it leaves a layer of scale that narrows pipes over time. A descaling nozzle removes this layer and brings the pipe back to its full width.
• Preventative Cleaning: Jetting your drains at regular intervals keeps them flowing freely and helps them last longer, which is far easier than dealing with a blockage once it has formed.

The equipment we bring depends on the property. For homes, our engineers use compact jetting units rated between 3,000 and 4,000 PSI, which are well suited to domestic pipes between 50mm and 160mm in internal diameter. Larger premises, such as restaurant kitchens, food production sites and shared buildings, need more power and reach. For these jobs, we use trailer-mounted jetting systems with higher water flow and longer hoses.

Water jetting is a powerful tool, but it isn't the answer to every blockage, and there are times when a mechanical approach gives a better result.

Electro-mechanical drain rodding uses a powered steel cable that rotates as it's fed into the drain, with a cutting head on the end that can be swapped depending on the job. As the head spins, it breaks through solid blockages, scrapes debris and scale off the pipe walls, and cuts through compacted material that water pressure alone might not shift. It's a more direct, physical method than jetting, which is exactly what certain blockages need.

Drain rodding tends to work better where access is tight, the pipe is small or the blockage is solid. We most often recommend it in these cases:

• Toilet and Soil Pipe Blockages: Where there isn't enough room for jetting equipment, or where the blockage sits close to a toilet, basin or other fitting.
• Hard Deposits in Narrow Pipes: Older lead, cast iron and early copper waste pipes often respond better to mechanical action than to high-pressure water.
• Solid Objects and Compacted Material: Items that have been flushed or dropped into the system, along with concrete residue or hardened building materials that have found their way into the drain.
• Places Where Water Needs to be Kept to a Minimum: Internal drains, basement pipework and other areas where spray or excess water could cause damage of its own.

The right method depends on the cause of the blockage, what the pipe is made of, how wide it is and how easily we can reach it. Often, the best result comes from using both. Rodding breaks up the blockage first, and jetting then cleans the pipe and flushes everything away. Your engineer will look at the situation on site, explain which approach they recommend and why, and agree a fixed price with you before any work begins.

Once the method has been chosen, every job follows the same clear process, so you'll always know what's happening and what comes next.

Whether it's a sink that won't drain, a toilet that keeps backing up or an outside drain that's overflowing, our engineers can find the cause. In most cases, we can clear it properly on the same visit. We cover homes across Dorset, Hampshire and Wiltshire, a real engineer answers the phone in under 60 seconds, and you'll have a fixed price before any work begins.

Fill in our contact form or call 0808 303 8888, day or night, and we'll arrange a time to come and take a look.