How Much Should a Plumber Charge for Unblocking a Drain?

For a straightforward single-fixture blockage — a sink, bath, shower or toilet — a fair UK price is somewhere between £50 and £150, usually including the call-out and up to an hour's work with drain rods. Jetting, CCTV surveys, or a blockage on the main drain rather than a single fixture cost more, typically £100–£300, and an emergency out-of-hours visit adds a premium on top of whichever of those applies. Properties in the South East, including Portsmouth, tend to sit toward the higher end of these national ranges rather than the lower end.

Below is the full breakdown by job type and method, what actually moves the price up or down, and — because a few of the terms people search around this topic are American rather than British — a quick note on what those translate to over here.

Quick-Answer Cost Table

Job	Typical UK Cost	Notes
Sink or basin unblocking	£50–£70	Most common single-visit job
Toilet unblocking	£50–£60	Rodding or auger, rarely needs more
Shower or bath drain	£50–£90	Slightly higher if the trap is hard to access
Outside gully/external drain	£80–£150	Often just needs clearing of debris, not a "blockage" at all
Drain rodding (general)	£75–£150	The starting method for most jobs
Drain jetting (a.k.a. hydrojetting)	£80–£250	Domestic jobs usually fall £100–£160; commercial/grease-heavy runs cost more
CCTV drain survey	£90–£350	Basic inspection vs. full report with mapping
Main drain / soil pipe (shared run to the boundary)	£100–£200	Rises sharply if it turns out to be a repair, not just a clear
Standard call-out	£50–£100	Usually credited against the first hour's labour
Emergency/out-of-hours call-out	£100–£200	On top of whichever job type applies above
Collapsed drain requiring repair (not just clearing)	~£850 average	Only relevant once a CCTV survey has actually found structural damage

(Ranges drawn from current UK trade cost guides — treat as a fair-price benchmark, not a quote. Ask for pricing specific to your property before booking.)

What Actually Moves the Price

• Method required. Most blockages clear with rods alone, which is the cheapest option. Jetting and CCTV surveys cost more because they're solving a different, harder problem — not because they're automatically "better."

• Access. A blockage reachable from an internal fixture or a manhole is quicker to deal with than one that needs digging up or accessing through a tight external space.

• How far into the run the blockage sits. A clog just past the trap is a five-minute job. One 15 metres down a shared drain run takes longer and may need jetting rather than rods.

• Time and day. Evenings, weekends and genuine emergencies attract an out-of-hours premium — reasonably, since it's taking someone away from home rather than fitting into a scheduled day.

• Whose drain it is. If it turns out to be a shared or public sewer rather than your own pipework, this isn't a cost to you at all — it's Southern Water's responsibility in the Portsmouth area, not something a plumber should be charging you to fix. (We've covered how to tell the difference in our full guide to unblocking a drain.)

• Whether it's actually a repair, not just a blockage. Rodding and jetting clear things. If a CCTV survey shows a collapsed, cracked or root-damaged section of pipe, that's a different job — and a different, higher price — because you're now fixing the pipe, not just clearing what was in it.

A Quick Translation, If You've Been Searching US Terms

A few common searches around this topic use American terminology that doesn't quite map onto how it works in the UK:

• "Roto-Rooter" is a US and Canadian franchise — it doesn't operate in the UK, so you won't find one to call in Portsmouth. The equipment and process (a powered drain auger, sometimes called an "eel") is exactly what UK plumbers use too, just under different brand names.

• "Main line" is the American term for what UK plumbers call the main drain or soil pipe — the run of pipe carrying waste from your property out to the sewer connection.

• "Basement drain" doesn't really apply here either — most UK homes, including the vast majority in Portsmouth, don't have basements. The closest equivalents are a ground-floor utility room gully or, in some of the older properties around Southsea and Old Portsmouth, a cellar drain.

• "Snake a drain" and "hydrojet" both describe things UK plumbers do too — we just tend to say "rodding or an auger" and "jetting" rather than "snaking" and "hydrojetting."

How Does Rodding Compare to Jetting on Cost?

Rodding is the cheaper starting point — typically £75–£150 — and clears most blockages caused by a single obstruction. Jetting costs more (£80–£250, though most domestic jobs land £100–£160) because it's solving a different problem: heavy grease, scale, or debris coating a length of pipe rather than one blockage to push through. The false economy is choosing rodding repeatedly for a problem jetting would actually solve — a handful of £100 rodding visits for the same recurring blockage can add up to more than a single jetting job that clears it properly.

How to Avoid Paying More Than You Need To

• Ask what method is actually needed before agreeing a price — rodding first is standard; jetting or CCTV should be explained, not assumed.

• Get the diagnostic step done before committing to repair costs. A CCTV survey should come before, not after, a repair quote.

• Confirm whether the quote is fixed or capped. A straightforward rodding job shouldn't turn into an open-ended hourly bill without you being told first.

• Check it's actually your responsibility before paying anyone. If it's a shared drain or public sewer, that's a call to Southern Water, not a plumber's invoice.

• Be cautious of unsolicited "in your area" drainage vans. They're not automatically a problem, but for a one-off job it's worth checking reviews and that they carry public liability insurance before agreeing to anything on the spot.

What We Charge, and How We Quote

We work to the same broad ranges as the rest of the trade above — we're not the cheapest quote you'll find, and we're not going to pretend to be, but you're told the cost before anything starts, and if it turns out to be a straightforward rodding job rather than something bigger, that's what you're charged for. No inflated "drain callout" rate regardless of what was actually involved, and no repair recommendation without showing you why. [EXPERT INPUT OPPORTUNITY: your actual current call-out, rodding and jetting rates would let this section state real DV figures rather than pointing to the general national range above.]

That's the same approach Duncan Vella bring to every drain call-out — Gas Safe and MCS registered, dealing with you directly rather than through a call centre. If you'd rather skip the DIY attempts and just get a fixed-price quote, you can book a drain specialist in Portsmouth or call 07501 016990.

FAQs

How much does it cost for a plumber to unclog a shower drain?

 Typically £50–£90 in the UK, similar to a sink or bath — slightly more if the shower trap is difficult to access. It's usually a rodding job rather than anything more involved.

How much does it cost to snake a drain?

 Using a drain auger ("snaking," in US terms) typically falls in the same bracket as rodding — roughly £75–£150 — since it's usually offered as part of the same visit rather than priced as a separate service in the UK.

How much does a plumber cost to unclog a main line?

 For what UK plumbers call the main drain or soil pipe, expect £100–£200 for a standard clearance. This rises significantly, sometimes to several hundred pounds, if a CCTV survey finds a structural problem that needs repairing rather than just clearing.

Is jetting (hydrojetting) more expensive than rodding?

 Generally yes — rodding starts around £75, while domestic jetting jobs typically run £100–£160. Jetting is used for grease, scale or debris along a length of pipe that rodding alone won't fully clear, not as a default upgrade.