High-Pressure Water Jetting

Over time, every drain collects a layer of build-up on its walls. In kitchens it is fat, oil and grease that sets hard as it cools. In hard water areas it is limescale. Outside, gullies and surface water drains gather silt, leaves and grit. All of these narrow the bore of the pipe until it eventually blocks.

A jetting nozzle fires water forwards to cut through the blockage and backwards to drive the head along the pipe and flush everything out. The result is a pipe that is clean wall to wall, not just open in the middle.

Jetting is not only for emergencies. Commercial kitchens, rented properties with heavy use, and sites with long or shallow drain runs benefit from planned cleaning before problems arise. Regular jetting keeps flow rates up, reduces smells and lowers the chance of a blockage at the worst possible moment.

For landlords and businesses, a maintenance clean is usually far less disruptive and less costly than an emergency call-out.

Pressure and nozzle type are matched to the pipe material, size and condition. Older clay pipes and plastic systems are treated differently. Where a pipe looks fragile, or where a blockage keeps returning, we can follow jetting with a CCTV survey to check the condition of the drain and plan any repair needed.

Jetting is also the first step in most repairs. Before a patch repair or relining can be installed, the pipe must be completely clean so the liner bonds properly. That is why jetting sits at the heart of our remedial drainage work as well as our blocked drain service.

Most people only think about drain cleaning when something has already blocked. A cleaner pipe, though, is far less likely to block in the first place. A maintenance clean jets each run from chamber to chamber, removes the layer of grease and silt that has been building up on the walls, and leaves the drain at its full working size.

For homes, that might be worth doing if a drain has blocked more than once, before selling, or after a period of heavy use. For businesses, especially kitchens, regular cleaning is often the difference between a quiet scheduled visit and an emergency; our commercial drainage page covers that in more depth.

If water is sitting in a gully or chamber outside right now, our guide to a blocked outside drain explains the safe first steps, and drain unblocking costs sets out what affects the price of jetting.

A cleaning visit usually starts by lifting every chamber so we can see how each run is performing. We then jet from the lowest point upwards, working back towards the house, so loosened debris is carried away rather than pushed into a clean length. Where the footage shows a defect, we will point it out, but a clean drain in good condition simply needs nothing more.

If you are not sure whether your drain would benefit, describe how often it has blocked and what goes into it, and we will give you a straight answer about whether a clean is worth booking.

Call George on 07799 153198 or send the form with your postcode and a short description of the problem.