24/7 emergency drainage

0330 133 1625
AVAILABLE NOW · Emergency drain engineers · Call for a fast response
Call Now

Blocked Toilets in Dorchester

Toilets that fill and drain slowly, or will not clear at all.

Call 0330 133 1625 Request a quote

Stop flushing: why a second flush makes it worse

If the pan is already full, another flush will overflow it. The cistern releases its full volume whether the water can leave or not, so a contained problem becomes a cleaning job.

The instinct is to flush again to see if it clears. Leave it instead. If the water level is high, wait for it to drop slowly before trying anything, and if it is not dropping at all, turn off the isolation valve on the cistern's supply pipe so nobody flushes it by habit. Then decide whether to try a plunger or call.

What are the signs of a blocked toilet?

A toilet is blocked when the water rises towards the rim after flushing, or drains away far more slowly than usual. Gurgling, bubbling and a weak flush are earlier warnings.

Other signs worth noticing are water that sits higher in the pan than normal between flushes, paper that returns after flushing, and a smell from the pan that does not clear. A partial blockage often gets worse gradually, so a toilet that needs two flushes every time is telling you something before it stops completely.

Is it the toilet or the drain? How to tell

If only the toilet is affected, the blockage is almost certainly in the pan or its outlet. If the bath, shower or a downstairs sink is also slow or holding water, the blockage is in the drain beyond the toilet.

It is probably just the toilet if every other fitting drains normally and the outside chamber is empty. It is probably the drain if the toilet and sink block at the same time, if the shower tray fills when you flush, or if the nearest manhole is full of water. In that case clearing the pan alone will not fix it, and we look at the chamber before touching the fitting. If you lift a light cover to check, keep children and pets back and never lean in.

What causes a toilet to block?

Wet wipes are the most common cause, including ones sold as flushable, because they do not break down the way toilet tissue does. Sanitary products, cotton buds and nappy liners cause the same problem.

Other causes we find include kitchen roll and tissues used in place of toilet paper, too much paper in one flush, children's toys, and cotton wool. In commercial washrooms it is usually the volume of paper, especially with low-flush cisterns. Occasionally limescale narrows the pan outlet over years, or a damaged soil pipe or drain beyond the pan is catching ordinary waste.

How to use a plunger on a blocked toilet

A flange plunger, the type with a soft extension below the cup, is the right tool and clears many simple toilet blockages. A flat sink plunger will not seal in a toilet outlet.

  • Put on rubber gloves and lay old towels around the base
  • Make sure there is enough water in the pan to cover the cup
  • Fit the flange into the outlet and press down gently first to push out the air
  • Push and pull firmly a dozen or so times, keeping the seal
  • Lift away and see whether the water level drops

Repeat two or three times. If the level drops, flush once with the lid down to check. If nothing changes after several attempts, the blockage is either solid or further down the drain.

No plunger? Other things that are safe to try

Hot water from the tap with a good squeeze of washing-up liquid can soften a blockage of paper or waste. Pour it in from waist height, leave it for twenty minutes, then try a single flush.

Use hot, not boiling, water. Boiling water poured into a cold ceramic pan can crack it, and a cracked pan has to be replaced. A toilet auger, a short sprung cable with a protective sleeve for the bowl, can reach past the bend in the pan where a plunger cannot. It is useful for a solid object lodged in the outlet. Bent coat hangers scratch the glaze and rarely reach the blockage.

What not to try on a blocked toilet

Do not pour chemical drain cleaners, caustic soda or bleach mixtures into a blocked toilet. They do not dissolve wipes or sanitary products, and they leave a pan of caustic water for whoever clears it.

Caustic soda can attack some older pipe materials and seals, burns skin and eyes, and splashes when a plunger is used afterwards. Mixing products can release harmful fumes. Also avoid pushing anything rigid into the pan, standing on the rim, or unbolting the toilet yourself unless you are confident refitting it with a new seal. If you have already used a chemical, tell us before we start.

How we unblock a toilet, step by step

We first establish whether the problem is in the pan or the drain, then clear it from the right end. Working on the toilet when the drain is blocked just moves the water around.

  • We check the other fittings and lift the nearest chamber
  • If the drain is clear, we work on the pan with a plunger or toilet auger
  • If the drain is blocked, we clear it from the chamber with rods or a jetter
  • We protect the pan's glaze and take care not to disturb the seal
  • We flush several times and run other fittings to prove the flow
  • We tell you what caused it

If it needs more than a clear, such as removing the pan or a camera survey, you get the reason and price first.

How long does it take to unblock a toilet?

A blockage in the pan itself is usually cleared in well under an hour. If the cause is in the drain outside, the time depends on where the blockage is and how easy the chambers are to reach.

The longer jobs are those where an object is wedged in the outlet and the pan has to be removed to get it out, or where the drain beyond has its own blockage or defect. We tell you on arrival which kind of job it is.

How much does it cost to unblock a toilet?

The price depends mainly on whether the blockage is in the pan or the drain, and whether it can be cleared without removing the toilet. There is no call-out fee, and we agree a fixed price before starting. As a guide, unblocking a toilet typically costs £60 to £150.

A simple pan blockage is the quickest job. Clearing a drain from the chamber, removing and refitting a pan to retrieve an object, or surveying a drain that keeps blocking all take longer and cost more. If the job changes once we have started, we stop, show you why and agree the new price before carrying on.

What toilet unblocking can and can't fix

Unblocking clears what is in the pan or the drain. It cannot fix a cracked pan, a failed seal at the back, a faulty flush mechanism or a damaged drain that keeps catching waste.

If the toilet blocks repeatedly with normal use, the cause may be a low-flush cistern that does not move enough water, a soil pipe with too little fall, or a defect in the drain outside. We tell you which is likely, and where the drain is the problem, a camera survey shows it. Cistern and pan replacements are plumbing work, and we will say so if that is what you need.

Who pays: you, your landlord or the water company?

A blockage in the toilet or in a drain that serves only your home is the owner's responsibility. If it is in a drain shared with neighbours or in the public sewer, it is normally the water company's.

In a rented home in England and Wales, the landlord is responsible for keeping sanitation and drains in repair, so report a blocked toilet to the landlord or agent first. Where the blockage was caused by what the occupants flushed, many tenancy agreements let the landlord recover the cost. If we find the cause is in a shared drain, we tell you before you pay for anything.

How to stop a toilet blocking again

Flush only toilet paper and human waste. Almost every blocked toilet we clear traces back to something else going down.

  • Put a lidded bin in every bathroom for wipes, sanitary products and cotton buds
  • Use the full flush for paper, not the half flush
  • Teach children what can and cannot be flushed
  • In shared or commercial washrooms, put a clear sign up
  • If the toilet still blocks with normal use, have the drain checked

A toilet in Dorchester that blocks every few weeks despite all this is usually a drain problem, not a toilet one.

Covering Dorchester & the local area

We provide blocked toilets throughout Charminster, Martinstown, Crossways, Puddletown, Broadmayne, Poundbury and the surrounding area. Call 0330 133 1625 for a free, no-obligation quote.

How it works

Simple, transparent process

  1. 1

    Tell us what’s happening

    Call and describe what you’re seeing — a slow sink, a gurgle, a smell or standing water. It usually tells us a lot before we arrive.

  2. 2

    We find the cause

    We clear enough to get flow back, then work out why it blocked — because a drain that blocks twice has a reason.

  3. 3

    A price before the work

    If it needs more than a clear — a repair, a lining, a survey — you get the price and the reason before we start it.

  4. 4

    You see the evidence

    Where we survey, you get the footage. Where we repair, you see the before and after.

Don't let it get worse

Get expert help right now

Tell us what the drain is doing and we will explain what is likely causing it and what the work involves.

Call 24/70330 133 1625

Other services

Emergency Unblocking

A drain that has stopped completely, water backing up or sewage escaping — the jobs that cannot wait until Monday.

Learn more

Blocked Sinks

Kitchen sinks, basins, baths and showers draining slowly or not at all.

Learn more

Drain Cleaning

Clearing build-up before it becomes a blockage — for properties that keep having the same problem.

Learn more

Blocked Toilets: common questions

Are flushable wipes really flushable?
Most are not, in the sense that matters. Many wipes labelled flushable pass through the toilet but do not break apart in the drain the way paper does, so they snag on joints and build blockages. In the UK, only wipes carrying Water UK's Fine to Flush mark have passed the water industry's disintegration standard. The safest habit is to bin all wipes.
What should I do if my toilet is overflowing?
Turn off the water supply to the cistern at the isolation valve, usually a small screw on the pipe feeding it, or lift the float to stop it refilling. Do not flush again. Soak up the water with towels, keep children and pets away, and wash your hands well. If other fittings are filling too, stop all water use and call.
Is a blocked toilet an emergency?
It is if it is the only toilet in the property, if it is overflowing, or if sewage is coming up elsewhere. A blocked second toilet with no other symptoms can usually wait for a planned visit. In a home with young children, older relatives or someone unwell, treat a blocked only toilet as urgent.
Why is my toilet gurgling?
Gurgling means air is being pulled through the water in the pan, usually because water draining elsewhere cannot get past a partial blockage or the drain is not venting properly. If the toilet gurgles when the bath or sink empties, suspect the drain outside. If it gurgles on its own, the vent or an air admittance valve may be at fault.
Why won't my macerator toilet flush properly?
Macerator units pump waste through small pipes and jam easily on wipes, sanitary products and too much paper. A unit that hums, runs on or empties slowly may be blocked or have a failing pump. The unit itself is usually a job for the manufacturer's service agent or a plumber, but if its discharge pipe connects to a blocked drain, that part is ours.
Why does my toilet keep blocking?
A toilet that blocks repeatedly with normal use usually has one of three causes: a flush that does not move enough water, a pan or soil pipe with a poor fall, or a defect in the drain beyond it. Check that nothing besides paper is being flushed. If it still blocks, a camera survey of the drain shows whether the pipe is at fault.
Can a blocked toilet cause problems elsewhere in the house?
Yes. Water leaking around the pan base can soak into flooring and joists, and an overflow on an upper floor can come through the ceiling below. If the blockage is in the drain rather than the pan, waste may back up through a shower tray or downstairs toilet. Dealing with it early limits that damage.
Will there be a mess when you clear it?
Clearing a toilet involves dirty water, so some splashing is possible, especially if the pan is full to the rim. It helps to move bath mats and anything stored on the floor nearby before we arrive. If the toilet has to come off to retrieve an object, which is the messier option, we explain what is involved before starting.
Who do I call to unblock a toilet: a plumber or a drain company?
If only the toilet is blocked, a plumber or drainage contractor can usually help. If other fittings are slow or the outside manhole is full, call a drainage contractor, because the blockage is underground and needs clearing from the chamber. We handle both across Dorchester, so you do not need to work out which it is before calling.
Can I use the toilet straight after it has been cleared?
Yes. Once we have cleared it and tested it with several flushes, the toilet is ready to use. If the blockage was in the drain, we also run other fittings to make sure everything is flowing. If we have found a defect that might cause another blockage, we tell you before we leave.