Blocked Drains and Drainage Services in Canterbury

Drainage in a Historic City

Two kinds of property matter most for drainage in Canterbury. Inside and around the old city walls, buildings stand shoulder to shoulder, many of them centuries old, with pipework that has been altered again and again. Beyond the walls, streets of terraced and semi detached houses are home to thousands of students at the University of Kent and Canterbury Christ Church University, many of them living in shared houses.

Each puts drains under strain in its own way. Old buildings hide old pipes beneath floors and courtyards, often in places nobody has looked at for years. Shared houses send far more water, food and paper down a domestic drain than it was designed to carry, especially during term time.

Vortex Plumbing & Drainage Ltd works for homeowners, landlords, letting agents and businesses across Canterbury, from Wincheap and St Stephens to Hales Place and Thanington.

CCTV Drain Surveys in Canterbury

In a city where so much of the building stock is old, a camera is often the first tool we reach for. A CCTV drain survey sends a small camera through the pipe from an inspection chamber and records everything it passes, including cracks, roots, displaced joints, earlier repairs and points where one pipe material gives way to another. Each fault is logged with its distance from the chamber so it can be located from above.

You receive the footage and a written summary in plain English, with advice on what, if anything, needs doing next. Find out more about our CCTV drain surveys.

Why surveys suit older buildings

Lifting old floors, flagstones or courtyard paving to hunt for a fault is slow and disruptive, and in some buildings it may not be allowed at all. A survey pins down exactly where the problem sits first, so any work that follows is limited to the right spot.

CCTV drain survey on a Canterbury property

Clearing a blocked drain at a Canterbury shared house

Blocked Drains in Canterbury Shared Houses

A house shared by five or six students produces far more washing up, showers and laundry than a family home of the same size. Add cooking fat poured down the sink, wipes flushed down the toilet and food rinsed off plates, and the kitchen drain and soil pipe can block more often than the house was ever built to cope with.

When we clear a blocked drain in a shared house, we also work out what caused it and explain it to the landlord or agent, so the advice can be passed on to the tenants. Read more about our blocked drains service.

Blocked toilets and unblocking baths in Canterbury

Toilets, baths and showers in shared houses work hard all year. We clear blocked toilets, baths, basins and shower wastes, and if one keeps blocking we look further down the pipe for the reason. See our blocked toilet page for more.

Drain Repairs in Canterbury

Repairing an old drain takes care. Clay pipes under older buildings may have been patched over many decades, and a heavy handed repair can disturb walls, floors and foundations that are fragile in their own right. Where a survey shows cracks or open joints, a no dig lining can often seal the pipe from inside without touching the building above.

Where a pipe has collapsed or a section has to be replaced, we explain what needs to be dug out, and why, before any work begins.

Newer estates on the edge of the city

Not every Canterbury drain is old. Homes on the newer estates towards the outskirts are laid in plastic, and its weak points are different: a length can dip where the trench below it was not firmly filled, or a push fit joint can separate under the weight of parked cars. The camera picks up both, and the repair is usually confined to that one short length.

Drain cleaning and drain jetting in Canterbury

Grease, scale and silt narrow a pipe slowly. Drain cleaning by high pressure jetting scours the whole run back to the pipe wall, and it is often the next step once a survey has shown a buildup rather than damage. Learn more about our high pressure jetting.

Gully and surface water drain being cleared in Canterbury

Surface Water Near the Stour

The River Stour runs right through Canterbury, and low lying ground near the river and its branches can be slow to drain after heavy rain. Yard gullies, garden drains and rainwater pipes have to carry a lot of water quickly, and any blockage soon shows up as standing water or an overflowing gully.

We clear gullies and surface water drains, jet out silt and leaves, and check the run on camera if water keeps backing up once the rain has stopped.

Emergency drainage in Canterbury

If a drain is overflowing into a home or business, our emergency call out service runs 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

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Commercial Drainage in Canterbury

The cathedral, St Augustine's Abbey and St Martin's Church together form a World Heritage Site, and the streets around them are full of shops, cafes, restaurants and offices. Many of those premises sit in old buildings close to their neighbours, where a single blocked run can affect more than one business.

We clear commercial kitchen drains, toilets and yard gullies, and can plan regular jetting for premises where grease is a recurring problem. See our commercial drainage page for more. We also cover Sturry and the CT1, CT2 and CT3 postcodes, along with nearby Herne Bay and Faversham.

Canterbury Drainage Questions

Answers for landlords, homeowners and businesses in Canterbury.

Yes, and it is often the best time. The gap between one tenancy ending and the next starting gives a clear house, empty kitchens and nobody waiting for the bathroom. A CCTV survey and a jetting visit then mean the new tenants move in with drains that are known to be in good order.

No. The camera goes in through an existing inspection chamber, gully or access point, so nothing has to be lifted to carry out the survey. If it does find a fault, it shows exactly where, which keeps any later work to a small area.

Yes, though some work on a listed building can need consent, depending on what is involved. We always suggest checking with Canterbury City Council before any repair that would change the fabric of the building. Clearing a blockage or surveying a pipe on camera leaves the building as it was, and lining a pipe from inside avoids most disturbance.

Pooling usually means a gully, channel or rainwater pipe cannot take water away fast enough. Leaves, silt and moss are common causes, particularly near trees. If the water clears once the rain stops, a clean may be all it needs. If it stays, the pipe beyond the gully may be blocked or damaged.

Stop running water into the sink and check whether other outlets, such as the washing machine or a downstairs toilet, are draining slowly too. If only the sink is affected, the blockage is probably in its trap or waste pipe. If several are affected, it is likely in the drain outside, and the landlord or agent should call us so the whole run can be cleared.