Blocked Drains & Drain Unblocking in Hitchin | JLP Plumbing

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Blocked Drains and Drain Unblocking in Hitchin

Rated 5.0 on Google · Fully insured

For drain unblocking in Hitchin, the first question is often whose job it is. The short answer: if it's your drain, our team can unblock it, usually on the same visit. We're a short drive away in Letchworth Garden City, and Hitchin homeowners already know our work. In September 2026 a Hitchin family reviewed the full bathroom renovation we'd finished for them.

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We reply to enquiries within 2 hours. Outside our opening hours, we reply as soon as we open.

1

We call or message you to ask what you can see.

2

We give you the earliest time we can be with you.

3

Our plumber explains the repair and agrees it with you before any work begins.

Open 7am to 9pm Monday to Friday, 7am to 7pm Saturday and Sunday.

Is it your drain, the water company's or the council's?

  • Your drain: the pipework inside your property boundary that serves only your home. Keeping it clear is down to you, and that's the part we unblock and repair.
  • The water company's: a drain shared with neighbours, and the pipe running from your boundary to the public sewer, are normally the responsibility of the sewerage company. Around Hitchin that's Anglian Water.
  • The council's: gullies and drains on public roads belong to Hertfordshire County Council. You can report a blocked road drain on hertfordshire.gov.uk.

Not sure which it is? Lift a manhole cover if it's safe to do so. If the chamber on your side is clear but the next one down is full, the blockage is probably further along, in the shared or public section.

How we unblock drains in Hitchin

01

We look first. We check the gullies, manholes and inside wastes to find where the blockage is.

02

We clear it. Rods for a simple blockage near the surface, or high pressure jetting for grease, silt or a blockage further down.

03

We test it. We run water through to make sure it flows freely.

04

We leave it clean. Mess is cleaned up before we go, and we tell you what caused it and how to avoid it next time.

Signs a drain is starting to block

  • Sinks and showers emptying slowly
  • Gurgling from plugholes when another tap runs
  • A smell from drains or the outside gully
  • The gully outside overflowing in the rain
  • The toilet water rising when you flush

Many of Hitchin's Victorian terraces and Georgian houses near the centre share drain runs with the houses either side, so one blockage can show up in a neighbour's gully first. We clear drains right across the town, from Bearton, Benslow and Purwell to Walsworth, Westmill, Highbury and Oughton, and out to Ickleford, Pirton and St Ippolyts.

Google Reviews

What Our Customers Say

Rated 5.0 on Google

★★★★★
“JLP Plumbing was really useful after calling them out for an emergency plumbing call. They were really quick and efficient with the job. Lovely group of lads who were happy to talk me through everything.”
MichellePosted on Google
★★★★★
“My wife put a positive review but just wanted to reiterate her message. The group at JLP plumbing were great with the emergency plumbing call out. Everything was left clean after and done efficiently. Will definitely go to them when I do my bathroom plumbing.”
RichardPosted on Google

Read our Google reviews

When you can reach us

7am to 9pm Monday to Friday, 7am to 7pm on Saturday and Sunday. Call 01462 510001 or WhatsApp a photo of the drain to 07719 056800, and we reply to enquiries within 2 hours.

Blocked drain questions from Hitchin

Do the council deal with blocked drains?
Only on public roads. Hertfordshire County Council looks after road gullies and drains on the highway, and North Hertfordshire District Council's guidance is that drains on your property, up to the boundary or where they join the public sewer, are the owner's responsibility. Shared drains and sewers beyond that are Anglian Water's.
Who is responsible for a shared drain in Hitchin?
Since October 2011, drains shared by more than one property, and the pipe from your boundary to the public sewer, are normally looked after by the sewerage company, which is Anglian Water around Hitchin. If the blockage is in that section, report it to them. If it's on your side, we can clear it.
Can you come out today in Hitchin?
Call us within our opening hours and we'll give you the earliest time we can get there. We won't promise a time we can't keep, but a drain that's backing up into the house goes to the front of the queue.
Can you clear a blocked toilet in Hitchin as well?
Yes. If the toilet itself is blocked we clear it, and if the problem is further down the drain we follow it there. Blocked Toilet Repairs
Tap to call · Open 7 days01462 510001