Drain Jetting

High pressure drain jetting uses a pump to push water along a reinforced hose to a nozzle inside the drain. The nozzle has small jets that point backwards and, on some nozzles, forwards:

• The rear-facing jets drive the hose along the pipe and blast the pipe walls clean as it travels.
• A forward jet, where fitted, breaks into the blockage ahead.
• The water then carries the loosened material downstream and out of the drain.

The hose is fed in from an inspection chamber or rodding point and pulled back slowly, so the full length of pipe is cleaned on the way in and the way out. Pressure and flow are set to suit the size, material and condition of the pipe. Jet washing drains this way is very different from using a garden hose or a domestic pressure washer, which cannot travel far into a drain and should not be used for it.

• Grease and fat: The main cause of repeat blockages in kitchen drains, homes and businesses alike.
• Scale: Hard deposits such as limescale, and the urine scale that builds up in soil pipes and urinal wastes.
• Silt, sand and grit: Washed into surface water drains and gullies from paths, driveways and building work.
• Fine roots: The mat of hair-like roots that grows through cracks and joints.
• Wipes and debris caught on joints or rough sections of pipe.

Jetting is also used to clean a drain before a CCTV drain survey, so the camera can see the pipe walls, and before a drain is lined.

Different jobs need different heads on the end of the hose:

• Penetrating nozzles, with a strong forward jet, to break through a full blockage.
• Cleaning and rotating nozzles, which spin to scour grease and silt from the whole circumference of the pipe.
• Root-cutting heads, which cut through roots that have grown into the pipe.
• Descaling heads and chain cutters, for hard scale and heavier deposits that water alone will not shift. Some of these are mechanical cutters run on a drain machine rather than the jetter.

Cutting roots out clears the drain, but the roots got in through a crack or joint, so they will grow back unless that damage is repaired. Our drain repairs and lining service seals the pipe from the inside, so the roots cannot get back in.

Many jobs use both: rods to locate and open the blockage, and jetting to clean the pipe afterwards. Our drain unblocking and cleaning page explains the simpler methods and what you can try yourself.

On a sound pipe, yes. Clay, cast iron, concrete and plastic drains in good condition can all be jetted safely when the pressure suits the pipe. The risk comes from pipes that are already damaged:

• Cracked or broken clay pipes, where water can wash out the soil around the pipe and make the damage worse.
• Displaced or open joints, which can be pushed further apart.
• Collapsed sections, which jetting cannot fix and may disturb.
• Pitch-fibre pipes, used in many homes built in the mid-20th century. They can blister and deform with age, and high pressure can damage them further.

If a drain is old, keeps blocking, or the waste coming back contains soil, roots or broken pipe, we recommend a camera survey before jetting at full pressure. If it has collapsed, it needs drain installation and replacement, not jetting.

Restaurants, takeaways, cafés, schools and other commercial kitchens produce far more fat, oil and grease than a home. Even with a grease trap, it builds up in the drains and can block them during service. A planned drain jetting service keeps the drains running and lowers the risk of an emergency closure. It is also an offence to put anything into a public sewer that is likely to interfere with its flow, so keeping grease out of the sewer is the business's responsibility. We can jet the drains on a regular cycle and tell you if a grease trap or separator needs attention.

• Most homes: Only when needed. A healthy domestic drain does not need routine jetting.
• Drains that keep blocking: Jet once to clear and clean them, survey to find the cause, then decide whether repair or planned jetting is the better answer.
• Commercial kitchens and busy premises: On a planned cycle, set by how quickly grease builds up. After the first clean, we suggest an interval based on what we find, and adjust it over time.