How to prevent blockages
Want to avoid smelly blockages in your home? Follow these simple tips and learn what can and can’t go down the drain.
Bin for the win! Easy ways to avoid blockages.
We’ve put together these simple hints and tips to prevent smelly blockages and flooding in your home or community.
Wet wipes block pipes
45% of blockages are caused by period products and wet wipes, even flushable ones. We can all make a difference by only flushing the three P’s — pee, poo and paper — down the loo. Everything else goes in the bin.
Bin that fat
Fat, oil and grease sticks to pipes, causing costly blockages. Don't pour it down your sink — let it cool and scrape it into a bin. You can also use a tub, jar or egg box to collect it when warm and take it to your local recycling centre once cooled — or put it in the bin.
Clear your plates
Scrape any leftover food from plates, pans or cooking utensils into the bin, not the kitchen sink. Use kitchen roll to soak it up if it isn’t solid, like yoghurt and gravy.
Wipe before washing
Wipe off any excess fat, oil and grease with kitchen roll before washing your plates, pots and pans. Even with washing up liquid and boiling water, it turns solid in your pipes and creates blockages.
Strain it
Use a sink strainer or drain protector to stop hair from blocking your bathroom drain. Then, pop it in the bin, not down the bathroom sink. Do the same in your kitchen for coffee grounds and fruit and vegetable peelings — or why not use them as compost?
Say goodbye to quilted loo roll
Quilted toilet paper is a real problem and can easily cause blockages. Opt for a non-quilted loo roll to prevent the risk of flooding in your home and to protect the environment.
True or false
There's no such thing as flushable wet wipes
True
Even plastic-free flushable wipes shouldn’t go down the toilet. They’re made from thick tissue that takes a long time to break up and often blocks pipes. Prevent smelly blockages by using reusable products — they’re cheaper and much better for the environment, as less waste ends up in landfill.
Washing up liquid and hot water breaks down fat and oil
False
When fat and oil mix with washing up liquid there is a chemical reaction between it, the washing up liquid, and calcium in the water. This causes the fat and oil to solidify into a soap-like substance when it cools. It binds together everything else in the sewer and overtime, causes blockages.
Putting fat and oil down the drain keeps it out of landfill
False
A recent survey found that some customers believe pouring fat and oil down the drain helps keep it out of landfill. But whether it goes through your bin or our sewers — causing messy blockages along the way — it all ends up in the same place. Why not scrape it into your food bin once cooled, so it gets recycled?
Coffee grounds should go down the sink
False
It's easy to forget to scrape coffee grounds into the bin, especially before your first coffee of the day. Unlike most foods, coffee grounds clump together in water rather than breaking down. This causes blockages in pipes and sewers, especially when fat, oil and grease cause them to stick onto other objects.
Did you know?
Blockages can turn into huge ‘fatbergs’ that flood homes and businesses, damage pipes, and even cause pollution in local streams and bathing waters. It's a serious problem, just look at the stats.
Did you know?
Blockages can turn into huge ‘fatbergs’ that flood homes and businesses, damage pipes, and even cause pollution in local streams and bathing waters. It's a serious problem, just look at the stats.
20,000 blockages
every year could have easily been prevented.
4.5 million
period products make their way into sewers every day.
3,000 homes
are flooded in the UK each year because of blockages.
57% of our customers
think it's ok to flush tissues down the toilet.
70% of blockages
can be prevented by watching what we flush.
£90 million
is spent on clearing blockages every year by UK water companies.
Our blockbusting team in action
We have a dedicated blockbusting team who work around the clock to proactively find and clear blockages and help you understand what you should and shouldn't put down your loo.
They’ve spoken to hundreds of thousands of you at local events, schools and even at your doorstep. Since 2016, they’ve surveyed over 27,000 manholes and found over 1,000 blockages, proactively clearing nearly 700 themselves. Their hard work has prevented over 200 flooding incidents in homes and communities.
They work alongside our contractors who respond to drainage problems across the region, clearing over 20,000 blockages in 2025 alone.
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