Single fixture (sink, basin, bath)
Fixed price
Internal rodding or auger, trap clean, test and refit — quoted before work starts.
Plumbing Services
Blocked Drain Clearance in Corbycleared the same day — usually inside 2 hoursno jet-vac callout fee for local jobs
Standing water in the sink, gurgling toilets or a manhole that's overflowing onto the patio — we clear it the same day with high-pressure jetting and a camera survey to prove the run is fully clear before we leave.
- Same-day clearance
- No jet-vac callout fee local
- CCTV survey included on outside drains
- Fixed price up front
Same day
Local clearance
0 fee
No jet-vac callout
4000 PSI
Professional jet pressure
12 mo
Workmanship guarantee
Drain unblocking — sinks, toilets, outside gullies
What we clear, how we clear it, and why we always camera the run
Whether it's a slow kitchen sink, a toilet that won't flush properly or a manhole backing up into the garden, the first job is to identify which run is actually blocked. We trace the system from the inside out, find the affected length and clear it from the right access point — not the easiest one.
For internal blockages we use professional drain rods, electric augers and chemical drain cleaners only when appropriate. For external runs we use a 4,000 PSI jet-vac with the correct nozzle for the pipe diameter — flat-jet for grease, root-cutter for invading roots, descaler for scaled cast-iron sections.
Every external job ends with a CCTV survey down the cleared run. You see the inside of your own drain, on screen, before we leave. If we find anything that needs a follow-up — collapsed section, displaced joint, root ingress — you get the recording, a quote, and zero pressure to use us for the repair.
What happens if you wait
Ignored drains don't fix themselves — they back up indoors
A blocked outside drain is the polite version. The impolite version is sewage coming back up the lowest fixture in the house — usually a downstairs WC or shower tray — at the worst possible moment.
Caustic-soda pours and 'one-shot' supermarket drain cleaners can clear a fatberg short-term, but they damage older cast-iron pipe and don't touch root ingress at all. Worse, they leave the cause in place.
- Sewage back-up into ground floor — significant biohazard cleanup on top of the drain job
- Garden flooding from a blocked manhole — kills lawn and patio jointing
- Smell of foul drain inside the house — usually a partial blockage, not 'just the trap'
- Caustic chemicals attacking cast-iron pipework — accelerates collapse
- Repeat blockages from the same cause — usually root ingress untouched by rodding
- Damp ingress into walls from a collapsed gully — masquerades as rising damp
Our process
From first call to job done — exactly what to expect
- 01
Identify the run
We work out whether the blockage is on a single fixture, a stack, or the main run to the sewer — by trace, not by guess.
- 02
Open the right access
Manhole lift, rodding eye, or under-sink trap. We pick the access that gives us the best angle, not just the closest.
- 03
Clear with the right tool
Rods, electric auger or 4,000 PSI jet-vac with the appropriate nozzle for grease, scale or roots.
- 04
CCTV survey
Camera the cleared run end-to-end. You see what's inside your drain, on screen.
- 05
Report & guarantee
Written report on what caused it, what's clear, what (if anything) needs follow-up. 12-month workmanship guarantee.
Why customers choose Reactive
No guesswork. No upsell. Just the work, done right.
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Same-day clearance
Local jobs (Corby, Kettering, Wellingborough) cleared inside 2–4 hours from your call.
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No jet-vac callout fee
We don't charge a separate fee to bring the equipment. The price covers everything.
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CCTV included on outside runs
Standard, not an add-on. You see what was wrong and what's now clear.
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12-month guarantee
If the same cause re-blocks the same run inside 12 months, we re-clear it free.
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Right tool, not the only tool
Rods, augers, jet-vacs and chemical descalers — we use what fits the job.
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Honest follow-up advice
If your drain needs a relining or a section replacement, we tell you. If it doesn't, we tell you that too.
In detail
Why your drain blocked — and how the fix changes by cause
Roughly two-thirds of the blockages we clear in Northamptonshire fall into three buckets: kitchen-grease build-up in the kitchen branch, root ingress at the joint where the soil run leaves the property, and wet-wipe stacks in the main run downstream of upstairs toilets. Each needs a different clearing method, and each has a different probability of returning.
Kitchen-grease blockages are usually softening and flushing jobs — hot water and a flat-jet nozzle will move them, but the long-term fix is a pour of bio enzyme weekly. Root ingress is mechanical — only a root-cutting jet-vac nozzle or a mechanical chain flail will deal with it properly, and even then the joint will reseed within 12–24 months.
Wet-wipe and 'flushable' wipe blockages are the fastest-growing category we see — 'flushable' is a marketing word, not a drainage standard. Once a wipe pad has formed in a 100mm soil pipe, only a high-pressure jet will break it down. A chemical pour will not.
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Kitchen sinks & branches
Grease, food and detergent scale. Cleared with hot water + jet, prevented with weekly bio-enzyme.
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Toilets & soil stacks
Wet wipes, sanitary, build-up at bend below pan. Jet-vac clearance, not chemicals.
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Outside gullies
Leaf litter, silt, root ingress at joints. Jetted from manhole upstream, surveyed downstream.
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Manholes & main run
Roots, fat-bergs, displaced joints. Heavy-duty jet, CCTV, then quote on lining if needed.
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Cast-iron sections
Scaled internal bore. Descaling chain or descaler nozzle, not caustic chemicals.
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Repeat blockages
Root ingress, pipe deformity or fall problem. We find the root cause, not just clear the symptom.
Honest pricing
How much does drain unblocking cost in Corby & Northants?
Pricing depends on access, blockage location and whether we need the jet-vac. Local jobs include CCTV survey on outside runs at no extra charge.
Toilet or single soil stack
Fixed price
Mechanical clearance from rodding eye, test and CCTV check — quoted before work starts.
Outside drain / main run with jet-vac
Fixed price
4,000 PSI jet-vac clearance + CCTV survey of cleared run — quoted before work starts.
What changes the price
- Whether the blockage is internal or in the outside run
- Distance to nearest accessible manhole or rodding eye
- Type of blockage — grease, wipes, roots, scale
- Whether CCTV survey is required (free on outside jobs)
- Need for descaling on cast-iron sections
- Out-of-hours premium (typically +30%)
Free, fixed-price quote — no obligation, no callout fee.
Get my fixed priceAreas covered
Local cover across Northants & Rutland
Drainage cover spans the same Northants and Rutland footprint as the rest of our work — Corby base, with regular jet-vac jobs in Kettering, Wellingborough, Oundle, Market Harborough and the surrounding villages. We can be on most local sites within 2–4 hours.
Who'll be doing the work
The Reactive engineering team
We run every drainage job in-house or sends one of two trusted engineers. We don't sub-contract drainage out to a third party — the same person who clears your drain will be the one who reports back on what they found.
- Gas Safe Registered
- OFTEC Registered
- WaterSafe-aware drainage
- Checkatrade Verified
FAQs
Questions we actually get asked
Anything not covered here? Pick up the phone — straight talk, no salesperson in the middle.
Call 07342 043953Ready when you are
Standing water? Backed-up drain? Cleared today.
Same-day local response, fixed price up front, and CCTV proof that the run is fully clear before we leave.
Last updated May 2026 · Reactive Gas Heating and Plumbing Services Limited · 9 Rutherford Court, Corby NN17 4SJ · Gas Safe Registered · OFTEC Registered · Checkatrade Verified