Unclog your sink with the best drain unblocker

We've all fallen victim to a blocked drain in our time and know just how infuriating it can be. Whether the sink water is draining excruciatingly slowly or you're wading up to your ankles in old bathwater thanks to a fully blocked drain, having a quick fix to hand will save you from tearing your hair out. Something your drain definitely could do without!

To save you come your next drain emergency, here are some of the best drain unblockers available in the UK that'll provide a rescue treatment before you even need to consider forking out on a plumber.

Best drain unblockers UK

A favourite with members of the Yours team, this has been our go-to for unblocking slow-running drains. Safe on metal and plastic pipes, the Mr Muscle Power Gel cuts through standing water to dissolve the toughest clogs in your drain and is reportedly three times more effective than bleach.

Size: 2 x 500ml

How to use: Pour entire contents down the plughole, leave for a minimum of five minutes, and flush with hot water.

Review: “This is a brilliant drain cleaner and unblocker, my plug holes block up with my daughters' hair and this clears it in one go, I have to use it probably twice a year so this double pack is such good value. The gel itself doesn't give off any bad smells and is super thick and glugs down the plughole, I use it in the morning after having a shower and just put the shower on the next morning and it's clear.

"Even if your bath isn’t draining and is full of water this still goes down the plughole as it's so thick and gloopy, just put it straight into the plug holes itself and squeeze the bottle. The bottles themselves come with child-proof lids so are good and safe to have under the sink if you have children too. Great product and great value.”

Designed specifically for bathroom use, the Buster Bathroom Plughole Unblocker stops slow draining water by dissolving the build-up of hair, soap scum, and sludge in your pipes. Ideal for showers, baths, and sink basins, it's suitable for all pipes and septic systems.

Size: 300ml

How to use: Pour entire contents down the plughole, leave for at least 15 minutes (but ideally overnight), and flush with hot water.

Review: “Bought this because I was sick of pulling my bath apart to disconnect the pipework to pull out big clumps of hair and soap sludge. I got it praying it was going to work, emptied one full bottle into the plug hole, and left it overnight. The next morning I turned on my bath taps and the water flowed great, no backup of water at all, the blocking had totally gone.”

Tough on blocked drains but gentle on pipes, the HG Drain and Plug Unblocker is great for targeting blockages in the bathroom or utility. Powerful enough to shift hair, soap scum, toilet paper, and more, it's easy to use and contains multiple doses in each bottle.

Size: 1 litre

How to use: Pour 300ml of HG liquid drain unblocker down the blocked drain, leave for approximately 30 minutes, and rinse with plenty of cold water.

Review: "We had a persistent problem with our shower drain getting blocked with long hair. Tried lots of different unblockers over the years, but they failed to produce good results, even when left overnight.

"With an HG drain unblocker, you only need 300ml and 30mins for treatment, so a single bottle can do three treatments. The results are truly amazing. Has completely cleared the blockage, the water is flowing freely, and all that in 30 mins flat.

"Look no further, this is a fantastic product and very economical."

If it's an outside drain you need to tackle, the Jeyes Drain Unblocker will take it head-on! With a unique, powerful, thick clinging formula, the fluid cleans and deodorises in just 30 minutes. Tough on grease, hair, food, soap scum, decaying leaves, and more, there seems to be nothing it can't handle.

Size: 1 litre

How to use: Pour liberally into the drain and leave for 30 minutes, or overnight for tough blockages, then rinse thoroughly with water. For outdoor use only.

Review: "AMAZING! I had a blocked outside drain (from my kitchen sink). I thought I would have to get someone out to sort it but thought I would give this a try. I was highly sceptical due to the severity of the blockage and that I would pour it into standing water. Well, I poured the bottle down last night, left it overnight, and this morning? The drain cleared and working perfectly. Brilliant product!"

Buster are at it again, but this time they're 'busting' up the grime in your kitchen sink. Designed as concentrated one shot granules instead of a liquid, it targets common kitchen blockages: namely fat, food, and grease. Many reviewers reported 'smoke' and 'hissing' sounds - that's the sludge being dissolved, so don't be too alarmed! Just make sure the space is well ventilated.

Size: 200g

How to use: Pour entire contents down the plughole, leave for a minimum of 15 minutes, and flush with hot water.

Review: "Super easy to use and super effective. Within seconds of pouring into the sink hole it started bubbling and smoking so you could tell it was working. It smelled when it was working but that’s probably to be expected. After the required time flushed with hot water and it is like night and day with the draining speed now!"

Animal and human hair is a frustrating drain blocker that's a pain to shift, but with the HG Drain and Plug Hair Unblocker, you won't need to worry about fishing hair out of the drain again. The two-step process dissolves hair deposits quickly and effectively, strengthened with potassium hydroxide to remove all sorts of hair, dissolve soap scum, toothpaste, and more.

Size: 200ml and 250ml

How to use: Pour the entire content of the first bottle down the drain and then the entire contents of the second bottle. Leave the hair unblocker to work for approximately one hour, and rinse with plenty of water.

Review: "I rarely write instant reviews but having just washed this product away after being sat for around 3 hours in my very blocked bath (I have very long, very curly hair that sheds A LOT), I had to let you all know how fabulous it is. I must have tried every drain and plughole unblocker and some eased the flow a little for a while but it never really drained freely. It does now! I'm amazed. No nasty smell or fumes too which is great as we have asthmatics in the house. I can't recommend this highly enough. Seriously... get some!"

Not interested in pouring chemicals down your sink? Maintain healthy drains with Ecozone Drain Sticks as it prevents germs and odours with a monthly treatment. With a lovely citrus fragrance - it actively works to prevent obstructions from occurring and uses powerful natural bacteria and enzymes to break down almost anything.

Size: Pack of 12

How to use: Drop one drain stick directly into the plughole and repeat every month to maintain free flowing, clean smelling drains.

Review: "These small sticks do a mighty job. They keep the drain clear for weeks at a time. The drains smells if not sweet, much better than it did before."

Another handy tool for your drain unblocker arsenal is your trusty plunger. This one, designed with smaller dimensions for drain plugs, forces trapped air down the plughole to force the matter to move. It uses the same process as a traditional plunger, but with a greater volume of air being forced down with each plunge - supposedly eight times greater!

Size: D12.5 x L29cm

How to use: Place the large opening over your clogged plug and pump it two times.

Review: "The bathroom sink and the shower room basin were both slow draining and I’d used a drain unblocker product but it made no difference. I was going to ring for a plumber but decided to have one last go myself and buy a plunger. Chose this one because of comments and it worked! Horrible gunge has been removed and everything running away beautifully. Cheaper than a plumber!"

This pack of 10 little sink snakes is soft enough to bend down pipes but strong enough to extract the food, hair, dirt, and anything else that gets caught on the barbed hooks. Simple and safer to use as no chemicals are present, it's an affordable way of unblocking drains in kitchens, bathrooms, and utilities.

Size: Pack of 10, each 20 inches long

How to use: Just insert down the drain, rotate, and remove.

Review: "These are just perfect for unblocking the sink, especially when there is hair involved. I have three teenage girls and find the plugholes get blocked all the time, with these it’s an easy job and much faster than it has been before."

While you'll typically only use each of the Forlivese Sink Unblocker Tools once, the Amtech Waste Pipe and Drain Unblocker are designed to be used time and time again - though hopefully, you won't need to. Suitable for unblocking drains and sinks, as well as waste pipes, simply insert down the length, and the blockage will be shifted.

Make sure to check the width of your drain to see if this will fit - otherwise, it'll have to be used through a disconnected pipe instead.

Size: D6mm x L1.8m

How to use: Just insert down the drain or into your pipes, rotate, and remove.

Review: "Bought this to try and fix slow draining bathroom sink as drain gel didn't work. Did the job and now the bath drains much quicker too as the bath and sinks drain pipes eventually join. As others have said it can be difficult to navigate bends in the pipes initially but with 2-3 minutes of perseverance you will get the knack of it. I actually bent the end of the snake by about 30 degrees which helped massively in getting it round bends but this was because I had 2 bends very close together.

"Something to note is that the end is too big to go through the plughole unless you have a wide plughole and also doubt you could get it through a trap anyway so be prepared to disconnect your pipework after the trap/u bend. Simple enough though and cheaper than a plumber."

What are the most common causes of drain blockages?

If you’re looking to avoid unblocking your sink regularly, it's useful to know the main culprits for blocking your drains. While some are unavoidable, others you can prevent:

• Hair: Especially likely in bathroom drains, human and animal hair is often a key contributor to blockages.

• Food waste: Most likely to occur in your kitchen sink, food waste shouldn't be washed down the sink, though it often is. It can gather in the pipes, and some particular foods can struggle to break down.

• Soap: Soap scum can build up in your drains over time and contribute to clogs.

• Dirt: Dirt can build up in your drains over time and contribute to clogs.

• Small objects: Small objects, such as floss, children's toys, or earrings, may accidentally fall down the drain.

• Oil, grease and fat: Another key blocker of the kitchen sink, these can solidify in the pipes and cause blockages.

• Mineral build up: If you live in a hard water area, drains can become blocked by mineral deposits over time.

• Tree roots: A tiny crack in your pipe could allow a tree root to work its way in, obstructing water flow and drainage.

For most of these, you can prevent blockages from occurring by using a sink strainer plug in your kitchen and bathroom to catch hair, objects, and food waste.

You should make sure to dispose of most oil or fat in the bin, instead of down the sink, and if you're concerned about the mineral build-up, invest in an electric water descaler.

How to unblock your drains naturally

Bicarbonate of soda has a bunch of weird and wonderful uses, one of which is the cleaning and unblocking of your drains.

Pour in 100g (4oz) bicarb followed by 100ml (4 fl oz) hot vinegar to quickly unclog.

It may not work as quickly and efficiently as a chemical alternative, but it is a cheap and natural solution worth trying with ingredients you can source from your own kitchen cupboards.