Best Drain Cleaners in the UK

Advertised as a maximum gel unblocker, this product from Mr Muscle doesn't play around. The difference between this solution and its subpar counterparts doesn't just lie with how effective the former is but also how practical and convenient it can be. With your average drain cleaner, you'll have to wait for hours or leave it overnight.

That's hardly the case here. All you have to do is pour the solution, wait for 5 minutes, and run the drain with hot water. You can repeat if necessary but that will seldom be needed. It clears slow-draining pipes and regular ones equally fast.

It will melt grease in the kitchen sink, clear any blockage, and remove unpleasant odours. With a single dose, this fast-acting unblocker removes grunge and hair and destroys the worst clogs with ease. The solution reaches the entire pipe wall, cleaning and freshening it.

You can use this drain cleaner with sinks, kitchen, and bathroom pipes. Doesn't matter if it is plastic, PVC, metal, a septic tank, or a sewer line, this Mr Muscle gel cleans them all.

As for the downsides, the cap can be a little difficult to remove (though it is just as much a plus as it is a minus).

In other words, Mr Muscle Max Gel Unblocker is one of the best, strongest cleaners on the market right now. It isn't just effective and fast-acting but also efficient and particularly practical. With it, you'll be able to clean practically any orifice.

The people behind Pro-Kleen Super Strength Formula claim that their formula is up to 20 times stronger compared to any average drain opener. Now, that's a bold claim and we don't know how accurate it is. But we can definitely say that it is up there, somewhere in that vicinity.

As far as we can tell, it completely dissolves grease and hair, doesn't matter how serious the blockage is. You can use it with sinks and drains. Actually, it is suitable for more or less all pipework out there, from plastic and PVC to metal and copper.

With slow-draining pipes, the manufacturers recommend pouring 250 millilitres of their solution down the drain. After that, you should leave it for 1 to 3 hours (preferably overnight). Flush the remainings through lots of hot water and you should be good to go.

When it comes to efficiency, the product leaves mixed impressions. On one hand, using the recommended 250 millilitres per treatment, you get 12 treatments out of the pack, which is really nice. On the other, some of the more severe blockages may require more than 250 ml, so it is difficult to gauge exactly how cost-effective the formula is.

Bottom line, Pro-Kleen Super Strength Formula is about its effectiveness first and foremost. This drain cleaner allows you to treat all pipework. It doesn't matter how tough the blockage, this drain unblocker can clean them all.

This drain opener from Scotch Corporation is best described as an economical treatment for all household drain clogs.

The idea here is simple - you slowly pour two cups directly into the drain. With that out of the way, you wait somewhere between an hour or two and flush it with hot water. Though you probably won't have to, the company recommends leaving it overnight when faced with a severe blockage. That being said, it might take more than a night to dissolve the clog if it is closer to the bottom of the drain.

The best part of this product is definitely the formula. Its non-acid composition makes the solution safe for all pipes. Dissolving grease and hair, it will help you clean any blocked drain and sink. Just make sure to stick with the piping. Don't use the solution with waste disposal units as it can damage the non-stainless steel ones. The toilets are also out of the question. Though the chances are low, the product can overflow and that can lead to safety issues.

Though hardly a game changer, we really like that the bottle comes equipped with a nice little handle, making it easier to carry and pour the cleaner.

All in all, this heavy-duty drain cleaner from Scotch Corporation makes an appealing case with its modest price, strong caustic formulation, and handy packaging. It also doesn't hurt that it doesn't discriminate between piping.

HG Classic Liquid Drain Unblocker, as the name ever so subtly implies, is a classic cleaner that doesn't really present any new ideas. It just does the job and it does it well enough to earn a spot on our list. When all is said and done, a classic formula is all about the speed and practicality. Needless to say, the product excels on these fronts.

With a regular blockage, you'll simply have to pour 300 millilitres down the drain. More often than not, it will take the solution around 30 minutes to work its magic. After that, you can rinse it with any water, cold, lukewarm, or hot.

As far as slow-draining pipes go, it is best to add the same amount of solution to warm water, leave that overnight and rinse the next day with warm water. That being said the formula is most effective when paired with boiling water, so you might want to crank up that "warm" part to treat the problem on the first try.

Now, as for practicality, the product boasts many advantages compared to its subpar counterparts. You don't have to dilute it, reducing the splashing chances. It doesn't foam or splash when poured into the drain, keeping your hands nice and safe. Plus, it doesn't harm plastic pipes, though we wouldn't recommend using with aluminium and zinc.

Again, HG Classic Liquid Drain Unblocker doesn't offer anything you haven't seen before. It simply does its job and it does it well. The formula is powerful but surprisingly economical. Plus, it doesn't have a smell to it.

The Jeyes Drain Cleaner is a strong thing, there's no doubt about it. In fact, its cleaning action is so strong wearing protective clothing like gloves and maybe even some face mask will be absolutely necessary, in order to avoid burns. At the same time, it's totally safe to use on all types of pipe.

Another strong point in favour of this product is that it takes no more than 30 minutes to get the job done. This is much faster than what you'd normally get with most other liquid and gel drain cleaners. With ~5% Anionic Surfactants, Methylchloroisothiazolinone, Methylisothiazolinone in its composition, the product's formula will literally melt away grease, wash off hairs, and remove large and small debris, effectively unblocking indoor and outdoor drains on the first treatment.

It's also worth noting that this product is a drain cleaner and a deodoriser all in one. It removes unpleasant smells and kills up to 99.9% of germs, which makes it perfect for outdoor drains and bathrooms. However, keep note that because this unblocker works quite aggressively, it may be quite corrosive on metals, and therefore exercising caution during the first couple of uses would be reasonable.

When it comes to the downsides, aside from the mentioned aggressiveness of the solution, some people find its gel formula too thick. That being said, as long as it does the job as intended and doesn't cost a premium, we're perfectly fine with it.

So, if you're in the market for an inexpensive yet effective solution that will be safe to use on all types of pipe including outdoor drains, you'll be hard-pressed to find something better than the Jeyes Drain Cleaner.