Central drain stack cleaningin Tbilisi
When nothing drains anywhere and water comes up from a neighbour's drain, the problem is not in your flat but in the shared stack. We clear it with an electric cable machine or hydro jetting; we open walls only with your consent.
We quote the price right on the phone, before the visit
How to tell the problem isn't yours but in the shared stack
Check in a minute — it decides what work is needed and what it costs.
- Gurgling in the next drainYou drain the bath and the toilet gurgles or its water rises. All drains in the flat meet in the shared stack, and water looks for a way out wherever it's lower.
- Nothing drains anywhereThe sink, bath and toilet are all standing at once. If the plug were in your flat, only one point would be blocked.
- Water comes from aboveYou aren't draining anything, yet water rises in the bath or shower tray — the neighbours above are draining.
- The neighbours have it tooWater comes up in the flats right above the plug. Most often the lower floors: a shared stack usually blocks at the bottom, at the bend into the basement.
- Smell from every drain at onceWater is standing in the shared pipe, and the smell comes through every trap.
If it's the other way round: only one sink or bath drains slowly and everything else is fine — the blockage is most likely inside the flat, in the trap or the pipe before the shared stack. That's a different job and a different price. Blockage in the flat →
When to call at night instead of waiting for morning
Water is rising in the bath or toilet, about to overflow or already leaking to the neighbours below — call right away. We arrive within an hour, at night too. We'll name the price on the phone straight away.
Until the technician arrives: don’t drain water yourself and ask the neighbours above to hold off with showers and laundry. If water is already on the floor, mop it up and lay rags around the toilet and bath.
More about emergency call-outs →How much clearing a shared drain stack costs
No "from" and no range — the price of a standard case, and right away you see what can change it. What we tell you on the phone is what you can check here.
Base prices
Standard case, daytime
- Cable clearingpaid by the floor with the plug and every floor above
- 350 ₾
- Hydro jettingbeyond 100 m — 25 ₾ per metre
- 50 ₾/m
- Video inspection
- by phone
- Call-out with inspection, if it can't be judged over the phonecounted towards the cost of the work
- 70 ₾
What changes the price
- Evening (18–22)
- +25%
- Night (22–9)
- +50%
Weekends cost the same as weekdays. We round the total down to the nearest 10 ₾.
Rules
The price depends only on the work, not on your home. On site the price changes only by a line of this table, and only before work starts.
Included: inspection and locating the section, access through the cleanout or from the top point, cleaning, checking drainage at every point in the flat.
Not included: pipe replacement — a separate job with a separate price.
On site we need electricity and water — for the cable machine and the jetting unit.
Why you can call us
Everything in writing before we leave
We send the technician's name, time and price on WhatsApp. Written down means it doesn't change.Blocked again — we come back free
If the blockage returns within 3 days after cleaning.The right equipment for the job
Every technician has an electric cable machine; the jetting unit and vacuum truck handle the hard cases.We know Tbilisi buildings
Cast iron in old buildings and plastic in new ones — different blockages and different work.Nights and weekends — no surprises
At the rate from the price table, named before work starts.
Cable or hydro jetting — we choose by the blockage, not by the price tag
Electric cable
A local plug: a rag, a lump of grease, a shifted joint. Most cases. From the top floor or through the cleanout.Learn more
Hydro jetting
The bore narrowed along its whole length, layers of grease, old cast iron. It washes the walls instead of punching a hole. We go in from below — via the basement or a manhole.Learn more
Video inspection
If the blockage comes back within a month, we look for the shift or crack.Learn more
What we don't do: no chemicals in cast iron, no opening walls without your consent.
From the call to a clear pipe
- You call or writewe find out where and what is blocked
- We name the price on the phonefor your case, not “from”
- A technician arrives within an hourwith the equipment
- Inspection on siteif it's as you described, the price stays the same
- We clean and test the drainin front of you
What we usually find in Tbilisi's shared drain stacks
A shared stack does not block in a day. The cause is almost always one of these — and it decides how to clear it.
- Old cast ironIn old housing — Vake, Mtatsminda, Soviet panel blocks — the shared stacks are cast iron. The walls inside are rough, grease and rust build up on them for years, and the bore narrows until it closes completely. A cable will punch through such a plug, but not for long — hydro jetting is more reliable.
- Grease from every kitchen in the buildingEach flat pours a little, and in the shared pipe that becomes layers that cool and harden. Faster in the cold season.
- Wet wipes, tampons, ragsThey're flushed higher up and get stuck at a joint or bend below. Wipes and tampons are what we pull out most often: they don't break down like toilet paper, even if the pack says “flushable”.
- Shifted joints and reverse slopeAfter a neighbour’s renovation or the building settling, the pipe shifts, and everything floating past collects on the step that forms.
- Construction debris in new buildingsShared plastic stacks block less often, but after renovations mortar, tile adhesive and offcuts end up in them. That doesn't wash out — we remove it with a cable.
Who pays for clearing a shared stack
A blockage in the shared stack is paid for by the flats it affects: the floor where the plug is and every floor above — their drains are the ones backing up against it. While neighbours agree, the water keeps rising, so waiting for a joint decision is almost always slower and more expensive than clearing it right away.
So we come to whoever called and work at the price named on the phone. Splitting it later is easy: after the job we send photos to WhatsApp — what we pulled out and how the pipe looks afterwards — and the final amount. You can forward them to neighbours or show the amkhanagoba.
Tip: if the shared stack blocks every few months, it's cheaper for the whole building to have it hydro-jetted once together than to call a cable each time separately.
Frequently asked
How do I know the blockage is in the stack and not in my flat?
If water won't drain at several points at once, the toilet gurgles when you drain the bath, or water rises when the neighbours above drain — the blockage is in the shared stack. If only one sink or bath drains slowly and everything else is fine, the plug is most likely in your flat. Not sure? Describe on the phone what's happening and the technician will tell you right away.
How much does clearing a shared drain stack cost in Tbilisi?
With a cable — 350 ₾. Hydro jetting — 50 ₾ per metre, beyond 100 m — 25 ₾ per metre: we go in from below, via the basement or a manhole, and name the total for the length before work starts. That's the price of a standard case, named on the phone before we set off. Evenings (18–22) +25%, nights (22–9) +50%, weekends the same as weekdays. If it can't be told on the phone what's wrong with the pipe, a visit with inspection costs 70 ₾ and counts towards the job.
Who should pay — me or all the neighbours?
The floor where the plug is and every floor above: their drains are the ones backing up against it, and the floors below aren't affected. We work with whoever called and after the job send photos and the amount to WhatsApp — handy to show the neighbours and split.
Does the technician need access to the neighbours upstairs?
Usually not: we clear the shared stack through the cleanout — a hatch on the pipe in your bathroom or in the basement. Sometimes it's easier to go in from above — from the roof through the stack vent or from a top-floor flat. Then we'll tell you in advance so you have time to arrange it with the neighbours.
Why does the shared stack block again within a month?
Usually because the cable punched a passage through the plug while the walls stayed coated in grease and rust — a new plug forms in the same place. This happens most with old cast iron. Then hydro jetting is needed: it washes deposits off along the whole length. If it still blocks after that, we look with a camera: most likely a joint has shifted or the pipe has cracked.
Can I clear the shared stack myself?
No, and it's not just about tools. The plug may be several floors down, out of reach of a plunger or a household cable from your flat. Chemicals won't help here and they damage old cast-iron pipe. And while you try, the water rises at the neighbours'. Call us — we'll name the price right away.
Shared stack blocked? Call us — we'll name the price right away
A technician arrives within an hour. At night and on weekends too.