Typically, drain blockages are cleared using high pressure water jets. However, the job is not complete once the blockage has been shifted. It is important to check the pipe to see if there was some reason why the blockage developed.

In many cases, a blockage has come about because a pipe is scaled. When this is the case, descaling needs to be carried out. This process will remove rough edges, smoothing the path through the pipe and thus preventing further problems.

Descaling is performed using special electro-mechanical descaling machines. These tools are essentially a rotating drum filled with cable with a scale cutting head attachment which equals the diameter of the pipe. As the drum rotates, the cable is fed into the pipe and the head cuts away deposits, smoothing the pipe.

When the scale has been sufficiently loosened, it is either pushed to an access point or flushed through with water jets.

In some cases, roots are found to be the problem and in these instances descaling is not the answer. Instead, a cutter is used to address the intrusion of the root.