A blocked drain is rarely just a blocked drain. Something put it there, and unless you find out what, you will be calling someone again in a few months. That is the difference between clearing a blockage and fixing a drain.
We are drainage specialists rather than general plumbers. Drains are what we do all day, which means we carry the jetting and camera equipment on every job instead of booking a second visit to bring it out.
Signs your drain is blocked
- Water pooling around a floor waste, shower base or yard gully
- Gurgling from a toilet, sink or shower when another fixture drains
- A toilet that rises before it falls, or will not clear on one flush
- More than one fixture draining slowly at the same time, which usually points to the main line rather than the fixture
- A smell of sewage in the yard, or damp ground that never dries out over the line
- Sewage backing up through the lowest fixture in the house, which is the overflow relief gully doing its job
What actually causes blocked drains
- Tree roots
- The most common cause of blocked sewers in older Gold Coast suburbs. Clay and earthenware pipes were joined with mortar or rubber rings, and those joints weep. Roots follow the moisture, get in through the joint, and then grow into a mat that catches everything passing through.
- Fat, oil and grease
- Poured down a kitchen sink as a liquid, it cools and sets on the pipe wall like candle wax. It builds in layers until the bore narrows enough to catch food scraps. This is the standard cause in cafés, restaurants and busy family kitchens.
- Wet wipes and sanitary products
- Wipes do not break down the way toilet paper does, regardless of what the packet says. They snag on any rough spot or root and knit together into a solid plug. They are the single biggest cause of blockages in newer estates where the pipework is sound.
- Foreign objects
- Kids toys, toothbrushes, cat litter, cotton buds, dental floss and nappies. Cat litter is worse than most people expect because it is designed to clump when wet.
- Collapsed or misaligned pipe
- Ground movement, heavy vehicles over a shallow line, or age. If a drain keeps blocking in the same spot after being cleared, the pipe itself is usually the problem, not what is going through it.
- Silt, sand and leaf litter
- Mostly a stormwater problem. Sandy ground, unsealed driveways and bushland cover all put solids into pits and lines that were never meant to carry them.
How we clear a blocked drain
The order matters. Diagnosing before clearing is what stops the same blockage coming back in three months.
- 01Talk it throughWhat is blocked, how many fixtures are affected, how long it has been happening and whether it has happened before. That tells us a lot before we arrive.
- 02Find the accessWe work from the inspection opening or an appropriate access point rather than pulling fixtures apart unnecessarily.
- 03Clear the blockageHigh-pressure jetting for most jobs, with the nozzle matched to what is in the pipe. A root-cutting head for roots, a different head for grease.
- 04Camera the lineOnce water is flowing we put the camera through. This is where you find out whether it was wipes or whether you have a cracked pipe full of roots.
- 05Show you what we foundYou see the footage. If there is damage, we locate it, mark it and explain the repair options before anything gets quoted or dug.
When it is an emergency
Call straight away if sewage is coming up inside the house, if every fixture has stopped draining, or if you have a single toilet and it is out of action. Those are not overnight problems.
A slow shower or a gurgling sink is not an emergency, and we will tell you that rather than charge you for a midnight callout you did not need.
Call 0412 661 632John & Mark were amazing. Arrived on time & fixed the problem quickly without the usual plumber’s hefty invoice. Very professional, highly recommended. Would not use any other plumber now. Thank you so much.
Paul RidleyI called Fair Dinkum Drainage after a co-worker used them. She could not say enough good things about them. So I decided to give them a try. I’d like to thank Nath, who came on time, did the job right, with no hassle. Thank You Nathan!
Dania