Blocked Drains Sydney
We clear blocked drains for Sydney homes, businesses and strata buildings, and find the reason the line blocked before we quote. 15+ years on Sydney drains is what tells us which cause to look for. We put a camera down the line first, clear it with the method that actually suits the blockage, then show you what caused it so you know whether it is finished or whether the pipe needs work. Call 24 hours on (02) 8960 0868, or book online and we will quote before anything starts.
Why drains block in Sydney
Six causes account for nearly every blocked drain we are called to. Each one looks different from the fixture, and each one needs a different job underneath.
Tree roots
Roots are the most common reason a Sydney drain blocks more than once. Older suburbs sit on clay earthenware pipe laid in short lengths, and every joint is a seam that can open slightly as the ground moves. Roots find the moisture, work into the gap and keep growing inside the pipe until they hold back everything that passes.
Cutting the roots out clears the line, but the opening they came through is still there. That is why the camera goes in afterwards, and why the fix is sometimes pipe relining rather than another clear.
The giveaway is timing. A blockage that returns every few months, often worse after rain, is almost always roots.
Fat, grease and food waste
Cooking fat goes down warm and sets hard further along the line where the pipe is cooler. Each wash adds another layer until the bore narrows enough to catch everything else. Kitchen lines in units and food premises build up sooner than most, because the same stretch of pipe takes everything from several sinks.
Grease responds well to high pressure drain jetting, which scours the pipe wall back rather than punching a hole through the middle of the build-up.
The giveaway is a kitchen sink that drains slowly and gurgles, while the bathroom is unaffected.
Hair, soap and bathroom build-up
Bathroom wastes block from the fixture outwards. Hair binds with soap scum into a mat that sits in the trap or just past it, and because it builds slowly most people only notice when water starts standing in the base of the shower.
These are usually short jobs. The line is cleared mechanically and checked, and if the same waste keeps blocking the camera goes in to find out whether something further along is holding it up.
The giveaway is one fixture affected while everything else in the house runs normally.
Foreign objects
Wet wipes are the main offender, including the ones sold as flushable. They do not break down the way toilet paper does, so they snag on any roughness in the pipe and collect everything behind them. Nappies, sanitary products, cotton buds and children’s toys account for most of the rest.
Objects usually cause a sudden blockage rather than a gradual one, and they often need to be removed rather than pushed through, which is why a camera is worth running before anything is forced.
The giveaway is a drain that was completely normal yesterday and is completely blocked today.
Collapsed, cracked or misaligned pipe
Clay pipe becomes brittle with age, and ground movement, heavy vehicles over a driveway or nearby excavation can crack it or pull a joint out of line. Once a section drops or bellies, waste stops running cleanly through it and solids settle at the low point.
No amount of clearing fixes this. The pipe has to be repaired, either by relining the damaged section from the inside or, where the line has lost its shape altogether, by replacing it.
The giveaway is a line that clears easily and then blocks again within weeks, in the same place every time.
Silt, leaves and stormwater debris
Stormwater is a separate system from sewer, and it blocks differently. Leaves, silt and roof grit wash into pits and downpipes and settle wherever the fall flattens out. Most of the year the line copes, then the first heavy storm arrives and the water has nowhere to go.
Clearing the pit is only half of it. If water still backs up afterwards, the problem sits further down the stormwater line and needs to be found before the next downpour.
The giveaway is a drain that only misbehaves when it rains hard.
How we clear a blocked drain
Four steps, in this order, every time. The camera comes first because everything after it depends on what the camera finds.
Find the cause first
A drain camera goes down the line before anything else. It shows what is blocking it, how far along it sits and whether the pipe itself is sound. Guessing at this stage is how the same blockage comes back.
Match the method to the blockage
Roots and solid build-up are cut out with an electric eel. Grease and silt are scoured off the pipe wall with high pressure jetting. The camera decides which, not habit.
Clear the line and prove it
The blockage is removed and the line is run clear, then tested with water so you can see it taking flow properly rather than taking our word for it.
Show you what caused it
The camera goes back in after the clear. If the pipe is damaged you see the footage and get the repair options. If it was simply build-up, you get told that too, and nothing further is sold to you.
Which method suits which blockage
There is no single best way to clear a drain. The right method depends entirely on what is in the pipe and on whether the pipe itself is still sound.
| What the camera finds | What we use | Why | Service |
|---|---|---|---|
| Roots in the line | Electric eel | A cutting head is driven through the blockage to shear the roots out of the pipe. | Electric Eel Drain Cleaning |
| Fat, grease or silt | High pressure jetting | Water at pressure strips the build-up off the pipe wall along the whole run. | High Pressure Drain Jetting |
| Foreign object | Camera then retrieval | The object is located first so it can be removed rather than pushed further down the line. | CCTV Drain Inspection |
| Cracked or root-damaged pipe | Relining | A liner is cured inside the existing pipe, sealing the cracks and joints without digging. | Pipe Relining |
| Collapsed or badly fallen pipe | Replacement | The failed section is excavated and new pipe laid where relining cannot restore the shape. | Drain Pipe Replacement |
| Blocks again every few months | Scheduled cleaning | A planned visit on a set interval, so a known problem line stops becoming an emergency. | Drain Cleaning |
When clearing is not the answer
If a drain has blocked repeatedly in the same spot, the problem is usually the pipe rather than what is passing through it. Roots entering an open joint and a cracked or fallen section both behave the same way: the line clears easily, runs well for a few weeks, then blocks again.
At that point another clear is money spent on the symptom. Relining seals the damaged section from the inside without digging, and replacement is for lines that have lost their shape altogether. The camera footage is what decides between them, and you see it before anything is quoted.
How the price works
There is no charge for coming out and looking at the problem.
Drain clearing starts at $69. What a job costs depends on where the blockage is and what is causing it.
You get the price before any work begins, and nothing goes ahead until you agree to it.
We take calls through the night, on weekends and on public holidays.
Blocked drain questions
How much does it cost to clear a blocked drain in Sydney?
Blocked drains are cleared from $69, and there is no call-out fee, so nothing is charged for coming out to look at it.
The final figure depends on where the blockage sits and what is causing it. A bathroom waste full of hair is a short job. A root mass in the main line under a driveway is not. You are given the price before any work starts and nothing proceeds until you agree to it.
How long does it take?
Most single blockages are cleared in the same visit. Where the camera finds a damaged pipe rather than a blockage, the line is cleared so the property can be used, and the repair is quoted separately so you can decide on it in your own time.
Will you dig up my garden?
Not to clear a blockage. Clearing is done through an existing access point and nothing is excavated.
If the pipe turns out to be damaged, relining is trenchless and is the first option considered precisely because it avoids digging. Excavation is only recommended where a line has collapsed or fallen so badly that a liner cannot restore it.
Why does my drain keep blocking after it has been cleared?
Because clearing removes the blockage, not the reason for it. The two usual reasons are tree roots entering through an open joint and a section of pipe that has cracked or dropped.
If a line has blocked more than once in a year, the useful next step is a camera inspection rather than another clear.
Do you clear blocked drains in units and apartments?
Yes. Shared lines between units are common and a single blockage can affect several residents at once, which makes identifying where the blockage actually sits more important than usual. Strata and body corporate work is covered under commercial and strata drain cleaning.
Do you work after hours?
Yes. Overnight, at weekends and on public holidays. If waste water is backing up into the property it should be treated as an emergency blocked drain rather than left until morning.
Related drain services
Get your blocked drain cleared
Describe the symptom and we will tell you what it usually means and what clearing it is likely to involve. If it is backing up into the property, call instead. That one should not wait.
NSW Licence 306733C. Fully insured. $0 call-out fee. Blocked drains cleared from $69.