Blocked Sewer Sydney
We clear blocked sewer lines for Sydney homes, businesses and strata buildings, any hour. When the main line goes, several fixtures back up at once, so we locate the blockage on camera first and clear it at the right point rather than working blind. Call now and we will get a licensed drainer moving.
Is it the sewer or just one fixture?
This matters before you call, because the two need different work and only one of them is urgent.
- More than one fixture blocked or slow at the same time
- Water rising in a shower or floor waste when the toilet is flushed
- Gurgling from a drain on the other side of the house when a tap runs
- Waste water appearing at the overflow relief gully outside
- A sewage smell in the yard or around the inspection opening
- One sink, basin or shower slow while everything else runs normally
- A toilet that blocks but drains away once it is plunged
- A kitchen sink that is slow after cooking and clears with hot water
- A floor waste that smells but is not backing up
- A laundry tub that drains slowly on its own
Whose pipe is it, yours or Sydney Water’s?
As a general rule the property owner is responsible for the sewer line inside the property boundary, and Sydney Water is responsible for the main beyond it. From inside the house the two look identical, because every fixture behaves the same way whichever side of the boundary the blockage sits on.
A camera measures how far along the line the blockage is and compares that against where the boundary runs. If it is in the main rather than your line, you are told that and pointed at the right authority rather than charged for work that was never yours to pay for.
What we do about a blocked sewer
Four steps, in this order. Relieving the overflow and finding the cause are different jobs, and the first cannot wait for the second.
Relieve it first
If waste water is entering the property the overflow is dealt with before anything else. The overflow relief gully outside is designed to release pressure away from the house, and clearing it is often what stops the inside of the property getting worse.
Camera the main line
A drain camera goes down the sewer line to find the blockage, measure how far along it sits and confirm whether it is inside the property boundary or beyond it.
Clear it at the blockage
Roots are cut out with an electric eel. Grease, silt and debris are scoured off the pipe wall with high pressure jetting. The camera decides which, because the wrong tool on a root mass simply pushes it along.
Camera it again
The line is re-run after clearing so you can see it flowing and see the condition of the pipe. On a sewer line that matters more than usual, because a failure here takes out the whole property.
What blocks a sewer line
Four causes account for most of them, and two of the four mean the pipe itself needs work rather than another clear.
Tree roots at a joint
The main line is the longest run on the property and usually the oldest, which gives roots the most joints to find. A root mass in the sewer holds back everything from every fixture at once, which is why the whole house goes rather than one room.
Wet wipes and sanitary products
Items that do not break down snag on any roughness in the pipe and then collect everything behind them. In a sewer line they often build into a solid plug rather than a partial obstruction, so the blockage is total rather than slow.
A collapsed or dropped section
Clay pipe becomes brittle, and ground movement or a vehicle over a driveway can crack it or pull a joint apart. Once a section drops, solids settle at the low point and the line blocks there repeatedly no matter how often it is cleared.
Fat and grease over years
Sewer lines carry everything the property produces, including the kitchen. Fat sets on the pipe wall over years and narrows the bore until something ordinary is enough to close it.
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 the cause and where it sits.
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 sewer questions
How do I know whether it is the sewer or just one fixture?
The test is how many fixtures are affected. One slow basin is a fixture problem. Two or more at once, or water rising in a shower when the toilet is flushed, points at the main line because everything shares it from that point on.
The clearest sign of all is waste water appearing at the overflow relief gully outside, which is the fitting designed to release a blocked sewer away from the house.
Is a blocked sewer my responsibility or Sydney Water’s?
As a general rule the property owner is responsible for the sewer line within the property boundary, and Sydney Water is responsible for the main beyond it. You cannot tell which from inside the house.
A camera settles it by measuring how far along the blockage sits relative to the boundary. If it turns out to be in the main rather than your line, you are told that rather than charged for work that is not yours.
Is sewage backing up dangerous?
It should be treated as contaminated. Keep children and pets away from it, avoid walking through it and spreading it through the property, and do not run further water into the system while it is backing up.
This is also the clearest case for treating it as an emergency blocked drain rather than waiting for a daytime booking.
Will the line need replacing?
Usually not. Most sewer blockages are roots or build-up and are cleared without any repair at all.
Where the camera shows the pipe itself has failed, relining seals the damaged section from the inside without digging, and replacement is reserved for lines that have lost their shape so badly a liner cannot restore them.
Related drain services
Get the sewer line cleared
That is the main line, and it will not clear itself. Call if waste water is already coming back up. If it is still contained, send the details and we will come back to you with a price.
NSW Licence 306733C. Fully insured. $0 call-out fee. Blocked drains cleared from $69.