Blocked Drains & Pipes
Blocked drains are one of the most common plumbing issues that can happen in your home or property. Whether your blocked drain is in your bathroom, kitchen or the external area of the building, it can potentially be a major headache and cause serious damage.
Wherever your blocked drains or pipes are located, the New Life Plumbing team have the expertise and skills to help. As the most skilled specialist at clearing blocked drains in Sydney, we pride ourselves on delivering the highest quality of service and customer satisfaction in the unblocking of drains and pipes in both the internal and external areas of your property.
If you have been experiencing problems with blocked drains and pipes, New Life Plumbing can assist you in discovering the root of the problem and provide you with an expert fix for the issue in your home or property.
What causes blocked drains?
There are many reasons why you may have blocked drains on your property. Common causes include tree roots, broken pipes, build-up of debris, discarded wipes, damaged drains and other foreign objects. No matter what the cause is, our blocked drain plumbers are on hand to investigate and repair the problem.
How do I know if I have blocked drains or pipes?
There are some common warning signs for blocked drains and pipes, and it is important to be able to identify the signs that indicate that you potentially have a problem. These signs include:
- The toilet, shower or sink is not draining quickly or not at all
- When flushing the toilet, the water level rises higher than normal
- Gurgling-type sounds are coming from the drains
- There is a pungent sewage smell around your drains
DIY domestic blocked drain cleaner tips
Some blocked drains in Sydney might just need some gentle encouragement to start working properly again. That’s why we’ve compiled this useful DIY guide on how to deal with that troublesome blocked shower drain or blocked sewer pipe.
Please note, if you don’t feel confident enough to try the following techniques by yourself, or you are unsure of the severity of the situation with your blocked sewer pipe or line, call New Life Plumbing immediately to take care of your blocked drains in Sydney.
Plunging — suitable for sinks, tubs & showers
A plunger is always a good tool to have around for a blocked drain. It can assist with minor blockages by dislodging build-up in the p-trap or U-bend. If you have a sink blockage, firstly fill your sink halfway with hot water and then begin pumping carefully with the plunger. Once drainage occurs, rinse the sink with more hot water. For toilets, use the plunger to make a seal with the bowl. The first push will remove the air and make the plunger seal firmly, allowing you to continue pumping while maintaining the seal. Repeat until the blockage has gone down.
Baking soda and vinegar — suitable for sinks, tubs & showers
When attempting to unblock your sink, you should pour boiling water down the blocked drain first. Then tip a ½ cup of bi-carbonated soda into your drain and let it sit for 5 minutes. While waiting, prepare your vinegar mixture by mixing 1 cup of vinegar with 1 cup of boiling water and then pouring the mix down the drain. Allow the chemical reaction to loosen up the blockage for 10 minutes and then rinse out the drain with more boiling water. For toilets, you follow a similar process; however, due to the water in the toilet bowl, you will need to increase the concentration of the solution. Pour 1 cup of bi-carbonated soda and 2 cups of vinegar and wait for 10 minutes before flushing and repeat if required.
Clearing u-trap blockages — suitable for most sinks
One of the most common blocked drains in a Sydney household is the u-trap under the sink. When clearing the u-trap, be sure to place a bucket under the pipe, then, using a wrench, unscrew the u-trap and empty the build-up into the bucket. After thoroughly cleaning the u-trap and its connecting pipes, reattach the trap, ensuring that it is secured tightly in place.
Still got blocked drains in your home? Call in the plumbing experts
If your constant attempts to try and unblock your drains have failed, New Life Plumbing is here to help. Our team of blocked drain repair experts make use of industry-leading techniques and equipment, including:
- Electric eels
- Motorised drain snakes
- Cold water jet blasting
- Hot water jet blasting
- Drain cameras
We are dedicated to providing our customers with quality service from your first phone call until the job is completed and follow strict procedures to ensure that we are providing you with the best standard of workmanship in clearing blocked drains in Sydney.
Firstly, we undertake a detailed inspection of your blocked drains and carry out tests to determine which area of the drain has been affected. We will then provide you with details of the condition of your drains and what is causing the problem.
Our team will then explain what is involved in the process of addressing and fixing the problem. A detailed quote with options will then be provided, along with the costs to complete the job. Please note our costs are based on the individual job and not on the hours spent to resolve your issue. On your approval, we will commence and complete the work in a clean and professional manner.
Tackling the external blocked drains on your property
The stormwater drains on your property handle water that drains off the roof, nearby roads, driveways, footpaths and other areas. Blocked stormwater drains are not a problem that can be left for days or weeks as a blockage can lead to flooding and serious property damage.
A blocked stormwater drain is a problem that generally occurs during heavy rains and storms. Your property will be fitted with gutters, downpipes and stormwater drainage pits that collect the rainwater and dispel it to the stormwater drainage network in your street. If you notice water overflowing out of your gutters or water pooling around your home, you probably have a blocked drain.
Your stormwater drain system is made up of underground pipework and downpipes which are connected to your gutters. Without a proper functioning stormwater system, your home could be at risk of foundational damage as heavy amounts of water seep into the soil during winter.
Ensuring stormwater drains are clear and free from blockages is important to safeguarding your home from possible flooding and causing a moat-like situation around your home.
Blocked gutters can cause water to seep into the home which will ruin ceilings with water damage. It can also lap into the house under doors, causing floor damage. Therefore, it’s vitally important that the stormwater drainage system around your home is maintained and blockages are fixed as soon as they are identified. Let’s look at some of the key blockages found in blocked drains in the Sydney area and how they can be rectified and prevented.
What causes a blocked stormwater drain?
Stormwater drains on your property come under a lot of pressure from the environment and collect water from a wide selection of sources. This means they are much more likely to encounter problems such as stormwater blockages which are caused by a number of factors, including:
- Tree roots — Invasive tree roots reportedly cause 95% of blockages due to the availability of moisture and nutrients found within the drain.
- Garden waste such as leaves, dirt and debris
- Damaged pipes and collapsed pipes
- Toys and other rubbish
While stormwater pipes are designed to handle a lot of water, they can’t handle a lot of debris build-up. This is why it’s always important to keep your garden as clean as possible, as a heavy downpour can push leaves, clippings and more into your runoffs, causing unwanted blocked drains.
How to prevent a blocked stormwater drain
The best way to prevent a blocked stormwater drain is to keep your gardens well-maintained and remove any leaf matter from the gutters. Gutters should be cleaned twice a year, removing all tree branches, leaves and any other matter that has accumulated throughout that time. Always use gloves when doing this job and ensure you stand on a ladder that is erected safely. If you have noticed more rainwater is flowing out of the gutters than down the pipe or there is any pooling of water around your home, it may be time to call in New Life Plumbing to come and inspect your blocked drains in Sydney.
Let New Life Plumbing take care of your stormwater blocked drains
The New Life blockage clearing plumbing team is on call 24 hours a day to help with your stormwater issues and blocked drains. We will come to you with the latest drain and pipe cleaning blockage equipment to ensure we remove your stormwater drain blockage 100%.
We pride ourselves on providing excellent levels of customer satisfaction in all the services that we deliver and make a point of being thorough in all the work we carry out on blocked drains in Sydney by following our simple and effective procedure:
- Inspection and quotation — if the blockage is not instantly obvious the team will conduct a CCTV blocked drain inspection.
- Clearance and repair — We use a sophisticated hydro-jet blasting technique that uses highly pressurised water at a rate of 5000psi and can easily cut through any roots or other debris. The jet blasting shoots high pressured jets of water out at various angles. As it slices apart the debris, it also pushes them out of the drain and away from your property. If required, our team will also carry out repairs to the stormwater drainage system on your property.
- Final inspection — Our team will run a variety of tests after the clearing is complete to ensure that the blocked drain is completely clear and that you are happy with your service before a final sign off.
Contact new life plumbing about your blocked drains in Sydney
We hope that you have found the information on our page useful and that you are now feeling more confident in your knowledge of both your property’s drainage systems and also our team’s abilities.
If you have any queries about our stormwater or domestic property blocked drain services, please don’t hesitate to contact us today. Our team is on call 24/7 for emergency and general plumbing services, and we are ready to take care of any blocked drains in Sydney and the surrounding areas.
FAQs
How much does it cost to fix a blocked drain?
Property drainage problems can range from a simple blocked shower drain to a far more complicated blocked sewer pipe and with many blocked drains, there can also be unforeseen damage to other areas of your property that will require extra specialist attention. As such, we cannot provide a fixed price for all blocked drain clearance services.
At New Life Plumbing, we judge each blocked drain in Sydney on a case by case basis. This enables us to offer upfront and affordable pricing on our work, and it also means you can rest assured you are getting a fair deal while only paying for the work that is required.
Is a blocked drain an emergency that requires a plumber?
Although they are not always an immediate emergency, blocked drains can quickly turn into one. The location of the drain and the type of waste it carries will dictate the speed at which the situation will need to be handled.
For example, we would always recommend that you treat a blocked sewer pipe as an emergency as you don’t want raw sewage anywhere on your property, whereas a blocked shower drain can be dealt with in less haste as you can simply avoid using it while monitoring the blockage.
If you are unsure about any of your blocked drains in Sydney, it’s best to give New Life Plumbing a call. We are available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and can provide initial advice over the phone before we visit your property to inspect the issue in detail.
What do I do if my drain is blocked?
Firstly, check the DIY blocked drain cleaner tips on this page to see if any of our tips can help with simple blocked drain problems.
If none of these techniques works or if you are at all unsure as to the extent of damage, your first call should be to the New Life blocked drain plumber team.
Our team of professional plumbers can rectify any of your blocked drains in the Sydney area and are waiting for your call, no matter what time it is.
Can a blocked drain cause a smell?
Unfortunately, the answer to this question is yes, and it doesn’t even need to be a blocked sewer pipe for the smell to worsen. A blocked shower drain can also create some very unpleasant odours in and around your home.
You should contact our highly skilled blocked drain plumber team immediately if you begin to smell any strong odours on your property, and we will take care of the problem as quickly as possible.
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