Gold Coast plumbing
Blocked Drains on the Gold Coast
A blocked drain is easy to ignore until it backs up over the floor. We clear the blockage, then tell you what caused it so you are not calling someone back in three months.
About our blocked drains work
Blockages build up gradually. A sink that takes a few seconds longer to empty becomes a sink that holds water, and a toilet that needs a second flush becomes one that will not clear at all. The early signs are your best chance to deal with it cheaply.
What is in the line matters. Hair and soap in a bathroom, fat and food waste in a kitchen, wipes and other items that should never have gone down a toilet, and tree roots working into older sewer lines all behave differently and need different handling.
Supermarket drain chemicals will sometimes shift a light bathroom blockage. They will not touch roots or a heavy grease build-up, and repeated use is hard on older pipework. If the same drain blocks again and again, the problem is the pipe, not the plunger.
Common causes
- Hair, soap and product build-up in bathroom wastes
- Cooking fat, oil and food scraps in kitchen lines
- Wipes, sanitary items and other non-flushable items
- Tree roots working into joints in older sewer lines
- Silt, sand and leaf litter in outdoor drains after storms
- Damaged, cracked or misaligned sections of pipe
- Pipework that has moved with ground settlement
How iPlumb Gold Coast approaches the job
We ask which fixtures are affected. One slow basin is a local problem; several fixtures at once usually points further down the line.
We clear the blockage using the appropriate method for the line and the material in it, working from the nearest suitable access point.
We test the drain properly afterwards rather than declaring it clear as soon as water moves.
If the blockage looks like a symptom of a damaged pipe or repeated root intrusion, we explain what further investigation would involve so you can make an informed decision.
Your options
Clearing the blockage
Mechanical clearing of sinks, basins, showers, toilets and outside drains, matched to what is causing the obstruction.
Identifying repeat problems
Where a drain keeps blocking, we look at the pattern and location and explain what is likely going on underneath.
Advice on prevention
Practical, specific advice about what is going down that particular drain and how to keep it clear.
Why it pays to sort it early
A blocked drain does not stay in one place. Waste water backs up to the lowest fixture in the house, which is usually a shower or laundry, and cleaning up sewage inside a home costs far more than clearing a drain would have.
iPlumb Gold Coast is a service-area business run by Christian, covering the Gold Coast, QLD. Find your suburb on the Gold Coast service areas page, or see the full range of work on the plumbing services page.
Questions we get asked
Why does my drain keep blocking?
Recurring blockages in the same line usually mean something structural — roots at a pipe joint, a section that has cracked or dropped, or a partial obstruction that never fully cleared. Repeatedly clearing the symptom is more expensive over time than finding the cause.
Can I use a drain cleaner from the supermarket first?
For a slow bathroom basin it sometimes helps. It will not clear roots or a solid grease blockage, and frequent use is not good for older pipes. If the drain is fully blocked or backing up, call rather than pour.
What causes gurgling when I use another tap?
Gurgling means air is being pulled through water sitting where it should not be. It is an early warning that the line is partly obstructed, and it is much easier to deal with at that stage.
My toilet and shower are both affected. Is that worse?
It usually means the blockage is further down a shared line rather than at a single fixture, so yes, it is worth attending to promptly before it backs up.
Will you need to dig up the yard?
Most blockages are cleared through an existing access point without excavation. If a damaged section of pipe is the underlying cause, we will explain that separately before anything is dug.
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