BLOCKED DRAINS

Hair and toiletries

To avoid blockages, make it a point to inspect main use drainage areas for signs of a blockage occurring.  Hair falling off the body in the shower or getting ready over the sink and in the bathroom is one of the most common causes of blocked drains. Small amounts of hair can simply be picked up using a glove and removed preventing future blockages. As for hygiene products, nappies and baby wipes, these products should never be disposed down the toilet. Once water immerses these products, it causes them to absorb the moisture and enlarge, quickly blocking access to water drains and pipes. Simply throw these products in the regular garbage to prevent issues.

Generally, these type of blockages are a very minor issue to resolve. We would simply attempt to use a plunger, an electric drain machine, or in extreme cases a hydro-jet high pressure water machine to clear the drain.

Tree Root Intrusion

Tree root intrusion occurs when your drain is filled with a surrounding plant’s root network. Typically, we see that the roots enter a cracked or misaligned section of a drain and starts to restrict water flow which can lead to a blockage. At times the strength of a root system can completely destroy, and cause breaks in a drain system.

To avoid minor tree root blockages, we recommend yearly drain cleaning (may be required more often), utilising a hydro-jet drain cleaner. The cleaner will essentially cut the roots back to size by using water to high pressure clean the drain, avoiding the build-up of tree roots over time that can cause the blockage.

If you are experiencing major issues, we recommend getting a CCTV camera inspection in the drain to find the exact cause of the blockage. Generally, roots enter problematic areas of the drain system and once we know where these are, we can either replace these sections of pipes or reline the drain system. Find out more about relining by watching this video:

Bad Installation

Unfortunately, we see bad drainage installations or issues affecting the drainage system due to negligent building work all the time. In these cases, we always recommend getting a CCTV camera inspection in the drain to find the exact cause of the blockage. We can then tailor a solution based on your individual circumstances and provide you with before and after footage of the work performed fixing the issue.