How to Tell If Your Drain Is Blocked

I have unblocked enough blocked drains around Manly, Dee Why, and Mosman to spot the warning signs from a mile away. Most blockages do not happen overnight — your pipes try to tell you something is wrong well before the water stops flowing. You just have to know what to look for.

Here is what I tell my customers when they ask "is my drain blocked?"

The early signs:

• Water drains slowly and leaves a soapy film behind
• You hear gurgling when the washing machine empties or the toilet flushes
• A bad smell comes up from the plug hole, even when you have not used it
• The water level in the toilet bowl rises higher than normal after flushing
• Your shower goes from draining fine to turning into a wading pool in a few days
• You notice a patch of lawn growing faster and greener over where the sewer pipe runs

I had a call last week from a lady in Freshwater who said her kitchen sink had been slow for about a month. She had tried two different bottled drain cleaners and neither touched it. Turns out it was a solid plug of grease and rice all the way down the pipe. Thirty minutes with the jetter and it was like new. She said "I wish I had called you sooner." I hear that a lot.

The worst ones are the main sewer line blockages. You flush the toilet and the water comes up in the shower. Or you run the washing machine and the laundry trough starts filling up. That is not a plunger job — that is a call an emergency plumber situation.

Tree roots are a massive problem around here, especially in older suburbs like Mosman and Balgowlah where the pipes are still the original clay. The roots find the tiniest crack in a joint and grow right into the pipe. By the time the drain blocks, that root can be as thick as your arm.

What to do if you spot the signs:

• Stop using chemical drain cleaners — they do not work on established blockages and they are terrible for the pipes
• Check if it is one fixture or multiple (one = local blockage, multiple = main line issue)
• Give us a call. We will send someone out with a camera to see exactly what is going on

Our plumbers show up on time, they are friendly, and they will tell you what the problem is before they start any work. No guesswork, no upsell. Just someone who actually knows what they are doing with your drains.

Give us a call or book online and we will sort it out.