Now that you’ve had your blocked drain cleared or replaced there are some important things to know to help minimise the likelihood of it blocking up again. Below are some recommendations:

• If you are having renovations done on your property ensure they cover all exposed pipes so no debris falls down the pipes causing a blocked drain.
• Keep drains and sinks clear of hair – put it in the bin
• Don’t flush sanitary items, nappies or baby wipes down a drain
• Use sink strainers in the kitchen
• No fats, oils or food scraps should be washed down the drain
• Be careful of clip on toilet fresheners that can fall off and be flushed down the toilet
• And yes while children find it interesting to watch a toy disappear down a ‘waterfall’ of water, objects being flushed down the toilet can also cause blocked drains.

In addition to the above, did you know 75% of sewage overflows are a result of tree roots blocking drains? With tree roots growing about one and a half times the distance of the adult plants branches you can reduce the potential for blocked drains by planting trees as far away from your sewer lines as possible. Read more »

Did you know as the property owner you are responsible for the pipes and downpipes on your property and ensuring no sewage escapes into the environment or stormwater into the sewage system. This can occur when you have blocked drain.

How do you know if you have a blocked drain you ask? Do you have any of these symptoms?

• Slow draining toilet
• Slow draining kitchen sink
• Water overflowing in your yard
• Gurgling noise when you flush a toilet or run a tap
• Unpleasant smell coming from a drain
• Overflowing drain when it rains
• A patch of greener grass compared to the remainder of the yard

Did you know 75% of sewage overflows are a result of tree roots blocking drains and many rising damp issues are directly related to faulty stormwater lines. Read more »

Once you have identified the symptoms of a blocked drain and your plumber is on site, he will begin by locating the blockage using either his electric eel or high pressure water jetter. The water jetters are the latest in technology for clearing blocked drains and have been found to do a more thorough job than the electric eels.

Water jets have Turbine attachments used to cut through and remove tree roots, grease build up, silt, rocks and foreign objects.

Once your blocked drain has been cleared you should always have a drain camera put down the line. There are two reasons for this, firstly to ensure that the blockage is completely gone and you are getting what you paid for; and secondly to identify any cracks or breaks that may cause ongoing blocked drains. Read more »

Do you think there is a leak in your plumbing services? There are some tell tale signs to look out for that indicate a leak, such as:

• A particularly green patch in your lawn
• A very wet patch in your lawn
• You can see the water damage or water coming from within a wall
• You can hear the water
• Large increase in your water bill

If you suspect you have a leak in your plumbing service the easiest way to confirm whether you do or not is to locate your water metre, make sure that no taps or toilets are running and then go and look at your water metre to see if it is ticking over. In some instances the leak may be very slow. To check this the best thing to do is record your water metre reading before going to bed, then check it again first thing in the morning before anyone uses any taps, toilets etc.

When there is a leaking pipe often it can be fixed by simply replacing that section of pipe in your plumbing service. Read more »