• 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.

How do I find out where my sewer lines are you ask? This can be found by clicking on this Sydney Water link to Quick Check where you can obtain a copy of your property’s drainage diagram. http://www.sydneywater.com.au/BuildingDeveloping/QuickCheck/QuickCheckAgents.cfm

Here are the problem species according to Sydney Water
http://www.sydneywater.com.au/MajorProjects/Wastewater/ReducingDryWeatherOverflows.cfm

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.

Blocked drains can be caused by a number of factors, the following are some of the common ones:

• Cracked pipes – this is where tree roots find their way into even the smallest of cracks and continue to grow down the line and eventually cause a blocked drain.
• Broken pipes – may be caused by ground movement and can result in untreated waste seeping into the soil creating unhygienic conditions
• Clogged pipes – where foreign objects have gone down the drain such as ear buds, hair, grease etc, it has built up and created a blocked drain

If you notice any of the above symptoms don’t delay having it fixed. The longer you leave it, the worse it gets, the longer and more difficult it can be to clear therefore making it more expensive to fix. Call a licensed plumbing service or an emergency plumber if the problem requires immediate attention.

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.

Being able to identify problems with the pipe will give you the opportunity to have these sections replaced before the damage spreads and potentially costs more than would have been necessary.

If your plumber does identify a damaged or collapsed pipe with his drain camera that requires replacing a locator is used to pinpoint from ground level exactly where and how deep the problem is. By using a locator first it ensures sections of your pipe are not replaced that don’t need replacing. It also enables you to receive a more accurate quote by the plumbing service you choose.

Whichever licensed plumbing service you use always ensure they use a drain camera to 100% confirm the blockage has been cleared and you are getting what you are paying for.

For those blockages causing severe disruption or unhygienic mess there are always emergency plumbers available that can come out quickly to fix the problem.

• 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. In other situations when there is evidence of a leak but identifying the actual section of leaking pipe is difficult, specialised testing and locating equipment is used to pinpoint the leak in your plumbing services. This equipment and expertise can find leaks anywhere from within internal walls of your house, in or under concrete slabs or driveways and even those buried somewhere within your property.

Once the leak in your plumbing services has been located and repaired a pressure test should be conducted to confirm there are no further leaks.

Fix it Now Plumbing have the specialist equipment if required to find those difficult leaks. For those leaks that happen at the most inconvenient times we also offer a genuine 24 hour emergency plumber service.

If you need a reliable Sydney plumber call now – 0414 248 131.