Blocked Drains on the Sunshine Coast

Signs you have a drainage problem

• Sinks, basins or showers draining slowly
• Gurgling from a drain or toilet when water is used elsewhere
• Water pooling around a floor waste or in the shower
• A toilet that rises before it drains
• Smells coming back up through a drain or gully
• Water surfacing in the yard near a drain or gully trap

Several fixtures backing up at once usually points to a problem further down the line rather than at the fixture itself, and that is worth looking at properly rather than tipping another bottle of drain cleaner down it.

Blocked sinks, basins and showers

Kitchen sinks block up with fat, oil and food waste that cools and builds up on the inside of the pipe. Bathroom basins and showers block with hair, soap and product. Both are common, and both usually come back if only the surface of the blockage is cleared.

Woolfords Plumbing clears the blockage properly and checks the fall and condition of the pipework so the same drain is not blocking again a month later.

Blocked toilets and sewer drains

A blocked toilet can be something obvious lodged in the pan, or it can be a sign that the sewer line beyond the toilet is restricted. Wipes are a frequent cause, including the ones sold as flushable. Nappies, sanitary products and paper towel are others.

If more than one fixture in the house is backing up, the problem is almost certainly in the main line rather than the toilet. Turn off what you can, stop using the fixtures and call.

Outside drains, gullies and stormwater

Outside, blockages come from leaves, dirt, sand and tree roots finding their way into joints in older pipework. On the coast, heavy summer rain finds every weak point in a stormwater system fairly quickly.

Woolfords Plumbing clears blocked outside drains and gullies, and looks at where the water is actually going when a yard is not draining the way it should.

Drain repairs and new drainage

Some drains do not need clearing, they need fixing. Pipes crack, joints separate, roots get in and sections collapse — particularly in older properties where the drainage has been in the ground a long time.

Woolfords Plumbing repairs and replaces damaged sections of drain, and installs new drainage where a property needs it: for a renovation, an extension, a new fixture or a part of the yard that holds water after every downpour.

A note on drain cleaners

Supermarket drain chemicals sometimes shift a soft blockage near the top of the pipe. They do nothing for roots, a collapsed section or a solid object, and repeated use is hard on older pipework and on the person who eventually has to open the drain up. If a drain has blocked more than once, it is worth finding out why.