Drain Cleaning Services

Drain cleaning clears slow-running and blocked drains, kitchen and bathroom sinks, toilets, showers, laundry tubs, sewer and stormwater lines, and gets them flowing properly again. The right way to clear a drain depends on what is blocking it, so a good drain cleaning job starts with finding the cause rather than just clearing the nearest point of access. Reddy Plumbing and Gas is an owner-operated, QBCC-licensed plumbing business (QBCC licence 15474565), and licensed plumber Jared clears slow and blocked drains for homes and businesses.

Signs your drains need cleaning

Most drains warn you before they block completely. It is worth booking a drain clean when you notice:

• Water draining slower than usual from a sink, shower or bath.
• Gurgling sounds from a drain, toilet or nearby fixture when water runs elsewhere in the house.
• Bad smells coming from a drain that were not there before.
• Water backing up into another fixture, such as a shower filling when the washing machine drains.
• A toilet where the bowl is slow to empty, or the water rises and then drains away slowly.
• A drain that keeps blocking again soon after it is cleared.

Any one of these on its own might be minor. Several together, or a blockage that keeps coming back, usually means the problem sits further down the line and is worth a proper look rather than another quick fix.

What causes slow and recurring drains

Drains block for different reasons depending on the fixture and the age of the pipework:

• Grease, fat and soap building up on the inside of kitchen and laundry pipes.
• Hair and soap scum collecting in shower and bath wastes.
• Wet wipes and foreign objects flushed down toilets they were never meant to handle.
• Tree roots finding their way into joints and cracks in older sewer pipes.
• Leaves, dirt and debris washing into stormwater drains after wet weather.
• Ageing, cracked or misaligned pipes that catch debris and block more often.

Knowing which of these is at fault is what decides the right way to clear the drain, and whether the blockage is likely to come back.

How we clear a drain

There is no single tool for every blockage. Depending on what is causing it, clearing a drain can involve:

• A drain machine or auger fed down the pipe to cut through roots or break up a solid blockage.
• High-pressure water jetting to scour grease, scale and build-up off the inside of the pipe.
• A CCTV drain camera to see inside the pipe and pinpoint the cause when a blockage keeps returning.

Which one suits depends on the pipe and the problem, so the job starts with working out the likely cause rather than forcing the nearest tool and risking damage to older pipework. In practice that means:

1. Work out the likely cause. A kitchen sink draining slowly points to grease; a toilet that will not flush at all points to something stuck in the bowl or pipe.
2. Use the approach that suits that cause. A clog in a sink or shower trap clears differently to tree roots deep in a sewer line.
3. Clear it while protecting the pipe. Older pipework needs a gentler approach than newer PVC, since brittle or corroded sections can crack under the wrong method.
4. Check the drain actually runs clear. Running water through and watching how it drains confirms the blockage is gone, not just pushed further along.
5. Flag anything bigger. A recurring blockage in a sewer or stormwater line can mean ageing pipe that needs further investigation rather than repeat clearing.

What affects the cost of a drain clean

There is no single price for drain cleaning, because the job varies so much. The main things that change the scope of the work are:

• Where the blockage sits – a clog near the fixture is quicker than one deep in a sewer line.
• What caused it – hair and soap clears differently to a tree-root intrusion in an old pipe.
• How easy the pipe is to reach – drains under a concrete slab or in a tight space take longer than an exposed external drain.
• Whether it is a one-off or recurring – a drain that keeps blocking may need investigation to find the real cause, not just another clear.

When to call a licensed plumber

A minor sink or basin clog can sometimes be eased with a plunger. Work on the sewer line or the stormwater connection is regulated drainage work, and a blockage that keeps coming back is worth a licensed plumber, because a recurring blockage usually has a cause that needs finding rather than clearing again. We would steer clear of chemical drain cleaners: they are caustic and can cause burns and harmful fumes, they can damage older pipes and seals, they usually only shift the problem temporarily, and they do nothing about tree roots or a collapsed pipe.

Frequently asked questions

Written and reviewed by Jared at Reddy Plumbing and Gas.