Blocked Drain, Geelong

Drain Types

It is important for us to know what type of blockage you have as sewage overflows are urgent health and safety issues that we prioritise very highly over blocked stormwater drains.

So what’s the difference between a sewer drain and a stormwater drain?

Household sewage typically contains everything from used water and solid wastes. These products can come from the bathroom, kitchen, toilet and laundry and sewer drains will typically lead to a sewer main or septic tank.

Stormwater is rainwater, and stormwater drains are downpipes from roofs and pits in driveways. Stormwater drains enter the stormwater drainage system and run to the council storm water main, kerb outlet or a soak hole.

Plumber vs Drain Unblocker

What’s the difference between a plumber and a drain unblocker?

A plumber is a tradesman who specialises in installing and maintaining 1plumbing systems, heating, drainage, drinking water etc.
A drain unblocker specialises in cleaning and unblocking drains and repairing faults throughout the whole drainage system.

Put simply:

Plumber = Internal pipes within the house or walls.
Drain Unblocker = Exterior pipes, under the ground or coming out of the house into the sewer.

Common signs of a blocked sewer drain

A ‘glugging’ sound

This sound might come from the toilet, sink, bath or shower and is often due to the water you have just flushed displacing trapped air in the drainage system. The ‘glugging’ sound is the trapped air pushing up through the water trap.

External grates overflowing near your bathroom, kitchen or laundry when using water

External grates will often overflow when there is a blocked drain, as the water cannot continue normally through the pipes, so gets forced out of the grates.

Your sink, shower, laundry or bath water doesn’t go down (or goes down very slowly) or your toilet water rises.

The water level in the toilet, bath or sink draining slowly or rising higher than usual, or the water level in the toilet dropping lower than usual, is often due to the water being syphoned out of the pan because of problems further down the system.

A bad smell

Bad smells and internal venting can be due to water being displaced in the traps on household drains, such as sinks, baths and showers. Blocked and defective drains can leak into sub-floors, again causing bad smells within the property.

Common signs of a blocked stormwater drain

Some signs that you may have a blockage in your stormwater drain:

• Your surface grates not clearing when it rains
• Water coming out of the bottom of the downpipes when it rains.

Preventing drain blockages

How can I prevent my drains from blocking up?

• Remove hairs that get trapped in the basin/bath/shower plug hole, or use a filter to trap the hair before it goes down the drain.
• Don’t flush away disposable items such as nappies, tissues and sanitary products.
• Regularly lift drain covers and check that drains are free-flowing
• Check gutters and downpipes twice a year and remove any debris.
• Don’t overdo the use of soap powder when doing your washing, as this can cause build up in your drains.
• Make sure all drains have covers, grates or lids.

Recurring drain blockages

My drain keeps re-blocking. Why does this keep happening?

If your drain keeps getting blocked, there is obviously a more significant problem. We can do a drain inspection using a specialised camera to determine what is causing the drain to re-block and find the best solution.

Objects that commonly obstruct the flow in drains can be:

• Root Infiltration
• Collapsed Pipe
• Debris
• Fat
• Foreign objects e.g. kid’s toys, bottles, sanitary products.

For more information on drain unblocking or if your drain is blocked please call us on 1300 788 289.