Blocked Drain Plumber Wollongong

CS Plumbing & Drainage Services clears blocked drains in Wollongong and across the Illawarra, and most blocked drains are cleared on the same day you call. We put a camera into the drain to find what is causing the blockage, show you the footage, and give you a price before any work starts. There is no call out fee. Owner Sandro Contarin has been a licensed plumber since 1992, and our NSW contractor licence number is 39901C. Call 0416 101 022 to book a blocked drain plumber.

Here is how to tell that a drain is blocking, what usually causes it in the Illawarra, and how we clear it.

Signs of a Blocked Drain in Your Home

A drain rarely blocks all at once. Most blockages give you some warning first, so call us if you notice any of these signs:

• Sinks, the bath or the shower emptying slowly
• A toilet that does not flush properly or has overflowed
• Gurgling from the drains after you use a sink, the toilet or the washing machine
• Bad smells from floor drains or from the gully trap outside
• Water overflowing from the gully near your outside tap
• Several fixtures backing up at the same time
• Water pooling in the yard when it has not rained, or wet patches and sinking ground where the drainage pipes run

When several fixtures back up together, the blockage is usually in the main drain line rather than in one fixture, and that needs attention quickly. A slow drain or a smell that keeps coming back is often the first sign, and our guide to drain smells explains the common causes. It usually costs less to clear a blocked drain early than to wait until it overflows.

What to Do While You Wait for a Blocked Drain Plumber

Stop using the sinks, toilets and appliances that drain into the blocked line, because any water you send down has nowhere to go. If wastewater is overflowing, keep children and pets away from it. Sydney Water asks people to stay clear of wastewater overflows and to report any overflow, whether it is on your property or in a public place, to its faults line on 13 20 90, which is open 24 hours a day (Sydney Water: wastewater blockages).

Leave the supermarket drain cleaner on the shelf. It rarely shifts a real blockage, it does nothing to tree roots, and it can sit in the pipe and irritate your skin and eyes if the drain does not clear. If a plunger and hot water have not worked, call us on 0416 101 022.

Common Causes of Blocked Drains in the Illawarra

The Illawarra’s older homes, big trees and heavy rain off the escarpment cause the same few blockages again and again. These are the ones we see most often.

Tree Roots in Drain Pipes

Large fig trees, gum trees and Norfolk Island pines are common across Wollongong’s older suburbs. Their roots look for moisture at the pipe joins, particularly in the clay and earthenware pipes found in homes built before the 1990s. Once roots get into a pipe, they grow quickly and catch everything that passes through. Sydney Water advises against planting trees within 6 metres of wastewater pipes, and its list of trees to avoid includes figs, gum trees, the Norfolk Island pine and the Illawarra flame tree. If you live in an older suburb and your drains keep blocking in the same spot, roots are the likely cause. You can read why tree roots keep coming back in Wollongong drains.

Blocked Stormwater Drains After Heavy Rain

Heavy rain off the escarpment washes leaf litter and silt into stormwater drains, and they can block quickly during a downpour. If your yard pools after rain and takes a long time to drain, the stormwater drain is often restricted or completely blocked. Our stormwater drains page covers stormwater repairs, and our article on blocked stormwater drains in Wollongong explains the common causes and fixes.

Old Clay Drain Pipes in Established Suburbs

Established suburbs such as Figtree, Keiraville, Mangerton and West Wollongong still have the original clay drainage pipes in many homes. After 40 years or more, the joints fail and the pipes crack and shift. Once the shape of the pipe changes, blockages build up at the same point again and again. A camera inspection shows whether the pipe itself needs repair.

Grease and Wet Wipes in Kitchen and Toilet Drains

Kitchen drains blocked with grease and toilets blocked with wet wipes are among our most common callouts. Grease coats the inside of the pipe and narrows it over time until the water stops flowing. Wet wipes do not break down, so they catch on any rough spot inside the pipe and build up fast. Sydney Water says non-flushable wet wipes contribute to 75% of wastewater blockages, and it recommends flushing only pee, poo and toilet paper and putting everything else in the bin.

How We Clear Blocked Drains in Wollongong

CCTV Drain Camera Inspection

We feed a camera into the pipe to find the blockage and check the condition of the pipe. You watch the footage with us, so you can see what is causing the problem before you decide on anything, and we only dig where the camera shows we need to.

Hydro Jetting Blocked Drains

A hydro jetter uses high pressure water to clear tree roots, grease, wet wipes and silt. On a stubborn blockage it works better than an electric eel, because it cleans the whole pipe wall rather than punching a hole through the middle of the blockage. We carry both and choose between them based on what the camera shows.

Pipe Locator for Drain Repairs

Once we know where the blockage is, a pipe locator pinpoints its exact position and depth from above ground, so any digging is limited to the spot that needs it.

Drain Excavation and Drain Pipe Replacement

Where the pipe itself has failed, collapsed, cracked or been badly damaged by roots, clearing the blockage only helps for a while. Repairing the damaged section is the fix that lasts, and depending on the damage, the options include replacing the section of pipe or relining it. We carry out drain excavation and pipe replacement ourselves, and our drain excavation and repairs page explains that work in more detail. In NSW, a licence is needed for any plumbing or drainage work, whatever it costs (NSW Government: plumbing, draining and gasfitting work), and at the end of drainage work the drainer must complete a certificate of compliance and give a copy to the person who arranged the work (Building Commission NSW: plumbing inspection documents).

What Does It Cost to Clear a Blocked Drain in Wollongong?

The cost depends on what is causing the blockage and where it is, so we cannot give a fixed price until we have inspected the drain. There is no call out fee. We assess the drain, show you what we find on camera, and give you a price before we do anything, and you decide whether to go ahead.

A grease blockage in a pipe that is easy to reach is usually quick to clear with the jetter. A root damaged clay pipe in a difficult spot takes more work and costs more. Call 0416 101 022 or use our contact page to book a same day inspection.

Who Pays for a Blocked Drain in Wollongong: You or Sydney Water?

It depends on where the blockage is. Sydney Water supplies wastewater services to the Illawarra (Sydney Water: what we do), and it is responsible for the wastewater pipes that form its network. You are responsible for the wastewater pipes on your property up to the point where they connect to Sydney Water’s pipes, and a blockage in your private pipes needs a licensed plumber to clear it.

Sydney Water says the blockage is probably in its pipes if:

• the overflow is visible beyond your property boundary, for example from a maintenance hole on public land
• your neighbours have the same problem
• there is widespread flooding in your local area
• the overflow keeps going when nobody is using water on your property

If one of those applies, call Sydney Water on 13 20 90 first. If a licensed plumber finds that the blockage is in Sydney Water’s pipe and reports it to Sydney Water, you may be able to claim your reasonable out of pocket costs (Sydney Water: who pays to clear a blockage).

Blocked Drain Plumber for Suburbs Across Wollongong and the Illawarra

We clear blocked drains in homes and businesses right across the region. In the northern suburbs, that includes Bulli, Fairy Meadow, Corrimal and East Corrimal. Closer to the city, we work in Keiraville, Mangerton, Coniston and Figtree. Further south, we clear blocked drains in Dapto, Koonawarra, Kanahooka, Lake Illawarra, Shellharbour and Albion Park. If your suburb is not listed here, call us anyway, because we cover the whole Illawarra.

How to Book a Blocked Drain Plumber in Wollongong

Call us on 0416 101 022 or send an enquiry through our contact page. Tell us which drain is blocked, what you have noticed and where the property is, and we will arrange a time, usually on the same day. If a drain or toilet is overflowing out of hours, our emergency plumbing service is available 24 hours a day.

When we arrive, we inspect the drain with the camera and give you a clear price before any work starts. There is no call out fee.

$0 Call Out Fee | Contractor Licence 39901C | Available 24/7