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Vesey Plumbing Solutions
New drainage pipe bedded in gravel along an open trench beside a house

Blocked Drains Gold Coast

A drain that keeps blocking has a reason. A yard that stays wet in dry weather is a leaking pipe instead. We clear the drain, and tell you what caused it and whether it will come back.

Last reviewed

0405 690 174Get in touch

Vesey Plumbing Solutions clears blocked toilets, sinks, drains and sewer lines across the Gold Coast, Monday to Friday, 7am to 5pm. Licensed plumber Jamie Vesey clears the blockage, finds the cause, says whether it will come back, and gives you a written price before starting.

What is the drain doing?

The shower or bath drains slowly

Usually one drain

What is usually behind it

Usually hair and soap caught in the pipe just below the grate, building up a little with every shower. If it is only the one shower or bath, the blockage is almost always close to it, not further down the line.

What you can do now

Lift the grate and pull out any hair you can reach, then run hot water from the tap for a minute. If it still drains slowly, or the basin beside it is slow too, stop there and call us.

0405 690 174

Not sure? Describe it on the phone.

The kitchen sink backs up

Usually one drain

What is usually behind it

Fat, oil and food scraps. They go down warm, set hard in the cooler pipe and catch everything that follows. It builds up over months, so a sink that has been slow for a while is usually well on its way to blocking.

What you can do now

Stop using the sink and the dishwasher until it is cleared, because both empty into the same pipe. Scrape plates into the bin rather than the sink. Leave the drain cleaner on the shelf: it rarely shifts set fat.

0405 690 174

Not sure? Describe it on the phone.

The toilet rises before it empties

Depends on the other drains

What is usually behind it

If only the toilet is slow, the blockage is usually in the toilet or just past it. If the shower and basins are slow too, or water comes up at the grate outside, the main drain from the house is blocked, often by roots or wipes.

What you can do now

Stop flushing, and stop using water anywhere in the house. If sewage has come up inside, keep children and pets away from it and do not clean it up with bare hands. Then call us and tell us which other drains are slow. If sewage is coming up inside, see emergency plumbing.

0405 690 174

Not sure? Describe it on the phone.

A gurgle when another tap or toilet runs

Depends where it is

What is usually behind it

Water from one fixture is pushing air past a partial blockage in a pipe it shares with another. So the problem is not in the fixture that gurgles. It is further along, in a pipe that more than one drain empties into.

What you can do now

Notice which fixture gurgles and what was running when it did, such as the washing machine or a flush. Tell us both when you call. Together they narrow down which pipe the blockage is in.

0405 690 174

Not sure? Describe it on the phone.

Water or a smell at the grate outside

Depends where it is

What is usually behind it

That grate is the overflow for the sewer drain from the house. Water coming out of it, or a sewage smell around it, usually means the main drain is blocked further down, and the grate is doing its job by overflowing outside instead of in.

What you can do now

Keep water use to a minimum until it is cleared, and keep children and pets away from the grate. Never cover or seal it, because then the next place the water comes up is inside the house.

0405 690 174

Not sure? Describe it on the phone.

The yard pools and the grates overflow when it rains

Worth fixing before the next storm

What is usually behind it

Stormwater pipes carry rain from the roof and yard to the street. Leaves, silt and roots build up in them until heavy rain arrives faster than they can carry it away. If the yard is wet when it has not rained, that is a leaking pipe instead.

What you can do now

Clear leaves off the grates and out of the gutters. Next time it rains, note where the water pools and which downpipes overflow, and take a photo if you can. That shows us where to start looking.

0405 690 174

Not sure? Describe it on the phone.

Something else

Not on the list?

Laundry tubs and bathroom floor drains block too.

What to do

Call and tell us which drains are slow or blocked, and what you have noticed. If you have already tried something, tell us that too.

0405 690 174

Not sure? Describe it on the phone.

A written price. Guaranteed workmanship.

A written price before we start, and our workmanship guaranteed for as long as you own the home.

You get the price in writing before any work begins. If we find something the quote did not cover, we stop and tell you what it means before we touch it. If our workmanship ever fails, we will repair or redo the work, whichever we judge right for the job.

Some jobs cannot be quoted without opening something up. Where that is the case, we tell you before we start.

The workmanship guarantee covers the work we carry out, for as long as you own the property. Anything we supply also carries its manufacturer's warranty, and we will help you claim on it. This guarantee is in addition to your rights under the Australian Consumer Law. How to make a claim, and your consumer guarantees.

Whether it comes back depends on the cause

Clearing the drain fixes it for now. The cause decides whether it comes back.

  1. Tree roots

    Roots get in through a joint or a crack in the pipe, and they grow back until that gap is repaired.

  2. Fat and oil

    Fat builds up again slowly, so keeping it out of the sink does more than any clearing can.

  3. Wipes

    Wipes do not break down the way toilet paper does, so the blockage stays away for as long as they stay out of the toilet.

  4. A broken or sagging pipe

    Waste collects wherever a pipe has cracked or dropped, so clearing it only buys time until that section is repaired.

What to tell us when you call

  • Sewage inside the house

    Tell us this first. Stop using water anywhere in the house, and keep children and pets away from it. Our emergency plumbing page covers what else to do.

  • Which drains are affected

    One drain or several, and whether the toilet, shower and sinks are all slow. It tells us where the blockage is.

  • The grate outside

    Whether water or a smell is coming from the overflow grate in the yard, usually near the bathroom or the laundry.

  • Who can let us in

    For a rental or strata property, the tenant or manager to contact, and the lot number if there is one.

Call now0405 690 174

We answer Monday to Friday, 7am to 5pm.

Jamie Vesey, licensed plumber and gas fitter at Vesey Plumbing Solutions

Jamie Vesey

Licensed plumber and gas fitter

QBCC 15090309

Blocked drain questions people ask

The earliest sign is a drain emptying slower than it used to. After that comes gurgling from one fixture when you run another, water rising in the shower or the laundry tub, and a smell near the grate outside. A toilet that rises before it empties usually means the blockage is in the main drain rather than the toilet.

Most blocked drains are caused by tree roots, fat, hair or wipes. Roots are the usual cause on older properties, because they get in through joints and cracks and keep growing. A cracked or sagging pipe also catches waste. Which one it is decides whether the blockage comes back.

What comes out of the drain, and which drains are affected, usually tell us. Roots, fat, hair and wipes each look different once they are cleared, and a blockage in one basin points somewhere different to one that slows the whole house. We tell you what we found and whether it is likely to come back.

The main factors are where the blockage sits, what is causing it, and whether the pipe needs repairing afterwards. A blocked basin is a small job. Roots deep in the main sewer drain are a bigger one. You get a written price before we start.

Most straightforward blockages are cleared in a single visit. It takes longer when the blockage is deep in the main drain or the roots are heavy. If the pipe itself turns out to be broken or collapsed, clearing it and repairing it are separate jobs, and the pipe repair is priced and booked on its own.

Whether it comes back depends on what caused it. Fat and hair build up again slowly, and changing what goes down the drain keeps them away. Wipes stay away as long as they stay out of the toilet. Tree roots grow back through the same gap until the pipe is repaired, and we will tell you when that is the case.

Keep fat and oil out of the kitchen sink, use a hair catcher in the shower, and flush nothing but toilet paper. Wipes labelled flushable are one of the most common avoidable causes. If you have large trees near the sewer drain, have a slow drain looked at early, before it blocks completely.

It is best not to on a drain that is fully blocked. Chemical drain cleaner rarely shifts roots, wipes or set fat, and when it fails, it sits in the pipe and can splash back on whoever clears it. For a slow shower, pulling the hair out from under the grate and running hot water is safer.

Articles on blocked drains

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Where we do blocked drains on the Gold Coast

We look after the Gold Coast, including:

  • Burleigh Heads
  • Burleigh Waters
  • Miami
  • Palm Beach
  • Elanora
  • Tallebudgera
  • Currumbin
  • Currumbin Waters
  • Tugun
  • Bilinga
  • Kirra
  • Coolangatta
  • Varsity Lakes
  • Reedy Creek
  • Robina
  • Mermaid Beach
  • Broadbeach
  • Surfers Paradise
  • Main Beach
  • Southport
  • Labrador
  • Runaway Bay
  • Hope Island
  • Helensvale
  • Coomera

Not on the list? Tell us your suburb when you call and we will let you know whether we can get to you.

See all service areas

Book a blocked drain job on the Gold Coast

Tell us what is happening. You get a written price before we start, and our workmanship is guaranteed for as long as you own the home.

0405 690 174Get in touch
0405 690 174 Get in touch