Blocked Drains Melbourne.
Cleared by Drain Specialists with
40 Years Experience.
If you have a blocked drain in Melbourne, you need someone who knows what they are looking at.
Drain Solutions has been clearing blocked drains across Melbourne's inner eastern suburbs for over 40 years. We are not a general plumber who does a bit of everything.
Drainage is all we do. We carry the right equipment on every job a CCTV drain camera, high pressure water jetter and everything needed to diagnose and fix the problem on the spot.
We are licenced plumbers licenced with the Building and Plumbing Commission (BPC).
Call 0413 522 220 if you are experiencing any blocked drains for prompt attention.
Blocked Drains Melbourne
Signs You Have a Blocked Drain
Most blocked drains do not appear out of nowhere. They build up over time and give you warning signs before things get serious. Here is what to look out for:
Your sink, shower or bath is draining slowly. Water pools around the drain instead of clearing quickly.
You hear gurgling sounds from your pipes when water goes down a drain elsewhere in the house.
There is a sewage smell coming from your drains inside or outside the property.
Water is backing up into a sink, shower or toilet when you flush or run water somewhere else.
You can see water pooling around an outdoor drain pit or at the base of a downpipe after rain.
Any of these signs means there is a blockage developing somewhere in your drainage system. The longer it is left, the worse it gets and the more expensive it can become to fix. If you are seeing any of these, call Drain Solutions on 0413 522 220.
What Causes Blocked Drains in Melbourne's Inner Suburbs
Melbourne's inner eastern suburbs have some of the oldest drainage infrastructure in the city. Homes in Hawthorn, Kew, Camberwell, Fitzroy and Richmond were built between the 1880s and the 1930s. The drainage pipes under those properties are often the original clay or cast iron pipes. Old, brittle and sitting right underneath the large established trees that make those suburbs so appealing.
Tree root intrusion is by far the most common cause of blocked drains in these areas. Tree roots follow moisture. They find hairline cracks in old clay pipes and work their way inside. Over time they form a dense mat inside the pipe that catches everything that tries to pass through.
Other common causes include grease and fat buildup inside kitchen drain pipes. Grease goes down liquid and solidifies as it cools. Foreign objects flushed down toilets such as wet wipes, paper towels and sanitary products do not break down and catch on rough surfaces inside the pipe. Collapsed or cracked pipes from ground movement, tree root pressure or simple age. Stormwater debris after heavy rain including leaves, silt and garden debris that block pits and pipes.
Cost-effective
Remove tree root intrusions, silt and debris
Clean or unblock drains from 40mm up to 600mm in diameter
Time-efficient
Remove grease, fats and de-scale cast iron
Maintenance schedules available
How Drain Solutions Clears a Blocked Drain
When you call us, here is what happens.
We arrive with a fully equipped van. We ask you where the problem is showing up and have a look at what is going on outside the property. Drain pits, inspection points, downpipes.
If the cause is not immediately obvious, we put a CCTV drain camera down the pipe. The camera shows us exactly what is happening inside. Where the blockage is, what is causing it, and what condition the pipe is in. You can watch on the screen if you want to. We provide a recording on USB.
Once we know what we are dealing with, we use our high pressure water jetter to clear the blockage. The jetter runs a high pressure stream of water through the pipe that cuts through tree roots, flushes out grease and debris and leaves the pipe clean. We handle pipes from 40mm up to 600mm in diameter.
After clearing, we inspect the pipe again with the camera to confirm it is clear and check the pipe condition. If the pipe is damaged, we give you a written quote for the repair before any further work starts.
We clean up after ourselves and leave the site tidy. Payment is on completion.
Blocked Sewer vs Blocked Stormwater
These are two separate drainage systems and they behave differently when they block.
Your sewer takes wastewater from your toilets, sinks, showers and laundry. When a sewer blocks, you will usually see it backing up into the lowest fixtures in the house first. A floor drain, a shower, or a toilet that will not flush. A blocked sewer needs attention quickly.
Your stormwater system takes rainwater away from the property through gutters, downpipes, surface drains and pits. When a stormwater drain blocks, you will see water pooling outside after rain. Left untreated, this can cause water to enter the building or damage the foundation.
Both types are jobs Drain Solutions handles every day. Call 0413 522 220 if you are not sure which system is affected.
When the Pipe is Damaged
Sometimes clearing a blockage reveals that the pipe itself is cracked, broken or has been invaded by tree roots to the point where it cannot simply be jetted clean and left. In that situation the pipe needs to be repaired.
Drain Solutions repairs damaged pipes using drain relining. A no-dig process where a structural liner is inserted into the damaged pipe through an existing access point and cured in place from the inside. No excavation. No mess. Your garden, driveway and flooring stays intact.
All drain relining work is done under a BPC plumbing compliance certificate. That certificate confirms the work meets Victorian plumbing regulations and is backed by six-year statutory warranty insurance.
Melbourne Inner Suburbs We Service for Blocked Drains
Drain Solutions is based in Kew East and works across Melbourne's inner eastern suburbs every day.
Kew — Our home suburb. Federation and Victorian homes with older clay sewer lines and large established gardens. Tree root intrusion is the most common call.
Hawthorn — Heritage homes, older pipe networks, mature plane and elm trees. Root intrusions and cracked clay pipes come up regularly.
Toorak — High end properties with older drainage infrastructure beneath them. Tree roots and ageing pipes underneath some of Melbourne's most established gardens.
Camberwell — Federation-era homes dominate. Large blocks with mature trees. One of the highest frequency areas for root-related sewer blockages.
Richmond — Mix of Victorian terrace homes and commercial properties. Heritage drainage infrastructure under high density use.
Fitzroy — Older terrace homes with limited drain access points. Root intrusions and grease buildup common.
Carlton — Heritage apartment blocks and older residential. Victorian-era infrastructure handling a much higher load than it was designed for.
South Yarra — Mix of apartments and heritage homes. Older stormwater infrastructure and high density creates regular stormwater blockage calls.
East Melbourne — Commercial and residential mix, close to the CBD. Institutional buildings and older drainage systems.
Glen Iris — Family homes, large established gardens with mature trees. Older sewer infrastructure and regular root intrusion calls.
Balwyn — Established suburb with large blocks and mature trees. Heritage drainage and cast iron pipes under many properties.
St Kilda — Coastal area with a mix of apartments and older buildings. Heritage plumbing infrastructure and regular grease-related blockages in commercial drains.
Brighton — Upmarket bayside suburb with established homes. Older drainage under some of Melbourne's largest residential properties.
Call 0413 522 220 to confirm we cover your area.
Why Choose Drain Solutions
We only do drainage. We do not fit bathrooms, replace hot water systems or do general plumbing. Drainage is all we do and we have been doing it for over 40 years. That focus means we carry the right equipment, know what we are looking at and can fix the problem properly on the first visit.
We give you a written quote before any work starts. You know what you are paying before we pick up a tool. No surprises on the invoice.
We are BPC licensed (Licence No. 21741). All regulated work is done to BPC standards. We issue BPC plumbing compliance certificates for all regulated drainage work.
We work cleanly and treat every property as if it were our own. Payment is on completion. Tap to pay on the spot.
Case Study
A homeowner in Hawthorn called us about a toilet that was flushing slowly and a shower that was backing up. The property was a 1920s brick Federation home on a large block with a row of mature ash trees running along the back boundary.
We arrived, inspected the drain pits and found the main sewer was partially blocked about 12 metres from the house. The CCTV camera showed a heavy root mass had come through a crack in the old clay pipe. The roots had been growing for years and had reduced the pipe to about 30 percent of its original diameter.
We cleared the root mass with the high pressure jetter using a root-cutting head. The pipe cleared fully. The camera inspection afterwards showed the crack where the roots had entered. We gave the homeowner a written quote for a patch reline of that section.
The reline was completed the following week. A BPC compliance certificate was issued. The homeowner now has a maintenance schedule with us.
More Services
UNDERGROUND
UTILITY
LOCATING
CCTV
DRAIN CAMERA
INSPECTIONS
DRAIN
RELINING
0413 522 220
Frequently Asked Questions About Blocked Drains in Melbourne
What is the fastest way to get a blocked drain cleared in Melbourne?
Call Drain Solutions directly on 0413 522 220. We cover Melbourne's inner eastern suburbs and aim to get to urgent blocked drain calls as fast as possible. Have the address ready and let us know if sewage is backing up inside.
How do you find out what is causing a blocked drain?
If the blockage is not immediately obvious from the drain pits, we put a CCTV drain camera down the pipe. It shows us exactly where the blockage is and what is causing it. Tree roots, grease, a collapsed pipe or foreign objects. You can watch on the screen. You get a recording on USB.
Will you dig up my garden to clear a blocked drain?
Not to clear a blockage. We use high pressure water jetting to clear blockages without any excavation. If we find the pipe is damaged and needs relining or replacement, we give you a written quote before any further work. Drain relining can usually fix a damaged pipe without any digging at all.
How much does it cost to clear a blocked drain in Melbourne?
It depends on what is causing the blockage and how accessible the pipe is. We provide a written quote after the initial assessment so you know the cost before we start. We do not give open-ended hourly rates on drainage work.
What is the difference between a blocked drain and a blocked sewer?
A sewer carries wastewater from your toilets, sinks and showers. A stormwater drain carries rainwater away from the property. Both can block and both need attention. We clear both types across Melbourne.
Do tree roots really cause blocked drains?
Yes, and they are the most common cause of blocked drains in Melbourne's inner eastern suburbs. Old clay pipes under properties built before 1950 have hairline cracks that tree roots find and exploit. Once roots get inside they grow quickly and eventually block the pipe completely.
Are your plumbers licensed in Victoria?
Yes. All our drainage work is carried out by BPC licensed plumbers operating under Licence No. 21741. We issue BPC plumbing compliance certificates for all regulated plumbing work.
What happens after you clear the drain?
We run the CCTV camera through again to confirm the pipe is clear and check the pipe condition. If we find damage we give you a written quote for repair before leaving. We can also set up a maintenance schedule for properties with recurring root intrusion problems.
Do you clear blocked drains for commercial properties?
Yes. We work on residential homes, schools, commercial buildings and industrial sites. Our equipment handles pipes from 40mm up to 600mm in diameter. Call 0413 522 220 to discuss your commercial drain repairs situation.
What is a BPC plumbing compliance certificate and do I need one?
A BPC plumbing compliance certificate is issued by a licensed plumber to confirm that regulated plumbing work meets Victorian regulations. If we carry out drain relining or other regulated work at your property, we issue one as a matter of course. It also means the work is backed by six-year statutory warranty insurance.
Got a blocked drain? Call Drain Solutions on 0413 522 220. We are based in Kew East and cover Melbourne's inner eastern suburbs. BPC licensed. Written quote before work starts. Over 40 years clearing blocked drains across Melbourne. Also see our underground utility locating service.
