Blocked Drains – The Early Warning Signs

How do you know if you have an issue with blocked drains?

The most obvious sign of a blocked drains, either a blocked stormwater or a blocked sewer, is a backing up of the system. Unable to drain effectively, water, effluent, etc, will eventually backflow and overflow at the lowest point possible.

If the idea of sewerage flowing out of your toilet into your bathroom fills you with horror, then it’s a good idea to acquaint yourself with the early warning signs of blocked drains. Caught early, a blocked stormwater or sewerage system can be cleaned before disaster strikes.

So, what are some of the early warning signs?

Identifying blocked drains inside:

• Gurgling noises from your sink, toilet, or shower. This is a sign of a partial blockage. The water will still run through the system, but it is slower than normal, backing up slightly.
• Slow draining from you sink, shower, etc. Water taking longer than normal to drain away is a sure sign that a blockage is building in the system.
• The shower base filling with water as you are using it.
• Smells from the sink, shower, etc can indicate issues

Identifying blocked drains outside:

• Water overflowing from a trap in your stormwater shows the system can’t get the water away fast enough through the blocked pipes , forcing water to find the next available escape.
• Water seeping through cracks in the concrete
• Green patches in an otherwise dry lawn
• Puddle outside when it hasn’t been raining
• Downpipes and gutters overflowing
• Movement of building, or cracks

Acting on Drain Blockages Early save you money!

Acting on the early warning signs can save you significantly in the long run. Running a CCTV through your pipes can locate issues and let you get to the root of the problem quickly. Often a high pressure cleaning of a stormwater or sewer is all that is required to remove build up of grease, silt, sand, roots, etc.