
Blocked Drains
Not a problem for Upkeep Plumbing.
Blocked drains? We love ’em. The reason why we do this job is so that you won’t have to. Who would want to clean someone else’s blocked drain? Us! That’s what we do!
You may have a blocked drain if;
- your drains smell unpleasant
- your sink, shower or bath drain water slowly
- the toilet water level has noticeably changed
- your toilet or sink is overflowing
- your property is flooding with sewage (an obvious one)
- waste water comes up through your pipe and drains
We clear and repair internal and external blocked drains as soon as we find the source. Blocked drains can lead to bigger issues, burst pipes notwithstanding – so act quickly.
Commercial or Domestic Drains

Dear Lord. I’ll kill him. Who shaves over the kitchen sink?
Let us clear your drains

Dear Lord. I’ll kill him. Who shaves over the kitchen sink?
Upkeep Plumbing is available for plumbing work on both domestic and commercial properties. There is no drain that we can’t clear.
We can also look into;
- blocked manholes
- burst pipes
- blocked kitchen sinks
- other drainage services
- waste water services
Cause of Blocked Drains
Hint: usually people
Well, nature is a big one. Tree roots are the usual suspects. Roots lift bricks, pavers and tiles and sometime can even grow through the wall of your home in search of water. We have to remove tree or garden roots before clearing and then repairing and replacing damaged pipes and drains.
After we have solved the promblem, we work out how we can stop the issue repeating into the future.
Types of Blocked Drains
Sewage Drains
Storm drains and sewage drains are installed separately. This is to prevent cross contamination. In your home, your drains are connected to state sewerage via what is called a “lateral line”. This is a pipe 4 – 6 inches in diameter. This pipe is on a slope so that water can flow into the sewage system.
These drains come from your bathroom, kitchen sink and toilet. You would know if there as a problem here due to the obvious smell.
Stormwater Drains
Stormwater drains usually block when there’s a lot of rain. This drain is designed to drain excess rain and ground water from streets, car parks, parking lots, footpaths, sidewalks, and roofs.
There’s no smell if these get blocked, but public stormwater drains may prevent you from getting your car out of the driveway, or they could be blocking access to your house.
Blocked stormwater drains are usually a shire or council issue.
Blocked Toilets
If water is coming up to the rim of the bowl or the overfow is being used on the sink, it’s time to call Upkeep!
Blocked Sink?
Do you shave in the sink? Did you have a massive beard? Hair can quickly build up over time. It likes to hook into all the imperfect ridges and micro-corners of pipes and can quickly build up over time. This sort of treatment can sometimes result in a burst pipe (read more about burst pipes here).
Your kitchen sink is prone to oil, grease, soap, food scraps and other build up over time. It might be time to find that sink strainer.
Perhaps the biggest culprit of all . . .
Sanitary Napkins & Baby Wipes
What demon invented baby wipes?
The bane (and bane-ette) of a plumber’s existence.
Tough materials like baby wipes (often used when removing make-up) don’t degrade easily. These are often flushed down toilets and due to their strength, tend NOT to break up. Wipes can get caught in pipes and cracks and are pretty much invincible. While sanitary napkins do tend to break down, chucking a load of old ones down the toilet is a recipe for disaster.
Drain Cleaning Machine
Upkeep Plumbing uses the Rothenberg 750 Drain Cleaning Machine to unblock your drains.
The reported benefits of the Rothenberg system may include:
- efficient transfer of power means job is done faster
- easy to clean
- very little maintenance required
- if a spiral breakage was to occur it is easily retrievable as the cable is sectional as opposed to one continuous length
- suitable to clear heavy duty blockages
- very little chance of debris and grime build up within the unit as section type drain cleaner do not use drum style cable holders
(Source – Rothenberg pipetool technology at work 2012/13)
Unblocking drains is probably one of the smellier and messier jobs a plumber will complete, but we do our very best to make sure the inconvenience is minimal to you!