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The team at Service Fox are drain clearing specialists. We’ve been helping Sydney and Central Coast residents with blocked drains for years, and we guarantee you’ll have quality service from a team you can trust.
The most common cause of a blocked drain is hair. Every day we lose up to 100 strands of hair, and let’s face it, the majority of that comes out when we wash out hair in the shower or bath. Those hairs have to go somewhere and it’s usually down the drains. Drains, however, aren’t designed straight, so often hair gets caught up in the bends, then more hair, and more until it causes a blockage. Nappies, sanitary products and baby wipes are also common causes for blocked toilet drains, and in the kitchen or if you’re running an industrial property, you’ll find grease and oil can build up in the drains. If you then wash food or other items down the drain, they stick together and you’ll end up with blocks.
It’s important that you take care of your pipes, and even if you haven’t washed anything down the drains that you shouldn’t – you could still be dealing with normal wear and tear that can create problems over time. It’s best that if your drains aren’t emptying as fast as they usually do, you get in touch with our team to come and take a look. Blocks can quickly create a mess in the home with overflowing water, so don’t take the risk.
Your outdoor drainpipe is responsible for transferring wastewater away from your property and into the storm drain or local sewer system. If your outdoor drainpipe ever has a clog or blockage, it can cause major problems in your yard as well as inside your home. Not only could wastewater overflow from the sewer and contaminate your property, but you’d be unable to use your internal drains and toilets.
Is your outdoor drain pipe blocked and causing you nothing but headaches and pain? Don’t be like Milli-Vanilli and just blame it on the rain. Not only did that not work out too well for them, but excess rainwater is the result of blocked drains, not what causes them in the first place. Simply call an emergency plumber like Service Fox and we’ll take care of it for you. But first…
Like all plumbing fixtures in and around your property, outside drain pipes can be just as vulnerable to clogs and blockages. Here are the most common causes of blockages seen by plumbers in outside pipes.
Muddy Debris
That being said, the most common cause of blockages in outside drain pipes is the build-up of soil, branches, leaves, moss, silt, litter, and other debris. Whether all of this muck is accumulated over time or within only a short period, heavy storms and rainwater quickly turns them into a muddy clog which becomes too much for the drainpipes to handle. It all hardens into a blockage until you have to call out 24 hour plumbers.
Tree Roots
The next most common reason for outside drain pipes to become clogged or blocked is because of tree roots. Whenever there is even the smallest crack or breakage in the underground pipeline, tree roots will instinctively seek out the nutrients from the continuous water supply. The tree roots will then continue growing thicker and larger inside the drainpipe until it eventually blocks it completely.
Foreign Matter
Another common reason for blockages in outdoor drain pipes is foreign matter and other items from inside the property which shouldn’t be washed down the drain. This includes grease and food in the kitchen, hair and soap scum in the bathroom, and excess paper and sanitary products that cause a blocked toilet. In fact, anything that can possibly clog up your kitchen and bathroom drains can always get dislodged and cause a blockage in your exterior drain pipes as well. After all, every one of those pipes is interconnected anyway.
If you don’t notice a blockage problem early enough, it can escalate into major flooding and structural damage to your property. That’s why it’s a good idea to do whatever you can to prevent clogs and blockages whenever you possibly can.
Start by regularly clearing the leaves and branches from your roof and guttering, and reducing the accumulation of dirt and other debris from around the outside stormwater drains and pipes. By trimming the trees, cutting back bushes, and generally keeping your garden maintenance up-to-date, you’ll be able to reduce the number of leaves and branches that end up in your gutters and drains.
If your sinks are gurgling, draining slowly, or smelling bad, there’s a good chance of a blockage somewhere. So make sure you get the clogging problem dealt with before it gets dislodged and creates an even bigger problem in your external drain pipes. Call the team from Service Fox today and we’ll get it sorted for you! We can also take care of any Hot Water Repair you need.
Another way to avoid future blockages in your drain pipes regularly is using a hose to flush out debris from downpipes, stormwater drains, and outdoor drain pipes. You should also install some good quality outside drain and guttering covers to stop leaves, branches, and other debris from ending up in your drains and causing clogs.
If you’ve had problems with tree roots in your sewer or drain pipes in the past, it’s a good idea to do something proactive about it. Either book an annual inspection with the professional Service Fox team, or get the problem tree removed from that area completely. Ultimately, either of these options is the only possible method of preventing future blockages from tree roots.
If your outdoor drainpipe is currently clogged or blocked, give Service Fox a call. We’ll take care of all your emergency plumbing needs in no time at all.
Thanks to the wonders of indoor plumbing, we’re able to filter debris while flushing water down the drain and away from our homes. However, drains can, unfortunately, get themselves clogged during this process.
While it usually only starts out as a fairly minor issue, blocked drains and clogged pipes can very easily and quickly escalate into some pretty major problems which require costly repairs, such as pipe corrosion, flooding water, and sewage backing up.
What Does It Mean If Your Drain Becomes Clogged?
Whenever your drain becomes clogged, blocked, or is only draining water slowly, it will usually be caused by some kind of obstruction in the pipes, which will usually depend on which room the drain is located.
For example, the main cause of clogged drains in the bathroom is when soap scum builds up inside the pipes and binds with foreign particles of dirt, skin flakes, and especially hair. This accumulation of gunk continues building up over time as it reduces water flow and eventually blocks it off completely.
On the other hand, clogged drains in the kitchen are usually caused by the build-up of food particles, detergent soap scum, and cooking grease or oil. When food and other substances that are unable to quickly dissolve are washed down the drain, it doesn’t take too long before they create a significantly gunky and stubborn blockage.
While slow drains and blockages are a fairly common problem, they can sometimes be an early indicator of a much more serious plumbing problem such as gurgling drains, bad smells, broken pipes, or a tree root infiltration. These are significant situations that call for professional repair work before they end up causing broken water pipes, extensive interior damage, or raw sewage starts backing up inside your home or business.
6 Easy Tricks To Keep Your Drains Clear
While clogged drains in your home or business are always annoying, even more so when they happen regularly, they’re usually a preventable issue. And it’s much easier to prevent clogged drains by eliminating the problems that cause them than it is to unclog them. So, here’s the best ways to keep your drains clear and avoid clogging them altogether:
By taking these simple proactive measures, you’ll be able to limit how often your drain will clog by noticing any drainage issues before they cause more severe problems that are irreversible and costly.
What You Shouldn’t Do If You Drains Block Up
While something needs to be done if you have a clogged drain in your home or business, there are some things you shouldn’t do. For example:
DON’T keep running water down a completely blocked drain
DON’T use any other drains until you know the problem is with only the one drain
DON’T try pouring boiling water down a blocked drain
DON’T use acid drain cleaners or other dangerous chemicals
How Can Service Fox Help?
Attempting to fix basic issues with clogged drains by yourself is sometimes possible, but can be difficult without the right plumbing tools and knowledge. That’s why you should contact your expert local plumbers from Service Fox when you first notice any issues with slow drainage or clogging. Our professional experts offer a complete range of plumbing services to both residential and commercial properties, allowing us to locate the cause, deal with the issue, and provide your drains with a thorough deep clean.
Are you holding your breath every time you walk into the bathroom? Strange smells seeping through the kitchen? Does your laundry smell like you’ve left eggs rotting behind the washing machine?
Smelly drains aren’t just bad for your nose, they can be bad for your health as well. And unfortunately, the cause can be hard to find. Here are some of the reasons your drains might be stinky – and what you can do about them.
Gunk and bacteria: Whether it’s food scraps in the kitchen or hair in the bathroom, your drains end up with a whole lot of gunk in them and the more they build up, the more they stick to the drains. Toothpaste acts as a glue for hair, grease and oil catches discarded meat – and it all sticks to your drain pipes. Over time, it gets rotten or mouldy and starts to smell. It can also lead to clogged drains and cracked pipes, so it’s important you get it checked.
Sewer Gas: Sewer gas is the breakdown of human waste, including ammonia, hydrogen sulphide and so on. If you’ve noticed a rotten egg smell coming from your drains, this is generally the cause. It’s not generally toxic in small doses, but if you have high levels of exposure you can get sewer gas poisoning, which can lead to headaches, dizziness and vomiting. It’s generally caused by leaks in plumbing, cracked pipes, blocked air vents, clogged drains, and dry plumbing from unused toilets and drains.
Drain Flies: They’re not your average pest, which could be why you have never heard of them, but drain flies are extremely common, particularly in Australian homes. If you’ve ever noticed little flies hanging around the sink, that’s them – and they’re having a great time feasting on all that build up of gunk in your drains. They won’t cause damage to your drains, but they will get annoying, and the more there are, the worse the smell.
Plumbing Mistakes: If you’ve completed a DIY project or had a plumber in recently and your drains are starting to smell, it could be an error with the plumbing itself. This could be missing traps or vents, or it could be that you have a leak or rotting drain tubes that were overlooked.
If you want to tackle a smelly drain yourself, there are a few things you can try. Firstly, remove the drain covers and get any muck out that might be in there. This takes time, and it’s a messy job, so you might prefer to get someone else to do it. Another option you can try is bicarb soda and vinegar. Mix it together and pour it down the drains. This helps to soften any muck that’s in the drains, hopefully washing it away.
You could pour some boiling water down as well, however, this isn’t recommended if you have PVC pipe joints. If it’s your bath or shower that’s causing the smells, you might try using a plunger, and the same goes for your toilet. Try to avoid using harsh chemicals – these can damage your pipes and plumbing.
For plumbing in the home, you don’t want to take any risks – particularly when it comes to bad smells. It’s much more efficient, and often more cost effective, to call in an affordable plumbing Sydney company, rather than attempting to DIY.
At ServiceFox we provide inner city plumbing, plumbing services in the Eastern Suburbs, and Manly plumbing service options, we’re also your local plumber in the Sutherland Shire and plumber in Sydney’s inner west, one of the most recommenced plumber Cronulla providers and we’re the go-to for an emergency plumber in the Sydney Eastern Suburbs.
Depending on how your drains got blocked in the first place, clearing them could be a simple task or a mammoth one. Essentially, the sooner you get a professional in to find the problem, the less you’ll need to stress about the size of the project. A slow draining kitchen sink could soon become a flooded floor, if you don’t deal with it as soon as you notice the problem. That’s why we recommend getting in touch with our team as soon as possible if anything isn’t going right. Here are some of the signs you should watch for:
Give us a call today and our helpful team will provide you with the right advice and a quote for our services. We can come to your home or business, diagnose the problem and have it fixed right away.
Blocked drains present a range of hazards so if your toilet or sink is backing up, or your yard is flooding, we’re here to assist.
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From flooding toilets to cracked pipes, we can take care of all your emergency plumbing services – 7 days a week, 24 hours a day.
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We have experience with repairs and installation of all types of hot water systems, including gas, electric, heat pump, solar, and continuous.
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Got a leaky tap? Don’t wait for it to become a much bigger problem. Get in touch with our team today to assist and repair.
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If your flush isn’t flushing, or your drain isn’t draining, we can help. From blocked toilets to slow fillers, we can fix it all.
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At Service Fox, our team is experienced in dealing with clients throughout the Sydney region, from emergency repairs to ongoing maintenance.
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We provide a full range of plumbing services across the Central Coast region of New South Wales for commercial and residential customers.
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We’ll take care of your home and property as if it were our own. We’ll work tidy and clean up before we leave.
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