A blocked drain rarely waits for a convenient moment. Water stands in the shower, the toilet will not clear or a smell rises from the yard. Drain unblocking means clearing the pipe with a drain rod, a high-pressure water jet or a rotating cutter, then confirming with a camera that the line runs clean. Tell us what is blocked and where you are, and drainage contractors near you will quote directly, including for outside drains and lines that run to a septic tank.
Rodding, jetting and cutters
Hand rods and electric drain machines are the usual first step for a simple blockage in a basin, sink or short house drain. They push or spin through the obstruction. For heavier jobs the contractor uses a high-pressure jetter, which sends water through a nozzle that clears fat, silt and sand and scours the pipe wall. Where roots have grown in, a chain cutter or a root-cutting nozzle is needed. Jetting costs more but cleans the pipe rather than just poking a hole through the blockage.
Finding the cause with a CCTV camera
If a drain blocks again within weeks, the problem is rarely the blockage itself. A small waterproof camera on a flexible rod shows what is inside the pipe. It can reveal:
- Roots entering through a joint.
- Cracked, collapsed or offset pipes, often old clay or fibre cement.
- Sagging sections where water pools and silt settles.
- Wipes, rags or builder's rubble pushed in earlier.
Most operators give a short recording or photos, which helps if the line needs digging up and replacing. Ask for the distance from the manhole to any fault, so a repair can be quoted by the metre and not guessed.
Outside drains and septic lines
Outside drains take rain, kitchen water and sewage across the yard, so they silt up with sand, leaves and grease. A house on a septic system adds another point of failure: the pipe between the house and the tank. If that line blocks, effluent backs up into the house, but the cause may also be a full tank. Ask the contractor to check the tank before charging for repeated unblocking, and see septic tank cleaning if the level is high. Where the pipe past the tank is slow, the problem may lie in the drainage field instead.
Preventing the next blockage
Keep fat, wet wipes, nappies and feminine products out of the drains, since none of them break down. Fit strainers in kitchen sinks and showers. Have trees cut back from the drain run and clean gullies before the rainy season. Where a kitchen sends fatty water into the line, a grease trap that is serviced regularly stops most of the grease before it reaches the pipe. After heavy rain, check that the gullies around the house are not buried under leaves or sand, since a flooded yard drain is often only a blocked grating.
What to include in your request
- Which fixtures or drains are blocked and for how long
- Whether the house is on the municipal sewer or a septic tank
- Whether the blockage keeps coming back or happens after rain
- Position of the manholes or rodding eyes, if you know them
- Whether you want a camera inspection or a written report
Drain Unblocking for different properties
- Houses: clearing a toilet, shower or kitchen line, or the outside drain that serves a house
- Smallholdings and plots: freeing the long pipe from the house to the septic tank across a larger property
- Estates and complexes: jetting shared stormwater and sewer lines for a complex, with a camera report for the body corporate
- Farms and game farms: clearing silted yard drains and pipes between the homestead, workers' housing and tanks
- Lodges, guesthouses and venues: fast call-outs for blocked guest bathrooms and laundry lines during the busy season
- Restaurants, shops and offices: clearing kitchen, restroom and floor drains at shops and restaurants, often after hours
- Schools, churches and clinics: clearing long school and clinic lines, with planned jetting during the holidays
- Factories, mines, sites and events: heavy jetting of large pipes and stormwater lines on factory and construction sites
Frequently asked questions
How much does drain unblocking cost?
Can I unblock a drain myself?
Why does my drain keep blocking?
Who is responsible for a blocked outside drain?
Drain Unblocking by province and city
- Johannesburg
- Pretoria
- Centurion
- Midrand
- Sandton
- Randburg
- Roodepoort
- Krugersdorp
- Randfontein
- Germiston
- Boksburg
- Benoni
- Kempton Park
- Alberton
- Vanderbijlpark
- Vereeniging
- Durban
- Pinetown
- Pietermaritzburg
- Richards Bay
- Newcastle
- Ladysmith
- Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth)
- East London
- Kariega (Uitenhage)
- Mthatha
- Cape Town
- Bellville
- Paarl
- Stellenbosch
- George
- Worcester
- eMalahleni (Witbank)
- Middelburg
- Secunda
- Mbombela (Nelspruit)
- Rustenburg
- Brits
- Klerksdorp
- Potchefstroom
- Mahikeng
- Polokwane
- Tzaneen
- Kimberley
- Upington
- Bloemfontein
- Welkom
- Sasolburg