Many routine maintenance tasks are simple ‘do-it-yourself’ jobs. With daily use of household sinks and pipes you may not notice minor concerns without a full inspection.

Here are some simple ways to inspect your home for potential problems:

• Go through your home and examine your plumbing. Look at all the exposed pipes, including under sinks and behind toilet tanks for any signs of moisture or leaks. If it’s humid, condensation may naturally accumulate on a cold metal pipe, so note the dampness and make sure to recheck on a cooler day.
• Check for signs of corrosion on brass or copper fittings. Corrosion occurs more rapidly on damp metal, so corroded connections could reveal a slow leak.
• Turn on water faucets in sink, showers and tubs to monitor water pressure. Some variation between different faucet styles and purposes is normal, but all should have a steady flow.
• After you run the water through the faucets, note how quickly the water drains after you test the faucet. Slow drains could mean a bigger clog waiting to happen.
• Flush toilets to ensure they don’t run a leak at the base, a sign of a faulty wax seal. Also check to make sure the water stops running after you flush the toilet, which can be a sign of a valve leak.

After a thorough inspection, remove and clean aerators on faucets and shower heads. Sediment can build up and slow water flow. An easy way to do this is to fill a plastic grocery bag with vinegar and tie over faucet or shower head and let sit overnight. Remove and rinse with cold water.

Learn your sewage lines and where they are through your house and your yard. Take note of any excess moisture in the yard where these lines run, as people have lost entire yards to breaks in these pipe lines.

Installing any preventative tools like food or hair catchers in your shower, will reduce your risk of clogs.

Regular do-it-yourself inspections are important, but if you opt for professional maintenance, your plumbing professional will take care of all the above and may offer the following services, such as:

• Drain treatment to maximise flow rate
• Cleaning of garbage disposal and water heaters
• Pressure tests to detect hairline leaks
• Water pressure assessment and adjustment

Call our team at Drain Cleaning Gold Coast to learn more about how to effectively keep your drains and pipes running clean.

Below are some general issues when do-it-yourself is not recommended.

Plumbing Maintenance

Because many issues can sneak up on you, a thorough inspection is the key to catching small problems before they grow over time which can cause structural damage. For instance, water that seeps into sheetrock or plaster contributes to mould growth and porous tile or wood can discolour or warp when wet.

Inspections from a certified professional can give you a more in depth look at your home’s pipes and drains. This could include inspecting the water heater, garbage disposal and your homes plumbing systems. More thorough assessments might include remote video inspection of pipes, lead testing and filter system inspection.

Dripping Faucets

As anyone who has had a leaky bathroom or kitchen sink can tell you, they not only can be annoying but also costly to your monthly water bill. Usually the issue is as simple as the rubber washer inside the tap that may have become stiff, torn or dislodged. But replacing them may be harder than you think and if the leak has gone long enough, the valve seat may be worn, necessitating repair by a professional.

Low Water Pressure

When water that should gush only trickles from the tap, you have low water pressure. While the issue may be municipal water supply, the more common cause of this problem is build-up of deposits or sentiment on faucet aerators.

If you have tried sediment removal procedures and still find low water pressure, it could be a leak or breach in the pipes leading into your home that could cause damage to your homes infrastructure foundation. Call your licensed professional to pinpoint the reason.

Leaky Pipes

Leaky pipes can be an unpleasant surprise and a costly nuisance. Leaks usually happen at joints and although replacing a leaky joint isn’t a complex repair, it is a messy one. A professional could save you time on cleanup and inspect if you may need replacement of the length of the pipe.

Slow or Clogged Drains

Hopefully a plunger or other home remedies can alleviate a slow or clogged drain in your home, but before taking a more aggressive approach with your own home tools or store bought chemical possibilities, call a professional drain cleaner to ensure you don’t cause damage against your pipes and drains.

While there are many sources out there on do-it-yourself home improvements, there are some situations where a professional is required and worth the cost. Call our friendly team today to make an appointment for any drain cleaning needs.

When things go wrong, the best option is to call a professional drain specialist, but in times where you need to try a quick fix first, follow these at-home natural remedies before using store-bought chemicals that can be harsh and cause long-term damage to your pipes.

Six At Home Remedies for Clearing Blocked Drains

1. Boiling Water, Salt and Baking Soda: This combination works best on grease clogs. Add ½ cup of salt, ½ cup of baking soda followed by a kettle of boiling water and let it sit overnight before running the faucet again.

2. Baking Soda and Vinegar: Pour ½ cup of baking soda in followed by ½ cup of vinegar. Let the combination foam for a few minutes and follow up with boiling water.

3. Closet Augur: This is a long tube, often with a hook or bristles at the end and the hope (when used) is it grabs and removes the clog. This is good for shower drains that may be clogged with hair. Be cautious when using this tool though, as professional plumbers warn that you could cause damage to your pipes if not used properly. When in doubt, seek professional help.

4. Plunger: Yes, this handy tool that has saved many from bathroom nightmares, can be used in sinks and bathtubs as well. Add enough water till there is sufficient amount for the plunger to get the best suction and proceed as usual.

5. Pepsi/Coca-Cola: You may have a preference when drinking this soft drink, but either can work for unclogging drains. The phosphoric acid breaks down everything from residue to calcium. Simply add 2 litres of the soft drink at room temperature and wait one hour. Rinse with hot water.

6. Manual: If you are familiar with your piping, there is the option to dislodge the pipe and manually remove the clog. Check with your local professional if you run into any issues or have any questions.

o avoid altogether having to worry about unclogging a drain, there are some precautions you can take with a little weekly maintenance that will keep your pipes open and free of debris.

Weekly Maintenance Tips

•  Cover drains with hair and food catchers. Avoid putting things down your garbage disposal you are not sure will go down, or possibly even break the garbage disposal unit.
•  Run hot water down the drain after each use—hot water washes away any fresh build up, which can be useful in the shower where soaps and hair product can really stick to piping.
•  Add baking soda and hot water regularly to your drains as baking soda is a natural cleaner and helps remove odours. Vinegar also works in this manner.
• As a weekly cleaner, mix 1 cup of baking soda, 1 cup of table salt and ¼ cup of cream of tartar to keep in a jar. Pour mixture down drains, follow with boiling water then flush with cold.

In a pinch, these methods can get you out of, and keep you out of, messy situations. If you want to skip all the fuss and get it sorted straight away, you’re going to need a professional, call us at any time to make an appointment and get a free quote.

Clay and Straw were the materials troughs and pipes were made of. Obviously the materials have changed significantly for today!

The purpose of every plumbing system is to supply a building with fresh water. The second task is to get rid of dirty and used water outside of the house.

We want to show you how a well oiled plumbing system works.

Plumbing Systems 101

The water supply system uses a water pump to push water through your houses´ pipes. At this stage, the cold water is pressed through small pipes.

Your main supply line is getting water either from a well, spring or local council water supply. Depending on where you live and what water source your plumbing system is using, buildings use filtering or softening systems to clean the water.

Well designed systems place those filtering systems close to the water source.

Now the water enters a heating system, or in other cases, is distributed in smaller supply lines throughout the house. Both systems have advantages and disadvantages. Cold and hot water lines are separated when you have a central heating device.

So what happens after you use the water?

Larger fixtures have larger drainpipes, but all fixture drains have traps. Some fixtures have built in traps, such as toilets, and others, like your kitchen sink, have curves made out of drainpipes.

Traps are called traps because they ‘trap’ a small amount of water that seals your drain and keeps sewage gasses from entering your house.

Vents are another part of these simple but smart systems. They allow water to flow out freely and relieve pressure.

What happens to big chunks of dirt and food leftovers?

A short reminder: food leftovers and big chunks of dirt are the major reason for blocked drains on the Gold and Tweed Coast. Luckily, some systems have areas installed you can easily access and clean.

You can find main area at the end of horizontal drains and at the point where the main sewer line exits the building. In all cases, it is best practice to call a professional drain specialist to help you out. Toxic gasses can be trapped in your drain, not too mention other things you don’t want to know about!

But where does my dirty water go?

It depends on the system installed, and is often according to the size of your local town or city. In many cases, you will have a septic tank that needs to be emptied from time to time. Bigger cities have sewage systems that run under the whole city and take the dirty water to treatment plants for recycling or proper disposal.

Ask your local drain specialist on the Tweed and Gold Coast if you are not sure what system you are using.

In all cases though, if you see any issues with your drains or suspect a blockage, contact our team today to find out how we can help and to arrange a free quote.

Some of them work and are good to use, but the majority of advice is given from inexperienced, unprofessional and incompetent people who do more damage in the long run than solving the problem for you.

Some are even dangerous to use.

We want to show you common household methods that you should avoid using for blocked drains.

Our experience shows that if you want to prevent major problems with your sewage system and your property, it is always best to call a professional drain specialist.

Different problems require different solutions. If you want to make sure you are not doing harm to your system, remember to always call a professional.

Four Methods to Avoid When Clearing Blocked Drains

1. Chemical Drain Cleaners

This is hands down one of the most dangerous methods available. Chemical cleaners are dangerous mixtures that should not be handled by anyone not qualified to do so. They use corrosion to clean your drains and, this means serious physical damage to your health and your pipes when used wrong.

Ask yourself this question: Can you be sure that the chemical cleaner you bought will not corrode your pipes or cause health issues?

If yes, proceed at your own risk. If not, get in touch with us.

Other questions you might not have considered: What kind of pipes are you using? What are the reactions with potential debris inside your pipes?

If, at any point you use a chemical cleaner, and decide to call a professional afterwards, always inform them BEFORE they start to work what you’ve used, as the chemicals can mean serious harm to their health too.

2. Do-it-yourself Disassembling

It sounds and looks easy but unless you are a qualified drain specialist you should not try to locate and remove a drain blockage by yourself.

It is as easy to damage pipes and fittings. You will more than likely be able to reassemble them, but you will have serious leakage and cause long term damage if you don’t know how to handle them correctly.

3. Coat Hangers

This is a very common and well-known method. But obviously, putting foreign objects into a drain such as coat hangers, is a bad idea and may make your problem even worse.

Besides that, this method is extremely inefficient, the sharp edges of the coat hanger can cause serious damage to the inside of your drain pipes, resulting in even higher costs due to more damage created.

You can save that money and the time of trying to fix the issue by giving us a call and asking for our professional help.

4. Drain Augers

A drain auger is an efficient tool in the right hands. The right hands are those that belong to professional drain specialist with years of experience and training. It may seem easy to use this professional tool and think you can get the same results as a professional. But the reality is, you will do a lot of harm to your pipe systems instead of fixing them.

Don’t try and fix this drain issue yourself. Give us a call today and speak to one of our drain specialists. They’ll provide you with a quote and answer all your drain blockage questions.

We have seen a lot of things that go wrong when trying to attempt to fix things yourself, which is why we highly recommend calling a drain specialist to deal with any issues, particularly if your drain is blocked or you’ve got a major drain pipe leak.

In most cases, minor plumbing problems are the precursor to a much bigger problem. If you simply ‘fix’ the symptoms, you will not find about the major cause until it is too late.

The result will be damage  to your property, and we guarantee, you do not want to hear about the cost of those bills…

In some cases, whole walls had to be replaced.

But even if you are handy around the house and think to yourself, “Hey, I will risk it just this one time” your drain and sewage system problems can quickly lead to seriously affecting your health. Diseases and serious infections area the result of unsanitary water or leakages in your pipes.

If you are a property owner, please be responsible for the sake of all inhabitants and hire a drain and sewage specialist who knows what he is doing and has years of experience in his work.

Why would you want to risk time and money, when hiring a professional for blocked drains from the beginning is an easy process at Drain Cleaning Gold Coast.

Experience and profession are the keys for a successful repair.

What do we mean by profession?

There are a lot of maintenance plumbers out there. But the problem is, they do not have the necessary training and experience to get to the root cause.

A maintenance contract can help you to reduce costs and make sure your properties sewage system is running well all year. Proactive care about your drain pipes is best practice and reduces bigger problems occurring in the long run.

To figure out if the specialist you called it the right fit, just ask them for a few key questions. If they are happy to answer you, you have found a good drain specialist who thinks about the customer in the first place.

Consider these questions when you hire a professional:

1. Ask them about their license number

A professional will have a drain and sewage license and is happy to give you the information. Check the license number to make sure the company you chose is a professional one. If you feel it is too straightforward to question their expertise, just say you need that information for your homeowner insurance.

2. Ask them if they offer a service warranty

Whenever you buy something big and potentially expensive, you want to make sure it is the right thing to meet your needs.

Maintenance plumbers on the Tweed and Gold Coast who do not offer service warranties should be avoided at all cost. Usually, warranties should be offered for 6 to 12 months.

If you’re not sure that the professional you’ve called is going to meet your needs, simply find another one. At Drain Cleaning Gold Coast, we are happy to provide you with a free quote and answer all your drain issue questions. Simply get in touch with us today.

With some caution and preparation, you can avoid expensive restoration of your sewer system in your home on the Gold and Tweed Coast.

Defective sewage systems are the most common cause of blocked drains and in many cases, house owners don’t notice it’s not the drain; it’s actually their trees. We recommend getting professional advice when you have trees near your house.

What You Can Do

First, it´s important to understand that all trees that are close to your home can harm your property. Contrary to what people say, there are no exceptions. But there are few trees that have a bigger potential to penetrate your sewage pipes. These trees are the fast and large growing ones.

Tree roots don’t set out to destroy your sewage system. It’s the way of nature for roots to seek water. They can ‘sense’ it and will enter your tanks and pipes through weak and seeping spots. In most cases, only the top 60 cm of soil is affected.

But you don´t want to risk it, do you?

Some trees are considered aggressive when it comes to the search for water. You want to avoid those trees in your garden at all cost.

What Can You Do To Avoid Root Problems?

It starts with a carefully planned system for your house. If you have an existing home, you want to check the plans and see where your pipes and sewage drains are lying under the ground. Don´t plant new trees near your lines and carefully watch the size and growing speed of those trees that are already there.

If you still want to plant trees in your garden, or close to your home, decide on a planting area far enough away from your sewage system. Even if you consider planting slow and small growing trees, you’ll need to keep those away from your drain pipes too. These are the best choice in any case.

Nevertheless, all trees need to be regularly replanted every 8 to 10 years. Or your tree is going to out grow its planting area.

Tree Problem Already?

But maybe our post comes too late, and you’ve already got a root situation. In this case, you should always seek advice from a professional like us. There are different ways and methods to prevent further damage, and should you try to repair the issue yourself, you could run into further issues, costing you more money.

You could use slowly releasing chemicals to “scare away” tree roots from seeking further water. Barriers made out of plastic or metal can be somewhat effective too. But in any case, those methods are just short-term solutions and are not guaranteed to work in the long run. They may also harm your trees and your other plants.

Seek professional help and call our friendly team today to discuss your immediate drain clearing needs.

Plan carefully when planting trees and check existing ones regularly. Damage caused by tree roots can block your drains and lead to costly repairs. It’s better to prepare and maintain instead of waiting for something to go wrong.

Trees to Avoid Planting Near Your Pipe System

1. Silver Maple

Silver maple is a tree that grows fast and big. You can recognise it based on the big shade it casts, and it´s tiny and fragile branches. This tree type is known for the damage it causes to paths and walkways. If you have a nice driveway to your house, stay away from planting this tree.

Another potential risk with this tree is the brittle limbs that are weak because the tree grows so fast. Damages to your property during storms from falling branches can be the end result.

2. Camphor Laurel or Camphorwood Tree

This tree can grow up to 65 to 100 foot. It is a massive evergreen and needs a lot of nourishment. The leaves are waxy and glossy and smell of camphor when crushed. It´s a beautiful tree with fruits and small white flowers, but it is a disaster for your property as well.

The massive roots of this tree can cause massive damage to your power lines and underground drainpipes.

3. All Kind of Poplars

Poplars come in 25 to 30 different variations and are very common. The trees can grow from 49 to 164 feet, and the leaves are spirally arranged. They vary in shape from triangular to circular and are quite long.

If you consider placing poplars on your property, plan to plant at least 15 metres from your sewage lines.

4. Willow Trees

This trees also comes in a lot of variations. Look for elongated leaves that have serrated edges. But what makes these trees so dangerous? The roots are known for their toughness, size, and tenacity to life, and roots readily grow from aerial parts of the plant as well. Willows are survival artists and will spread their roots to your pipes and tanks in no time.

But why is it that trees are seemingly reaching out and damaging sewer systems? The roots of a tree are “programmed” to search for everything the tree needs to grow and live. They are looking for food and water. And your sewage system is a place abundant of resources the tree needs; oxygen, water, and nutritional minerals that are in your pipes.

Some trees are more aggressive in the search for a meal because they have to be more assertive against other trees. They develop new, more advancing strategies for survival daily.  The above tree types are some of the most combative ones and are unsuitable for planting in your garden if it’s close to your home.

For further information about tree maintenance and drain cleaning, give us a call now, and we can discuss your tree —sewage situation and help you fix it quickly.

At Drain Cleaning Gold Coast, we receive many calls and inquiries about inspecting and cleaning blocked drains. From experience, we know that it can make a huge difference what you flush down the toilet, drain or sink.

If the wrong stuff goes down the drain, it can not only block your drains but also overload and damage your sewage system and create environmental damage from leaking.

To help your wastewater system to deal with this issue, we recommend that only biodegradable materials are flushed or passed through your drainage system.

Here are a few examples for you:

Water

It is absolutely possible to flush water from your kitchen sink, laundry, and from showers and baths. Also, human waste is a given. That´s what the system is originally created for. But when it comes to foods like yoghurt, vegetable waste, cooking oils and fats, you should be more cautious. These things can seriously harm your pipes and tanks.

Non-biodegradable Items

Here are other items you should NOT flush down your toilet or sinks:

• medicine and cosmetics
• toilet fresheners and sanitary products
• paints
• cleaners
• pesticides
• motor oils

These things will create serious damage to the environment and should be disposed of separately.

Stormwater can also be harmful to your drains. Many foreign matters tend to get swept into your drainage system following a storm.

But what can you do if you have a pipe blockage?

First you have to understand that as a property and house owner, the responsibility is yours to fix. All wastewater pipes and tanks and the underground sewage system on your property until the point it connects to the public wastewater system, are all yours. Consider this fact when you flush anything.

If you experience a drain blockage or notice other damage to your systems, you have three basic options.

1. The first is to search around the Internet and find a solution on your own. You may be able to clean your drains in the sink or bathtub yourself. We really don´t recommend this. You can create more damage in the long run, and expensive costs will add up if you need professional help to fix it.
2. The second option is to call a maintenance plumber. On the first look, they are professionals. Unfortunately, they may not have the necessary training and don´t have the experience a drain professional has.
3. In both cases, you’re left to figure things out. And there could be more than one thing wrong with your drainage system, something that a normal plumber might not know to look for. For example, fast and big growing trees can be a common reason for complications in your sewage lines, and there are many other areas that should be checked. This is why you should always call a professional drain cleaner.

If you’ve noticed that the water isn’t draining as quickly as it should, this could be the early sign of bigger issues. Contact our team today to book a free quote and get this sorted before it’s too late.

But what are the reasons for a blocked drain and how can you prevent them from happening again in the future?

Often only the symptoms are treated and not the underlying cause. Which can cause your drains to block frequently.

Some of the more common reasons why your drain might block are listed below.

5 Common Drain Blocking Causes

1. Wrong use

The most common reason is the wrong usage of drains. Drains are made to manage dirty water but often people tend to flush more than just water down their drains. Things such as soaps, food fats, and food debris are flushed into the drain and become caught up in the pipe system.

It may seem harmless, but over time these things can stack up and stop the water from flowing freely. This will eventually cause a blocked drain.

Often toilets are victims to the use of too much toilet paper or flushing down sanitary items. Avoid doing any of these and you’ll prevent a major blockage problem arising.

2. Heavy rain

Outside drains are often blocked after heavy rain and storms. Older pipes are not made to manage these high volumes of water that occur during severe weather.

Additionally, leaves, dirt, and other matter can find it´s way into the outside drains and cause congestion. These problems should be solved immediately to prevent damage to your property.

3. Broken pipes

This problem is maybe not so obvious. Sure, broken pipes are not good but in addition to this, they can contribute to blocked drains. Broken pipes prevent the free flow of water and eventually can cause a collapse of the overall pipe and drainage system.

Some of the reasons for broken pipes could be poor installation, age, and tree roots. Underground pipes are particularly susceptible to tree roots, and require investigation when the problem occurs, which can be expensive. It pays to have your underground pipes checked regularly.

4. Wrong installation

Thanks to modern communication, the Internet provides a lot of do-it-yourself advice in the form of videos and articles for repairs and home renovations. Unfortunately, this causes an increase in poorly installed plumbing and drainage pipes. This can cause a lot of damage to your property.

Wrong alignments and complete collapses can be the result for a DIY gone wrong. Full understanding of the drainage system of your house is required to install the right pipes. This is why you should always only work with drain professionals for all your drainage work.

5. Water flow issues

A problem can occur from a wrong installation of your pipes, leading to build-up of foreign particles and debris within your drains. Drainage doesn’t work without the correct installation, and for this reason, it´s important to ensure the correct water flow is happening.

Now you can see why recurring drain blockages can have a variety of different causes. It´s important to understand the underlying cause of your blocked drain before attempting to solve it for yourself.

If you have been experiencing ongoing minor blockages, it’s time to call a drain professional before it turns into a major issue and a more expensive job! Contact the team at Drain Cleaning Gold Coast today.