How we find the cause.
We work out where the blockage sits before we touch it: in a fixture trap, in a branch line, or in the main drain running to the sewer. Which fixtures are affected tells us most of that before anyone lifts a grate. From there it is a drain machine, high-pressure jetting or a camera, depending on the pipe and the access, and we tell you which one we are using and why.
Clearing a blockage and fixing the reason for it are two different jobs, and you should know which one you are paying for. Grease responds to jetting. Roots come back unless the joint they entered through is repaired. A cracked or sagging pipe keeps catching everything that passes. If a drain has blocked twice, a camera inspection costs less than clearing it a third time.
What this means in East Ipswich
The drains under most East Ipswich homes are earthenware clay, laid long before PVC, with cement or rubber-ring joints. Roots find those joints, and ground movement leaves a lip at them that catches paper and grease until the line closes over. That is why the same drain blocks again six months after it was cleared: the clearing worked, but nothing was done about the joint letting the roots in.
Low-lying parts of East Ipswich have been through creek and river flooding, and silt settles in drains once the water drops. If drainage has been sluggish ever since a flood, say so: the cause is often sediment that needs flushing rather than a fault in the pipe, and that is a much smaller job.
Original earthenware drains, mature street trees and low ground near the river that has flooded in the past. 79% of occupied homes in East Ipswich are separate houses, and 20% are townhouses or apartments — where a blocked drain can involve shared pipework, and the body corporate needs to be in the conversation before anyone books work.
Ipswich City Council publishes historical flood mapping showing the estimated extent of the 1974, 2011 and 2022 floods. If your property is in a low-lying part of East Ipswich, that mapping is worth checking, and it helps to mention any flood history in your enquiry. View Council flood mapping ↗
What to send us
Note which fixtures are affected and when it started. Stop using anything that is backing up, and keep children and pets away from an overflow. Tell us if the drain has been cleared before, and whether anyone left you a report or footage. It saves you paying twice for the same information.
What actually moves the price
Four things move the price: how we get into the drain, where the blockage sits, the condition of the pipe, and whether a camera is needed to see the cause. We set out what the work covers before we start, so you know whether you are paying to clear a drain or to find out why it blocked.
Sources: ABS 2021 Census QuickStats: East Ipswich · Ipswich City Council flood mapping. Distances are straight-line from Redbank Plains. Housing descriptions are general observations, not a survey of any individual property.