Blocked drains in Napier

What is usually blocking it

Inside the house it is nearly always the same short list: wipes that were sold as flushable, fat down the kitchen sink, hair in the shower waste, or a child's toy in the toilet. Outside, it is roots. Napier has plenty of old clay drains with joints every metre, and every one of those joints is an invitation to the nearest tree.

Clearing it, then finding out why

Clearing a blockage is the easy part. Jetting cuts through the obstruction and scours the pipe wall properly, which a plunger and a rod never do. The part that saves you money is what comes next: putting a camera down the line and finding out whether you had a one-off or a pipe that has failed.

If it is roots at a broken joint, or a section that has dropped and is holding water, that is a drainlaying repair. We are certifying drainlayers as well as plumbers, so the same firm that found it can fix it, and you are not chasing two trades and two quotes.

Signs worth acting on early

• Gurgling from the toilet when the shower or washing machine drains
• A gully trap outside that fills up or smells after rain
• Two or more fixtures draining slowly at once, which usually means the main line
• Damp or a soft patch in the lawn along the line of the drain
• A blockage that comes back every year at the same time

Any of those means the problem is in the drain rather than the fixture. Ringing at that point is a lot cheaper than ringing when the whole system has backed up.

Commercial and rental properties

We look after drains for property managers and local businesses across Napier and Hastings, including scheduled clearing on sites that are known for it. If you manage a building where the same drain blocks every year, it is worth getting it looked at properly once.