No call Out Fees*
1300 307 498
1300 307 498
A slow drain is easy to ignore. Until it isn’t. Water backing up, a smell you can’t shift, a toilet that won’t flush, or a yard that floods every time it rains. By then, you don’t want to wait around.
We’re SOS Plumbing and Gas, your local blocked drain plumber in Adelaide. We’re a small team based in Seaton, and we clear blocked drains for homes, units and commercial properties right across the city: north, south, east, west and up into the Hills. We’re available 24/7, we charge the same rates all day, and our 1-Hour Arrival Guarantee means we’re not far behind your call.
You don’t always get an obvious warning. Here’s what to watch for:
See one or more of these? The blockage is already there. The longer you leave it, the harder and dearer it gets to fix.
Most blockages don’t happen overnight. They build up. Adelaide has a couple of local factors that make it worse.
Reactive clay soil. Much of Adelaide sits on clay that swells in winter and shrinks in our hot, dry summers. That movement shifts and cracks underground pipes over time.
Older clay pipes. Many established suburbs still have the original glazed clay sewer pipes. They’re joined every metre or so, and every joint is a weak spot.
Tree roots. Roots go looking for water, especially in summer. They find those cracks and joints, grow inside the pipe, and catch everything that comes through.
Then there are the everyday causes:
Grease and fat. Poured down the kitchen sink, it cools, sticks to the pipe wall and catches food scraps. Over months it turns into a solid plug.
Hair and soap scum. The number one cause in showers and bathrooms. Hair binds to soap residue and the clog builds fast.
Wipes and other objects. Wet wipes (even “flushable” ones), sanitary products and cotton buds don’t break down. They don’t belong in your drains.
Leaves and garden debris. The main cause of blocked stormwater, especially after the autumn leaf drop and the first big winter rains.
Damaged or collapsed pipes. A cracked or sagging pipe will keep blocking no matter how often it’s cleared. This one needs a proper blocked drain repair, not another quick fix, and we carry those out right across Adelaide.
Sewage backing up into your home or yard is a health risk, and it won’t clear itself. We find the blockage, clear it, and check the pipe’s condition so it doesn’t come straight back. If tree roots are the cause, we’ll talk you through your options honestly.
After rain, water should drain away from your property quickly. If it’s pooling, your stormwater pipes are likely full of leaves, silt or debris. We clear blocked stormwater drains right across Adelaide, before the water starts damaging your yard, paths or foundations.
A blocked toilet is urgent, and we treat it that way. Partial blockage or no flush at all, we’ll get to you fast anywhere in Adelaide, clear it properly and test it before we leave.
Hair and soap buildup is one of our most common callouts. If your shower is holding water or draining in slow motion, we’ll clear it and get it flowing freely again.
Grease, food scraps and detergent build up in kitchen pipes over time. We clear the blockage, then check the trap and pipe run for any other buildup that could cause trouble soon.
Lint, detergent and fabric fibres collect in laundry pipes. If your trough is backing up, we’ll clear it and check further along the line for anything else building up.
We clear blocked pipes in Adelaide homes wherever they are. Not every blockage is easy to reach, though. Some sit deep in the underground line, under the slab or along the boundary. When the cause isn’t obvious, we use a CCTV drain camera to find exactly where the problem is before we start.
Wondering how plumbers clear blocked drains? Here’s exactly how we do it. We don’t guess, and every job follows the same four steps:
A small waterproof camera on a flexible cable goes down your pipe and sends a live picture back to a screen. We see where the blockage is, what’s causing it, and whether the pipe itself is damaged. No digging. No assumptions. Learn more about CCTV drain inspection in Adelaide.
For tree roots, grease and heavy buildup, we use high-pressure water jetting. A jet of water cuts through the blockage and scours the pipe walls clean, without damaging sound pipes. It fixes the whole pipe, rather than just punching a hole through the middle of the blockage.
For straightforward blockages, we use a drain clearing machine, sometimes called an “electric eel”. It’s a motorised steel cable with a cutting head that we feed down the pipe to break up the clog. Quick, effective, and no overkill for a simple job.
If the pipe is cracked, root-damaged or partly collapsed, clearing it only buys time. Pipe relining fits a resin-coated liner inside your existing pipe, which hardens into a new pipe within the old one. It seals the cracks and keeps roots out, usually without digging up your yard. Learn more about pipe relining in Adelaide.
This is worth knowing, because it decides who pays.
The sewer pipes on your property are the owner’s responsibility. SA Water looks after its own network, including the sewer main in the street. Plumbers aren’t allowed to work on SA Water’s pipes.
So when we clear a sewer blockage, we also work out where it is. If it’s in your pipes, we clear it. If we find the problem is in SA Water’s infrastructure, we’ll report it to them so their crew can fix it, and SA Water lets plumbers lodge a sewer blockage claim on your behalf.
If sewage is overflowing on your property, you can also call SA Water’s 24/7 line on 1300 SA WATER (1300 729 283).
A few simple habits go a long way:
We get this question a lot from Adelaide renters and property managers. Here’s the general picture under South Australia’s Residential Tenancies Act 1995:
Every situation is different, so check your lease. For tenancy advice, contact Consumer and Business Services on 131 882.
Not sure what caused it? We’ll find out. We work with tenants, landlords and property managers across Adelaide, and we can explain exactly what we found so everyone can sort out the bill fairly.
A blocked drain rarely stays a small problem. Here’s what it can lead to:
Water damage. A backed-up drain can overflow and cause flooding in rooms, under floors or across your yard. Water damage spreads quickly and costs a lot to repair.
Leaks and ground movement. Water that backs up can escape through cracked pipes and loose joints. Over time, that washes out the soil under paths and slabs.
Health risks. Sewage carries bacteria and needs dealing with straight away, not when it suits.
Bad smells. Rotting waste in a blocked pipe gives off hydrogen sulphide, the rotten egg smell that hangs around your bathroom or yard.
Pests. Standing water and waste attract cockroaches, flies and rats, especially in Adelaide’s warmer months.
We cover all of metropolitan Adelaide and the Adelaide Hills. Here are some of the suburbs we regularly visit for blocked drains:
Don’t see your suburb? Call anyway. If we can get to you, we will.
It depends on where the blockage is, what’s causing it, and the method needed to clear it. A simple sink or shower clog costs far less than a root-filled sewer line. We give you a clear price before we start, with no surprises. We also charge the same rates all day and offer pensioner discounts. Read our full guide to blocked drain costs in Adelaide.
Start with a plunger. It can shift a small blockage near the drain opening. Skip the chemical drain cleaners: they rarely fix serious clogs and can damage older pipes. If a plunger doesn’t work after a couple of tries, you’re likely dealing with a badly blocked drain, or a blockage further down the drain pipe. That needs a plumber’s equipment, so call us. Forcing it often pushes the blockage further down.
Stop running water into that drain, and hold off flushing if the toilet is affected. Check whether other drains are slow too, and look at the grated gully outside. If several drains are playing up or the gully is overflowing, the problem is likely in your main sewer line. Then give us a call and we’ll take it from there.
It is if sewage is backing up, your only toilet won’t flush, or water is coming into the house. Call us straight away: our emergency plumbers are on call 24/7. A slow drain isn’t an emergency yet, but it will get worse, so book us in before it does.
In most cases, yes. We work through your existing access points using a drain clearing machine or high-pressure water jet. A CCTV camera shows us where the problem is first. Digging is a last resort.
Yes. When water backs up behind a blockage, it can escape through cracked pipes and loose joints, under the slab or inside walls. If you have a blocked drain and water appearing somewhere it shouldn’t, call us right away. If a pipe has burst, see our burst pipe repairs.
Rain doesn’t block your internal pipes, but it quickly exposes a blocked stormwater system. If your yard floods every time it rains, your stormwater drains are probably full of leaves and silt. We clear these across Adelaide all through winter.
Yes, and it surprises a lot of people. Coffee grounds don’t dissolve. They settle in pipe bends, catch grease, and slowly build into a solid plug. Bin them instead.
It depends on your policy. Some cover sudden water damage caused by a blockage, but clearing the drain itself is usually not covered, and damage from gradual leaks often isn’t either. Check your policy or ask your insurer.
Yes. For urgent blockages, we aim to get to you the same day, and our 1-Hour Arrival Guarantee covers your callout. Call us and we’ll confirm a time.
A drain that keeps blocking has an underlying cause that hasn’t been fixed. That’s usually tree roots, a cracked or sagging pipe, or buildup that was never fully cleared. We’ll put a camera through it, find the root cause (sometimes literally), and fix it properly.
Don’t wait until the water’s coming up through the floor. We’ll get there fast, clear it properly, and tell you exactly what caused it. Same rates all day, 24/7, with our 1-Hour Arrival Guarantee.
Call 1300 307 498 today.