Drain fully blocked? See our blocked drains page or call 0451 001 503, 24/7.
Quick answer: A slow drain is usually a blockage building up, most often hair and soap in bathrooms, fat in kitchens, or tree roots in the main sewer if every fixture is slow.
A slow drain is usually a blocked drain that hasn’t finished blocking yet. The water still gets away, just slower each week, until one day it doesn’t. If you catch it at the slow stage, the fix is often quicker and cheaper.
Where it’s slow tells you a lot
- One basin or shower: almost always hair and soap close to the drain
- Kitchen sink: fat and food building up in the pipe
- Everything in the house: a problem in the main sewer line, often tree roots
- Worse after rain: roots or a broken pipe letting groundwater in
What you can try first
- Pull the plug or grate and clear any hair you can reach
- Use a plunger, with the overflow covered
- Run a kettle of hot (not boiling) water down a kitchen sink to soften grease
I’d steer clear of strong chemical drain cleaners. They rarely shift a proper blockage and they’re hard on older pipes, and on whoever has to work on the drain afterwards.
When to get it looked at
If it’s slow in more than one place, comes back after you’ve cleared it, or gurgles and smells, there’s something further down the line. We’ll clear it with a jetter (or a drain eel on small 50mm pipes), and if it’s a repeat problem we’ll put a camera down to see why.
Slow drains in Ryde, Epping, Eastwood or nearby? Call me on 0451 001 503.
Quick questions
That usually points to a problem in the main sewer line, often tree roots or a broken pipe.
It is best avoided. It rarely clears a proper blockage and can damage older pipes.
