What Causes Blocked Drains and How to Actually Prevent Them

If you’ve ever been standing in the shower, water up to your ankles and getting higher every second, yep, that’s a blocked drain. And it usually doesn’t just happen out of nowhere. It starts small.  A bit of slow draining here, a little gurgling noise there. You tell yourself, “Ehh, it’ll sort itself out.

Then one morning… nothing moves. Total standstill. And honestly, that’s how most blockages show up around the Sutherland Shire. Blocked drains build up bit by bit. By the time you notice them, they’re rarely a “quick tip you saw online and fixed it in 2 minutes” situation.

We’ve been clearing blocked drains in Engadine and surrounding suburbs for over 20 years, and the patterns are almost always the same: simple little everyday habits that snowball. The good news? They’re easy to prevent if you know what actually causes the mess.

What Usually Causes a Blocked Drain

There isn’t one villain here. It’s usually a combination of “small” things that keep collecting until the pipe can’t take any more.

Hair (Bathroom)

This is the #1 slow clog culprit. A few hairs every shower, mixed with soap… it forms a rope-like clump.

Quick fix: throw a mesh catcher on the drain. Costs a few dollars. Saves a lot.

Grease + Cooking Fat (Kitchen)

People think “oil = liquid = goes down the drain fine.” Nope. Hot oil cools in the pipe, becoming sticky glue. Then every crumb sticks to that glue. Then it becomes a hard blockage.

Better habit: let grease cool, wipe pan with paper, bin it.

Food Scraps

Rice, pasta, coffee grounds… they swell in water. They sit in the bends of pipes and turn into hard stuff.

Just scrape plates first. It hardly takes 3 seconds.

Soap Scum

Old-school bar soaps leave residue. Mix that with hair/dust, and you’ve got a sludgy wall inside the pipe.

Little tweak: body wash + occasional hot water flush + splash of vinegar.

Tree Roots

Common in older areas like Engadine, Heathcote, and Menai. Roots love moisture. One tiny crack and that’s all they need to enter the pipe. Once they’re in, they grow thick and fast.

If you have big trees, camera inspection once a year = MUCH cheaper than excavation.

Random Objects (yes, it happens)

We’ve pulled out toothbrushes, toys, “flushable” wipes (they’re not really flushable), cotton buds, you name it.

Rule: only flush toilet paper + waste. Everything else → bin.

How to Know a Blockage is Forming (before it becomes a drama)

Look out for:

• Drains are suddenly getting slower
  
• Bubbling or gurgling sounds
  
• Weird smells from the sink or shower
  
• Water is pooling around the drain
  
• Multiple drains are slowing down at the same time
  

If even one of these starts, don’t wait.

Quick Things You Can Try

• Plunger (don’t be shy, firm pushes)
  
• Baking soda + vinegar (1 cup each, wait 10 mins, flush with hot water)
  
• Pure hot water in kitchen sinks (helps dissolve grease)

If it still hasn’t improved, stop there. The “coat hanger hack” and cheap chemical cleaners can damage pipes.

What We Do When We Notice Issues

We don’t guess. We run a CCTV camera to see what exactly is blocking things. Then we use a hydro-jet, a high-pressure water jet, which cleans the inside of the pipe and removes the blockage. It’s powerful, safe and way more effective than off-the-shelf stuff.

How to Keep Your Drains Clear

• Strainers in showers + sinks
  
• Grease goes in the bin, not the drain
  
• Weekly hot water flush
  
• Teach the household what can/can’t go in the pipe
  
• Yearly plumbing check (cheaper than repairs later)
  

Small habits → big prevention.

Why the Shire Calls South East Plumbing

We’re not a national chain. We’re locals. Most of our work comes from referrals, neighbours telling neighbours. We turn up when we say we will. We explain things in normal language. And we charge fair, local-family-business pricing. We have been doing that across Engadine, Cronulla, Miranda and the wider Shire for 20+ years. Blocked drains are annoying, but most are totally preventable. And if yours is already slow, smelly or backing up, don’t wait for it to overflow. We offer same-day service across the Sutherland Shire.

Call 0414 651 351 or book online. We’ll get the water moving again and help you keep it that way.