Why Traralgon drains block
Traralgon's older homes — the weatherboard near the centre and the 1970s brick belt — run terracotta sewer laterals, and terracotta is the material tree roots love. Joints between terracotta lengths open over decades, roots find the moisture, and a mat of root and sludge slowly closes the line. The newer estates out west are PVC and block far less, but they are not immune: a poor fall, a sag, or building debris left in the line during construction will catch solids and block eventually.
Stormwater drains block differently — they fill with leaf litter, silt and, on sloping blocks, the sand and clay that washes down. A stormwater pit that overflows in the first heavy Gippsland rain is usually silted, not broken.
Water jetting, not just a snake
A drain snake (electric eel) punches a hole through a blockage; a water jetter cuts it out and flushes the line. For root blockages in terracotta, jetting with a root-cutting nozzle is the difference between a drain that runs for a year and one that blocks again in a month. We jet at the right pressure for the pipe material — terracotta and old PVC will crack under too much pressure, so we match the nozzle to the line.
CCTV when a drain keeps blocking
If a drain has blocked twice in a year, jetting alone is not the answer — there is a structural problem downstream. We run a CCTV camera through the line, locate the break, the root ball or the collapsed section, and show you the footage. Then the decision is honest: a localised dig-up and repair, a patch, or, if the whole run is gone, a full line replacement. We do not recommend a full replacement to fix one cracked joint.
Gippsland Water boundary — yours or theirs
Not every blocked drain is yours to pay for. The boundary between the private sewer lateral (your cost) and the Gippsland Water main (their cost) is usually at the property boundary or the connection point to the authority's main. If the blockage is in the authority's main, or a shared main is surcharged, it is a Gippsland Water call, not a plumber's bill. We identify where the blockage sits before we quote — and where it is the authority's side, we tell you to log the job with Gippsland Water.
The overflow relief gully
Every Traralgon home should have an overflow relief gully (ORG) — the grated fitting outside, usually near the laundry or bathroom, that lets a surcharged sewer overflow outside instead of inside the house. If your ORG is buried under soil, paved over, or has been capped, a sewer surcharge will come up through the floor waste or the shower recess. We clear, reinstate and regrade ORGs as part of a proper drain job.
Signs a drain is about to block
- A gurgling toilet or floor waste when water runs elsewhere in the house.
- Water rising in the shower recess before it drains.
- A slow laundry or kitchen sink that is getting slower over weeks.
- Damp or a smell outside near the sewer line, especially in dry weather.
- The ORG running when it has not rained.