Blocked Drain Clearing
in Bryanston
Blocked drain clearing in Bryanston often comes down to tree roots, the main cause of sewer blockages in Johannesburg's suburbs. We clear the line and then film it, so you know whether the blockage will be back. The price comes in writing before any work.
Book a drain clearingWhere It Shows Tells You Where It Is
Five common signs, and what each says about the point in the line that is blocked.
- One basin or shower drains slowly
- The blockage is in that fitting's trap or branch: hair, soap and fat, close to the fitting. Usually no digging and no camera.
- Every fitting is slow at once
- The restriction is on the main line between the house and the street. On a property with big trees, roots at a joint are the first suspect.
- The outside gully overflows
- The gully is the lowest open point on the line, so a blockage further down shows there first.
- The toilet gurgles when the bath empties
- As the bath drains, the falling water drags air out of the toilet's trap. A line that is half blocked, or a vent that is missing, is what lets it happen.
- A manhole on the property fills or overflows
- If it is the City's manhole on a servitude, report it to Johannesburg Water. If it is your own inspection chamber, the blockage is downstream of it, on your line.
Cutting The Roots Out Is The Start, Not The Fix
Clearing a root blockage is quick to describe. A machine with a cutting head goes down the line, cuts through the root mat and the water flushes the pieces away. The drain runs again. What it does not do is take out the root that grew through the joint in the first place.
Johannesburg Water's own depots said as much. In the University of Johannesburg survey of the depots, hand rodding and jetting were judged a short-term measure against roots, neither effective nor economical, and the comment that came back was that the roots grow again. That was said of the City's sewers, and a garden drain behaves the same way.
That is why the line is filmed after it is cleared. The camera shows which joint the roots came through, whether the pipe is cracked or has dropped, and how far that joint is from the house. With the footage in front of you the choice is clearer: cut again on a schedule, reline the damaged length from the inside, or dig up and replace the section. A liner is a new pipe formed inside the old one, so the joint the roots used is sealed without opening the garden; it suits a pipe that is cracked but still in line. A length that has dropped or collapsed has to be dug up.
Then there is the tree. If it stands in your garden, what happens to it is up to you. If it stands on the pavement, it belongs to the City, and its Open Space By-laws say nobody may damage a street tree without written permission; requests go through Joburg Connect. Johannesburg Water has also said that trees planted over its sewer lines break the City's by-laws, because they block access for maintenance.
A drain that blocks with roots twice in one winter needs a decision, not a third clearing: film it, choose a repair that lasts, and settle whose tree it is before anyone cuts.
What Clearing A Drain Is Priced On
The call-out covers the visit and finding the blocked point. The clearing and any repair are priced from these.
The blockage
- What it is: fat and paper clear faster than an established root mat
- Its distance along the line, and the depth of the pipe
- Filming the line afterwards, quoted with the clearing
The property
- Whether there is an inspection chamber to work from, or a toilet has to be lifted
- Paving, decking or garden over the line, if a section has to be opened
- Relining or replacing a section, always priced separately after the footage
How A Blocked Drain Is Cleared
Cleared from the right end, then checked on camera.
-
Find the lowest blocked point
The nearest gully or inspection chamber is opened to see where the water is standing.
-
Clear the line
With a rod or a machine sized for the pipe, from the downstream end wherever possible.
-
Film it
A camera run shows roots, cracks and dips, and you see the footage before any repair is discussed.
-
Decide what lasts
Written prices for the options, from a scheduled re-clear to relining or replacing a section.
Related Work On The Same Visit
Drain Questions, Answered
Price first, then the questions about trees and the City's sewer.
How much is it to unblock a drain in Bryanston?
Two things set the price: where in the line the blockage sits, and what it consists of. A basin trap is quick; a main line full of roots with no inspection point is not. You get the price in writing once the blocked point has been found.
The camera shows the City’s sewer is the blocked one. Now what?
Johannesburg Water maintains its own sewers, including manholes on a servitude through private gardens. If the camera shows the blockage is in the City’s pipe, the work stops there and you log it with Johannesburg Water, with the footage as evidence.
Can tree roots break a drain pipe?
Roots get in where a joint already lets out a little moisture, then widen the gap as they grow. Over the years that can crack a pipe or push a section out of line, which shows clearly on camera.
Will you cut down or poison the tree?
No. What happens to a tree in your own garden is your decision. A street tree is the City’s: pruning or removing it needs written permission from Johannesburg City Parks and Zoo, applied for through Joburg Connect.
Do you film every drain you clear?
Every root blockage, and any line that has blocked before, because that is where the footage changes the decision. A blocked basin trap does not need a camera.
What should I do before you arrive?
Stop using water on that side of the house and keep children and pets away from an overflowing gully. If you know where the outside inspection chamber is, check whether it is full; that tells us where to start.
Can kitchen grease cause a blockage outside?
Yes. Fat poured down a sink cools and sets further along the pipe, narrowing it until paper and food catch. Wiping pans with paper before washing them keeps most of it out.
Why does a drain smell when it is not blocked?
Usually a dry trap: a basin, shower or floor drain that is rarely used loses its water seal and lets sewer air in. Run water into it. If the smell stays, a vent or a cracked pipe needs looking at.
Book A Drain Clearing
Tell us which drains are slow and whether it has happened before. We phone back with a time.