By Matthew Baring-Gould, Kingscliff-based drainage plumber. Servicing Tweed Heads for 4 years. 5.0 stars across 173 Google reviews. Licensed NSW 383340C and QLD 15036450. ABN 74 605 392 348.
Older Robina property with a drain that kept backing up. Years of silt build-up. Hydrojet strip, CCTV to confirm. No root ingress found.
What the customer called us for
Recurring blocked drain. The line had been cleared once before by another plumber using a plumbers eel. The blockage came back inside six months. The customer wanted to know whether the pipe was actually broken or whether something else was going on.
What we found when we got there
The line was built up with silt. Not sand, not grease, not roots. Fine sediment that had settled over years, probably decades, because no one had ever properly jet cleaned it. An eel punches a hole through the silt and the water flows again for a while, then the hole closes up. That is why the blockage kept coming back.
Why we did it this way
The right tool for silt is a hydrojet with a flushing nozzle, not an eel. Water at 5000 psi strips the silt off the pipe wall in both directions and flushes it out of the line. Then the CCTV camera is non-negotiable, because if there is also root ingress or a cracked join contributing to the problem, the eel approach would never find it. We camera every drain job.
What we did on site
- Opened the drain at the inspection point.
- Hydrojet with a flushing nozzle on a long pass to strip silt out of the line.
- Second pass in the opposite direction so the pipe gets scoured from both ends.
- CCTV camera down the full length of the line.
- Confirmed pipe condition: no cracked joins, no root ingress, no offsets. The silt was the only issue.
- Walked the customer through the camera footage on the screen so they saw it for themselves.
The result
Drain running freely. Because there is no root ingress or structural damage, this fix should hold for years rather than months. We recommended the customer book a routine jet clean every three to five years to prevent silt rebuilding to problem levels.
If you have the same issue
If your drain keeps blocking in the same spot and the plumber keeps using an eel, you are paying for the same fix every six months. One proper hydrojet + CCTV session usually resolves it for years. We cover Tweed Heads, Banora Point, Chinderah, Kingscliff, Cabarita, Pottsville, and the Gold Coast. Call Matty on 0447 188 394 or request a quote.
Customer names and addresses have been withheld. Individual results vary. Drain Masters Plumbing is licensed in NSW (383340C) and QLD (15036450).
Frequently asked
Why does an eel not fix a silt blockage?
An eel punches a hole through the blockage without actually removing it. Water flows through the hole for a while, then silt closes it back up. A hydrojet at 5000 psi scours the silt off the pipe wall and flushes it out.
How often should an older drain be jetted preventively?
Every three to five years on an older property with normal use is a reasonable interval. Faster if the line serves a kitchen that regularly handles grease or a yard with fast-settling sediment.
Why do you camera every drain, even on a straightforward blockage?
Because the root cause of a blockage is often invisible from the surface. Silt looks the same as a cracked join from the top of an inspection point. Only the camera tells you whether the fix will hold or come back in six months.
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