A $300 high-pressure water jet clean by a plumber with more than 45 years on the tools. And if Paul can't clear your drain, it's free.
"There are few things as irritating as a blocked drain and I know better than most. My name is Paul, I'm a drain cleaning specialist here at Ward Septics."
In more than 45 years as a licenced plumber, Paul has fixed thousands of clogged drains. They always let go at the worst possible time, and a blocked sewer line or a shower that won't empty is not something you want to live with for long. The fix is usually simpler and cheaper than the bloke selling you a new pipeline wants you to believe, and this page tells you exactly how Paul goes about it, what it costs, and the few things worth trying yourself before you spend a cent.
Paul would rather you fix a simple blockage yourself than pay him to plunge a sink. Any one of these can get you out of trouble, even if only temporarily.
A good old-fashioned plunger. They are not called the plumber's friend for nothing: a dozen firm strokes will shift a surprising number of sink and shower blockages.
Soap scum and grease soften with heat. A kettle or two of boiling water poured slowly down the drain can do the trick on a sluggish kitchen sink.
Sometimes you can get away with a good drain cleaner from the hardware shop, perhaps used together with the plunger. Warning: strong chemicals are dangerous and can cause serious injury. Read the label and take real care.
Tried all three and the water still isn't moving? Then you are likely looking at root penetration or a serious build-up of gunk deep in the line, and that is a job for a professional with the right gear.
"A high quality, high pressure water jet, in the hands of someone who knows what they're doing, will blow a hole through most blocked drain gunk. Whether it's plant roots or a buildup of sludge."
The jet is the fastest and most economical answer to almost every blocked drain: it scours the pipe clean rather than just poking a hole through the blockage, so you are back in business quickly and the drain stays clear for longer.
Paul won't lie to you, though. A water jet is not the solution to every drain problem. It cures the lion's share of clogged pipes, but pipes that are past their use-by date will eventually break and collapse, and no jet can fix that. What you get from Paul is the honest read: cleared for $300 if it can be cleared, and a straight explanation of what is actually down there if it can't.
"If it sounds too good to be true, it is too good to be true."
There are companies out there advertising they will clear your blocked drain for less than $100. Do the sums. A quality water jet machine costs around $20,000. The vehicle that carries it, another $40,000. The technician on your doorstep has to be paid. Nobody puts all that hardware and manpower at your disposal for $99. The cheap price is not the offer; it is the bait.
The trick is called bait and switch. The operator arrives, makes a half-hearted pass with the jet turned down so low your garden hose would do better, then puts on a grave look and tells you your pipes have collapsed and must be replaced. Suddenly your $99 drain clean is a full pipeline refurbishment costing thousands, and in most cases you never needed the work at all. Collapsed pipes are real, but the sub-$100 quote and the lifetime guarantee are the marks of a conman, not a drainer.
It makes Paul genuinely angry, because honest, hardworking plumbers and drainers get tarred with the same brush. In most cases all you need is a high-pressure water jet in the hands of an honest operator, not a high-pressure salesman selling you services you don't need.
Tree roots only get into a drain that lets them in: a cracked joint, a shifted section, an old earthenware line giving way. The jet will cut through the roots and get you flowing again, but if the same drain blocks up every year or two, the roots are a symptom. The entry point is the disease.
That is where it matters that Paul is a plumber and drainer who has spent his career in septic and drainage systems, not just a bloke with a jet. He can tell you whether a recurring blockage is worth another clean or whether the line itself has had it, and on septic properties he diagnoses and repairs the ground the drain feeds into as well, from absorption trench problems through to installing new trenches where the old ones are past saving.
"For me to clear a blocked drain with a high pressure jet clean will total $300. And if I can't fix it for you, it's FREE. That's my promise and my genuine guarantee."
Paul is a one man band, and proudly so. No subcontractors, no apprentices, no mates on the payroll. The bloke who answers the phone is the bloke who turns up, and it keeps the price fair and the work accountable. He guarantees all his work, and he won't charge you for work you don't need.
One honest note on timing: Ward Septics is one operator, not a 24-hour emergency fleet. Jobs run Monday to Saturday, 7am to 5pm, and because Paul answers his own phone you get a straight answer on how soon he can be there, not a call centre's promise.
$300 for a high-pressure jet clean, flat. And if Paul can't clear your drain, you pay nothing. No call-out fee games, no surprise line items.
No, and Paul would rather tell you that here than have you find out on hold. Ward Septics is one licenced plumber with his own gear, working Monday to Saturday, 7am to 5pm. Call and you will get a straight answer on how soon he can be there; if you work late, he can be there early.
Yes. A quality high-pressure jet cuts through root masses and sludge and scours the pipe walls clean. But if the same line blocks with roots again and again, the pipe itself is letting them in, and that calls for diagnosis rather than another clean. Paul will tell you which one you are dealing with.
Then jetting won't fix it, and Paul will say so plainly instead of pretending otherwise. Sometimes pipes are simply past their use-by date. What he won't do is charge you for work you don't need: you get the honest read on the line, and if the problem sits in your septic drainage field, he handles trench diagnosis and replacement too.
Yes. Paul is local to the Central Coast and Lake Macquarie, so Gosford, Wyong and Tuggerah are home turf, and he regularly works the Hawkesbury river country out to Wisemans Ferry and Spencer, where most drainers won't travel. See the full service area.
On a septic property, quite possibly. If every drain in the house is slow, or the lowest fixtures back up first, the tank may be overdue for a pump-out or the absorption trench may have stopped taking water. Paul works on both sides of that problem daily, so one visit gets you a proper answer instead of a guess.
Be very careful. Strong chemicals are dangerous, they can cause serious injury, and they rarely shift roots or a heavy sludge build-up anyway. Try a plunger and boiling water first, and if the blockage keeps winning, save your skin and your pipes and get the jet onto it.
Tell Paul which drain is blocked, roughly where you are and what you have already tried, and you will get an honest read and a firm price before anything happens.
Call and you talk to Paul, not a call centre.
Call 0438 315 514