5 Common Causes of Blocked Drains and How to Prevent Them

Posted by Sydney Blocked Drains Plumbers on 3 Feb 2026

Blocked drains are a hassle which can cause a disruption in your daily life. They can result in the destruction of your home’s plumbing, unpleasant odours, and even health risks. If they’re not treated promptly blocked drains may cause serious issues in the plumbing system, resulting in expensive maintenance or repairs.

Key Takeaways

  • Drains that are blocked can interrupt your day-to-day routine and result in problems with water, bad odours and even health hazards.
  • Fat, oil and grease accumulation can build up on the pipes’ walls causing blockages; avoid pouring grease down the drain. Alternatively, use hot water and soap while cleaning dishes.
  • Tree roots naturally extend into the ground searching for nutrients that could cause severe damages and blockages to pipes leading to flooding; regularly maintain nearby trees around drainage systems by trimming them.
  • The flushing of non-biodegradable products like wet towels, wipes and sanitary pads and so on. can cause unpleasant smells emanating from bins and toilets. just take care to wash your toilet paper in the drain.
  • Hair

In this article, we will look at five common reasons for blocked drains and ways to avoid them.

Cause 1. Grease, oil and fat buildup

Fat, grease and oil may appear like harmless materials to dump down the drain but as time passes, they build up in the pipes’ walls the pipes, causing the pipes to become blocked. If this happens then water cannot flow freely through the drainpipes. The solution is to avoid pouring grease in the drain, or use soap and hot water when cleaning dishes since it can help break down grease-based substances.

Cause 2. Tree Roots

As time passes, tree roots naturally expand into the soil in search of nutrients, which implies that they expand toward underground pipes. Once they are inside the pipes, tree roots can cause massive damage and even block them, leading to flooding. It’s crucial, therefore, if you have trees around to regularly monitor their growth around drainage systems by pruning them in a regular manner.

Cause 3: Items that are soiled

It’s easy enough to believe that flushing biodegradable products such as the wet wipes, sanitary towel etc. won’t cause any significant problems in the long term, but when too many of these items go into toilets, they can pile up and push others away, that block pipes. This can result in nasty smells emanating around the toilets and bins too! Always remember what should be flushed, and what shouldn’t (i. e only toilet papers should have to be flushed).

Cause 4: Hair

Additional Information

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Are you experiencing a clogged toilet, blocked shower drain, overflowing drains or an issue with your kitchen sink? We can help you sort out your drain blockage problem quickly and provide the following services:

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