Blocked Drains at Night? How to Handle After-Hours Emergency Plumbing Disasters
Mainline Plumbing andv Civil Pty Ltd Client • September 3, 2025
Drains are such a fundamental part of any residential, industrial or commercial building that we never really think about them. But if you would like to consider them for a moment, they are vulnerable, and when they get blocked, that simple process we all take for granted – taking wastewater away – just stops.
Suddenly the stuff that used to get whisked away just sits there or, worse, overflows out of the sink, the shower tray or the toilet. You could be needing a blocked drain plumber. This is not an actual job title, but just one aspect of a plumber's work.
You might see it on their van or their advertising somewhere: blocked drain services. Or perhaps emergency drain clearing. Something to that effect, anyway.
If this kind of thing happens during the daytime and you are fit enough and sufficiently practical to do a few household tasks, you could have a go at this yourself.
A blockage, after all, is nothing but a build-up of material that needs to be dislodged, and if you can get at it easily enough, you might be able clear it with a plunger or something called a drain snake (if you have one, which most people don't).
You will also probably have heard that boiling water can be useful, and that can be true, because it can soften any fat or grease that may contributing to the trouble. If that does prove to be the issue, it can seem like magic – but it doesn't work for all blockages.
How do Blocked Drains Happen?
Most often you could say blocked drains are self-inflicted, because we are expecting more of these simple devices than we should. If all we did was run water through them, they would never get clogged. However, in the kitchen, for instance, if you're cooking or just washing up, you could be rinsing bits and pieces off plates or out of pans and sending them down the drain without a thought.
If melted fat is involved, it is only liquid when it's hot, so as soon as it encounters a cold pipe or your helpful rinsing from the cold tap, it quickly reverts to its solid form.
They say that in sewers there are huge blocks of fat like icebergs, formed by the bad habits pf countless households and businesses, and although your domestic blockage is sure to be less dramatic than that, it's still a ball of fat and plumbers must remove it carefully.
In baths and showers, hair can be a major problem, because every time you wash your hair you lose a few strands, and it can combine with other material to form a ball which is surprisingly resilient.
In toilets, the scene can obviously be even more unpleasant, with human waste combining with sanitary products and even so-called ‘flushable' tissues. You may be able to tackle this with a plunger, but it's not for the faint-hearted.
As for drain-clearing chemicals, these are nasty, dangerous substances that can do a job on a blockage but can also damage your skin, eyes etc, and the fumes are not something you ought to be breathing in.
All in all, this can be an unpleasant business, so you may want to call somebody who does emergency drain clearing.
How to Get Rid of Blocked Drains at Night
If this kind of task is not something you're keen to do at the best of times, you're certainly not going to want to get your overalls, gloves and goggles on at night.
Late night plumbing issues require the attention of an emergency drain services company, and unless you live in the back of beyond, you will find some around that offer out-of-hours or emergency service.
Is there such a thing as a specialist blocked drain plumber? It might not be their only claim to fame, but there are certainly people who are great at this kind of thing – and don't worry, they've seen it all before, so however disgusting the situation you find yourself saddled with, it's what blocked drain services are all about.
How to Choose the Right Plumber for Emergency Drain Services
When plumbers fix late night plumbing issues, they will make it clear on their website and/or social media that they are available for this so you can quickly see who to call.
You might not be particularly fussy about who you contact in this situation but they should have reviews from previous customers readily available so you can see they're up to the task.
At Mainline Plumbing & Civil, we're ready to help no matter the time. Read more about our emergency service here.
Preparing for a plumbing emergency is probably the wrong way to put it. Being prepared is more to the point, and it is a process that starts even before a plumber sets foot in your building. If you are starting from scratch, having the premises built, you are perfectly placed to do the job properly. If you have bought or taken over something that has been in operation for some time, you may be kitting it out because your requirements are rather different or adapting what is there already. Either way, avoiding commercial property plumbing emergencies is the object of the exercise, and this starts with choosing a good company offering commercial plumbing services . That is to say, you probably don’t contact the people who installed your new shower cubicle at home and make their day with the prospect of a big job – unless you know they have the expertise and capacity to deal with that big job. This is no place for sentiment. You’re looking for an outfit that offers commercial emergency plumbing services as part of their regular commercial plumbing services. You will find them online and you’ll still see some advertising in the newspapers and local magazines. You may need to discuss your requirements with them and get an estimate, which will mean showing them around the premises and explaining a bit about what your business entails. Having a good working relationship with your tradies is very helpful and, in this case, can be critical. Nobody is anticipating commercial property plumbing emergencies , but these things happen and the better prepared you are, the greater the chance of minimising trouble. If there are flammable substances on your premises, for instance, the risk of fire increases dramatically, so you fire prevention strategy has to be extremely well thought out, and plumbing contingency planning is best done collaboratively. You know your business and the common hazards as well as the occasional ones that can occur without warning. Is a Fire a Plumbing Emergency? Having a good water supply in the building is clearly essential for all kinds of reasons, and fighting fires is one of them. However, the company carrying out your commercial plumbing services should be well aware of the limitations of water in that respect. Your fire emergency provisions may need to involve foam, dry powder, CO2 or even wet chemicals. However, water can still be essential for many types of blazes, and that is why the fire trucks are still geared up for dousing flames with good old H2O. Water-based Plumbing Emergencies The more common situations that could call for commercial emergency plumbing are leaks and bursts. A leak is a subtle, subversive threat that can suddenly spell trouble if water gets into machinery or the electrical system. Therefore, you need to have a plan for if this happens. Bursts are more dramatic and can cause flooding with clean water or wastewater, and whichever one it is, it needs to be shut down ASAP. Commercial Emergency Plumbing: What to do Let’s say you have taken care with your commercial plumbing services, but something happens anyway; what are you going to do? The most important thing is to stay calm, because racing around in a panic is not going to help. You need to make cool, rational decisions and the first one is to stop the emergency at its source. That might mean shutting down the water supply to a machine or shutting off the water altogether at the mains. It could mean throwing the master switch in the electricity box to avert any danger of electrocution. Call the emergency services immediately and once you have done what you can to stop the flow, get out of the building. You’ve seen the signs in hotels, and you’ve heard the safety briefings on planes: leave anything you don’t absolutely need and get out of there. An emergency is an emergency, and the crucial thing is to make sure everyone involved is safe, including yourself. The aftermath and the repercussions you can deal with afterwards. Preventing Commercial Property Plumbing Emergencies With luck you will never have to deal with a commercial property plumbing emergency, but you know what they say about luck: you make your own. Find a good provider of commercial plumbing services, work with them to get the best possible system in place and don’t let the whole thing down by cutting costs. Using good quality equipment installed and serviced by experts is the best kind of insurance. And there’s the other crucial word: maintenance. Get it done regularly and keep an eye out yourself. Nipping trouble in the bud can save a lot of heartache as well as money, so be vigilant and encourage your employees to do the same. At Mainline Plumbing & Civil, we can help you prevent commercial plumbing issues. Read more about our services here .
While plumbing in the home is a relatively straightforward business, with the kitchen and bathroom to look after plus the water tank and boiler, in commercial premises it can be a lot more complex, not least because of the scale. In a big commercial unit, you may have hundreds of metres of pipes plus various areas with different purposes and therefore different plumbing needs. It stands to reason, then, that the tradespeople who provide a good, cheerful service in residential settings are not necessarily the best choice for bigger buildings. There are extra considerations in a commercial building, with fire safety prominent among them, and this involves specialised training. There may also be working at height to consider, which again means gaining knowledge and expertise over and above the basic requirements of the plumber’s trade. Certification is needed in specialised areas and there are plumbing compliance standards to be met. Employees of an industrial plumbing contractor will have spent plenty of time studying to gain a thorough understanding of working in commercial settings – and there is a huge variety within the category. Take, for instance, the difference between a factory and an office block, a school’s classrooms and its gymnasium, and that’s before we get to the very special environments of clinical units like hospitals. Every commercial unit has a requirement for water, and a large-scale plumbing infrastructure presents very different issues from a two-bedroom home. Business Plumbing Solutions If you are having a building fitted out for a business, it is important to get a commercial plumbing contractor involved at an early stage. Plumbing has to be incorporated into the premises, rather than added on afterwards. If it’s an office suite, you may be thinking about the ambience, the light, the acoustics, and generally making sure it’s a good place for productivity – and productivity comes from people being comfortable and able to concentrate. While the kitchen area may not be high on your list of priorities, having a decent one is all part of being the kind of employer people want to work for. If you’re setting up an industrial unit there may be a requirement for some showers in addition to the usual washing and toilet facilities, but how big and where? An experienced industrial plumbing contractor can draw on past projects to show you what works and what doesn’t, thereby saving you from making errors that detract from the perceived status of the place of work. Everyone has relatively high standards these days, and it is important that the plumbing doesn’t let you down in either its scope or efficiency. You won’t find industrial options in the hardware superstore on your local industrial estate, so you can either make it up as you go along and take your chances or you can talk to someone accustomed to large-scale plumbing infrastructure. They’re not going to try to push you towards things you don’t need, because their job is to install and service units, not sell them. Having said that, they will have seen which options previous clients were happy with and those that people regretted and soon had to replace. What Extra Skills Do Licensed Commercial Plumbers Have? All plumbers are used to working in confined spaces, but in a big setting, particularly one with high ceilings, safety becomes even more important. A licensed commercial plumber will be trained to work in these conditions, and not only will they be more aware of safety, but because they are comfortable working like this, they can get a good job done rather than failing to do their best because they want to get it over with. Working at heights, for instance, is not something that just anyone would be prepared to do, but a company offering business plumbing solutions will have staff who can work safely up in the rafters while seeing to anything from water pipes to sprinklers. They will have a good knowledge of fire prevention and be able to provide the premises with fire hydrants and reels, the sort of hosing that rolls up flat for convenience and space-saving but turns into a big, fat hose full of water when needed. A plumbing company billing itself as commercial plumbing contractors should also be able to guide you through the legal requirements and point you towards the people to talk to at the council to make sure premises are up to scratch as regards local regulations. If You’re Taking Over an Existing Building Expert assistance is essential when you take over a property that someone else set up, because it is now your responsibility, and a good firm of commercial plumbing contractors will cast an expert eye over the setup to see if it’s okay as it is or needs upgrading. Health and safety regulations are not just obstacles put in your way by bureaucrats; they exist to safeguard your workforce and your customers. At Mainline Plumbing & Civil, we cover all commercial plumbing needs. Read more about those services here .
Annual plumbing maintenance: the very idea may be something you’ve never considered because you didn’t feel it was necessary. But maintenance means prevention rather than cure. It’s why we have a checkup at the doctor’s or the dentist’s. It’s why we get the car looked at periodically. Why should your plumbing be any different? Plumbing System Upkeep: The Essentials Buildings don’t look after themselves, and there is one element in particular that we need to keep an eye on, because it is everywhere in the house: under floors and in walls, behind cupboard doors and household appliances. Plumbing makes the world go round, you could say, and in this part of the world most of us Australians are fortunate enough to have the benefit of a good water supply and what used to be called “all modern conveniences”. We don’t see that expression much anymore because it’s like advertising a place as having hot and cold running water. What do you think this is, the back of beyond? So, everybody has water, but water comes with hardware and hardware can malfunction. Joints can separate, causing leaks, cracks can occur, also causing leaks. Pumps can fail. Pipes can get clogged. It’s a long list and the only way to keep on top of this water business is to have a routine plumbing service schedule . That means finding a good maintenance plumber and getting them to keep an eye on things. A burst pipe can flood a property alarmingly quickly, causing all sorts of trouble from ruined carpets to damp in the walls – and if it gets into electrical systems there can be physical danger as well as wrecked devices to deal with. And that’s just the clean water. A problem involving wastewater, which includes sewage, can get everywhere in the same way but with the added threat of a health hazard, so it’s not just unpleasant but can lead to infections and illness. What Will a Maintenance Plumber be Looking for? A good maintenance plumber can spot potential issues is their early stages. While you as the householder or occupier may notice obvious signs of water-related trouble, such as damp and mildew, a routine plumbing service can expose less glaring examples before they develop. This happens because the plumber is an expert who sees this kind of thing all the time, whereas the householder has more to keep an eye on and less expertise to do it with. Part of the reason that water gets away with causing the trouble it does at times is that pipes and appliances are in notoriously awkward places. Problems can occur under the sink, where it is hard for many people to even get down, let alone see clearly when they’re down there. If there is something going on behind a washing machine or dishwasher, these are heavy items that can’t be quickly swept aside so you can have a look. Similarly, water tanks might be in the attic or some similarly difficult location. It’s what you want when you’re planning the layout: keep the ugly practical stuff out of the way. But when there is an issue to deal with, that suddenly doesn’t seem so clever. Your maintenance plumber, though, is used to this kind of thing and will be armed with everything from a telescopic stepladder to a powerful torch. In addition to that, though, they have experience to draw on that can almost amount to a sixth sense. They’ve got things in the back of their mind that include such relatively unlikely scenarios as plumbing issues after settlement, which is a bigger picture altogether. We all have our areas of expertise in which we can see things other people can’t, and a good plumber has a nose for trouble that sometimes literally involves the nose, because unusual smells can indicate the need for investigation. As plumbing can potentially cause such serious problems there may be plumbing issues strata to deal with, which makes clear who is responsible for rectifying the issue and what happens next. In an ideal situation the maintenance plumber will spot the trouble early and it won’t turn into a problem, but whatever happens, the sooner it is diagnosed and fixed the better. How a Routine Plumbing Service Can Save You Money Leaks are an issue throughout the water industry because water is a precious resource, and the authorities can’t go through the process of capturing it and treating it just to have it disappearing on its way to the customer. In the same way, if you’re paying for something, you don’t want it sneaking away when you’re not looking, so it literally pays to keep an eye out for leaks. At Mainline Plumbing & Civil, we’ll be there for all your plumbing maintenance needs. Find out more about our residential services here .
Plumbing maintenance: it sounds like a simple matter, right? Not a lot of moving parts to consider, so very little wear and tear. It’s just water running through pipes. But that is a gross simplification of a system that is absolutely fundamental to the running of a home or a commercial premises. Water is everywhere in your building, and it needs to be looked after at every stage. That’s why you may need a maintenance plumber to give it the once-over regularly, particularly if your place is quite big, rather old or, at the other extreme, bang up to date with some expensive machinery and devices doing their stuff quietly and helpfully in the background. Home Plumbing Inspection and Preventative Plumbing Care: What’s on the List? While the headline topics may be leaks and their potential to cause water damage, let’s look at it from start to finish. How’s your water pressure? It needs to be just right, because if it’s too low it can take ages to run a bath, deprive you of a good shower, or make filling the kettle a chore. Low water pressure can be just one of those things: a matter of location. You may just be in a part of the world where everybody’s water pressure is low. In which case you might want to invest in a power shower, which can at least perk things up in that department. But it may not be just that. It could be that your pipes are old and clogged. If you live in an old property the pipes bringing the water from the street to your place could be the original ones, which might mean lead. While the water you receive should be basically clean and pure, it will still contain small amounts of impurities which can stick to the inside of the pipes. Over time that reduces the diameter, which makes it harder for the water to get through. What can be done about this? Replacement is the best option at this point. Replacing your exterior pipes isn’t too dramatic or time-consuming. If you have to go through the whole house, that’s going to take longer, of course, but that’s what owning a property is all about. Check for Damage and Leaks You should check for leaks in the piping and check for toilet leaks. Water damage isn’t all about gushing torrents wrecking the place. Water creeps out of tiny cracks and imperfect seals, and then it can work its way into the floor, the walls, the fixtures and fittings, just subtly ruining things. You should check for corrosion and examine exposed pipes. Do your pipes need insulating? That will depend on where you live, but it’s a question worth asking. Check your shut-off valves and inspect sump pumps. Don’t know what or where they are? Then you definitely need a maintenance plumber. These are the sorts of things that can deteriorate before your very eyes because you get used to what is happening to them. But be honest: is that shower head with the slight drip really something to hang onto? You may be able to clean them and maybe replace a washer, or you may want to just give the shower a lift by getting a smart new head. Ever thought to check the washing machine hoses? All you really notice is the front, but what are the hoses like at the back? If they’re a bit ropey and on the verge of letting you down, you need to know about it to prevent an incident. Same with the toilet. You may not want to get down there to inspect it. Depending on your mobility you may not physically be able to do that, but somebody needs to have a look now and then. And then there’s the exit systems: check your drains and sewer connections. If there are unsavoury smells in certain places, you may be accustomed to them, but other people visiting you are going to detect them. Contact a Maintenance Plumber to Put Your Mind at Ease and Avoid Trouble Plumbers are not just there for a crisis. These may be the people who installed the system in the first place, or they may be better than those guys and able to help you before something unpleasant happens. Everybody with a decent car gets it serviced regularly, and how much more expensive is your house? You owe it to yourself to get a professional maintenance plumber to have a look. Everything might be fine, but they can warn you about potential issues and if you have been thinking about changing things anyway, they will have ideas about what you can do to improve your plumbing. And better plumbing means a better house. Contact our expert team at Mainline Plumbing & Civil to ensure everything’s working here .
