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How to unblock a drain yourself, and when to stop
Most blocked sinks, basins, showers and baths can be cleared at home with a plunger, some hot tap water and a cheap hand snake. The part people get wrong is knowing when to stop. If the blockage is further down the line, pushing harder only packs it in tighter.
Quick answer: If only one fixture is blocked, clean the plug or grate, plunge it with the overflow covered, flush with hot tap water (never a boiling kettle), then try a hand snake from the plug hole. Stop if more than one fixture is slow, the drains gurgle, the gully outside is spilling, you can smell sewage, or the same drain keeps blocking. Those point to the main drain, and that is a job for a licensed plumber.
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Is it one drain or the whole house?
Before you grab the plunger, run a little water in the other fixtures nearby and watch what happens.
- One fixture slow, everything else fine. The blockage is close to that sink, basin, shower or bath. In bathrooms it is mostly hair and soap. In the kitchen it is grease and food scraps. This is the one you can have a go at.
- Two or more fixtures slow or backing up. They share a pipe somewhere downstream, and the blockage is in that shared pipe. A plunger in the basin won't reach it.
- Water comes up through the shower or floor waste when you flush the toilet or the washing machine empties. That is a blocked main drain pushing water back up at the lowest point in the house.
If you are in either of the last two groups, skip the DIY steps and go straight to the stop signs further down.
Four safe ways to clear a blocked sink, basin, shower or bath
1. Clean the plug, pop-up or grate
A lot of "blocked drains" turn out to be a clump of hair sitting just under the plug. Pull out the basin pop-up (most lift or twist out) or lift the shower grate, then pull the hair and gunk out with gloved fingers or a cheap plastic hair-removal strip from the hardware shop. Run the tap and see if that has fixed it.
2. Plunge it properly
Use a cup plunger for sinks, basins and baths. A blocked toilet needs a flange plunger and a slightly different approach, which our guide on what to do when a toilet is overflowing walks through.
- Leave enough water in the fixture to cover the plunger cup and bail out the rest.
- Hold a wet cloth firmly over the overflow hole. Without it, the plunger pushes air out of the overflow instead of into the blockage. On a double kitchen sink, put the plug in the other bowl.
- Plunge with firm, steady strokes for fifteen to twenty seconds, then lift off and check whether it drains.
- Have two or three goes before moving on.
3. Flush with hot tap water, not a boiling kettle
Once it is moving, run the hot tap for a couple of minutes to carry soap and grease further down. Hot water from the tap is fine. A full kettle straight off the boil is not. Sink and basin traps are mostly plastic these days, and boiling water can soften that plastic and loosen the glued joints. It can also splash back out of a blocked fixture and scald you.
4. Use a hand snake on a sink or basin
A hand-cranked drain snake (often sold as a drain auger) is cheap at the hardware shop and is the right next step when plunging hasn't worked.
- Take the plug or pop-up out and feed the cable into the plug hole.
- When it stops, wind the handle while pushing gently. You will feel it either bite into the clog or break through.
- Pull it back slowly, wiping the cable with an old rag as it comes out.
- Flush with hot tap water.
Leave the trap and the pipework under the sink in place. If the snake can't clear it from the plug hole, that is the point to stop and ring a plumber rather than pulling pipes apart.
What about bicarb and vinegar?
It fizzes, which looks like it is working. Bicarb soda and vinegar mostly cancel each other out, leaving water, a mild salt and a lot of bubbles. It can freshen a smelly drain or loosen a light film in a slow one, but it won't shift a hair plug, a lump of fat or anything in the main drain. Treat it as a freshen-up after the drain is clear, not as the fix.
Stop signs: when the blockage is not yours to fix
Put the plunger down and call a plumber if you notice any of these.
- More than one fixture is blocked or slow. The blockage is in a shared pipe or the main drain.
- Gurgling at one fixture when another one drains or the toilet flushes.
- The gully outside is spilling. The gully (also called the gully trap or overflow relief gully) is the grated fitting on a short pipe outside the house, often near the kitchen, bathroom or laundry wall. It sits lower than the fixtures inside, so when the drain blocks further down, the water comes out there first. Don't lift the grate and start poking.
- A sewage smell inside the house or around the gully.
- The same drain keeps blocking after two or three clears. Something in the pipe is catching waste, such as a root, a cracked or dropped joint, or grease.
- Tree roots in the gully or on the end of your snake.
Our guide to main sewer line blockage signs goes through each of these, and what to do while you wait.
If sewage is overflowing, stop using water anywhere in the house, keep kids and pets clear of the spill, and ring a plumber.
Where the DIY line sits under Victorian rules
Clearing a blocked basin, sink, bath or trough with a plunger, a hand snake or a drain cleaner is fine to do yourself. Plunging a blocked toilet, or lifting a shower grate to pull the hair out, is ordinary household clearing too. Our guide to what plumbing you can do yourself in Victoria goes through the common DIY jobs.
A hand snake fed in from the plug hole is as far as DIY should go. If it can't reach or clear the blockage, the problem is further along the pipe, out at the gully or in the main drain, and that is the point to get a licensed plumber in. It needs a drain machine or jetter, a cable can snag or break an old cracked pipe, and replacing or cutting any pipe, trap or waste is licensed work. Anything to do with gas is licensed too, no exceptions.
If you are not sure which side of the line your job is on, ring and ask before you start.
What not to pour, push or mix down a blocked drain
| Surface Material | Appearance | Practical Considerations |
|---|---|---|
| Stainless Steel | Classic and professional | Durable but shows fingerprints and scratches |
| Gas-on-Glass | Sleek and modern | Easy to clean but requires careful handling |
| Enamel / Smalto | Traditional white or black | Heat resistant but can chip if impacted |
If you have already used a chemical cleaner, tell the plumber which product and when before they open anything. It changes how they handle the pipe.
What a plumber does next: camera, drain machine and jetter
When the blockage is in the main drain, the job starts outside. The plumber finds an access point, such as the gully or an inspection opening on the drain line, so the clearing is mostly done from outside rather than through a fixture inside.
- CCTV drain camera. A camera goes down the line from the gully or an inspection opening to show what is causing the blockage and where: roots at a joint, a cracked or sunken section, or a build-up. You can ask to see the footage, and the camera can go back in after the clear to check the line.
- Drain machine (electric eel). A powered cable with a cutting head that breaks through the blockage and gets water moving again. It suits wipes, paper and soft blockages.
- High-pressure jetting. A hose with a jetting nozzle that scours grease, sludge and fine roots off the pipe walls, rather than punching a hole through the middle. See drain jetting in Melbourne, and what drain jetting costs for what drives the price.
The footage shows whether a clean is enough or a section of pipe needs repair. The jetting vs snake guide covers which method suits which blockage. To book a clear, see blocked drain repairs.
Keeping a cleared drain clear
- Scrape plates into the bin and pour cooled fat into a jar, not the sink.
- Wipe greasy pans with paper towel before they go in the sink.
- Fit a hair catcher in the shower and basin, and empty it often.
- Only toilet paper goes down the toilet. "Flushable" wipes don't break down the way paper does.
There is more on prevention in our guide to the common causes of blocked drains.
What to tell the plumber when you ring
A few details on the phone make the visit quicker and help the plumber turn up with the right gear.
Keep people away from any sewage spill and hold off using water in the house until the drain is cleared.
Unblocking a drain: questions people ask
Yes, while the blockage is in the fixture itself. A plunger, a hand snake from the plug hole or a drain cleaner on a basin, sink, bath or trough needs no licence, and neither does plunging a toilet. Anything further down, in the sewer line or past the gully, is a job for a licensed plumber with the right gear. Our guide to DIY plumbing in Victoria covers the other jobs you can do yourself.
No. The trap and waste pipe under most sinks and basins are plastic, and water straight off the boil can soften them and loosen glued joints. In a toilet it can crack the pan. Hot water from the tap is enough, and it won't scald you if it splashes back.
It is allowed on a basin, sink, bath or trough, but read the label, wear gloves and eye protection, and stick to one product. Never mix cleaners or pour one after another, and don't plunge afterwards. If the drain is holding water or more than one fixture is blocked, skip the chemical and call a plumber.
Something in the pipe is catching waste. Common culprits are tree roots getting in through a joint, a cracked pipe, a length of pipe that has sagged and holds water, or a thick grease coating. A plunger or snake clears the symptom, not the cause. A CCTV camera inspection shows what is in there so it can be fixed properly.
Stop using water in the house straight away, keep people and pets away from it, and call a licensed plumber. The gully overflows because the sewer is blocked further down. If your neighbours have the same problem, or the overflow is coming from a sewer access point in the street, call your water corporation too.
It depends on where the blockage is, how easy it is to get to, and whether it needs jetting or a camera inspection as well. Ask for the price before any work starts. Our drain jetting cost guide explains what moves the price.
The DIY order, in one list
Work through these in order on a single blocked fixture:
- Check whether other fixtures are slow too
- Clean the plug, pop-up or grate
- Plunge, with a wet cloth over the overflow
- Run hot tap water through it (not boiling)
- Feed a hand snake in through the plug hole
- Stop and call if it is still blocked or a stop sign shows up
