Blocked drain that keeps coming back? Grease, roots, silt or fat deposits that a plunger or a basic drain machine will not shift? Prime Plumbing & Gasfitting uses high-pressure water jetting to clear residential and commercial sewer, stormwater and trade-waste lines across Melbourne's east, south-east, inner-east and bayside suburbs. Cutting through roots, flushing grease, and scouring the pipe wall - not just punching a hole through the blockage.
Quick answer: Drain jetting clears a blocked drain with high-pressure water that cuts roots and scours grease off the full pipe wall, where a basic rod just punches a hole through the blockage. Prime Plumbing & Gasfitting jets sewer and stormwater lines across Melbourne, runs a camera before and after so you see the result, and quotes fixed-price in writing before starting. BPC licence #103414.A mechanical drain machine bores a hole through a blockage and clears the symptom, but leaves the underlying build-up on the pipe walls. Within weeks or months the pipe re-blocks. High-pressure water jetting uses rotating nozzles at regulated pressure to scour the full pipe circumference, cut tree roots flush with the pipe wall, liquefy grease and fat, and flush silt downstream. The difference shows up in how long the drain stays clear - a rodded drain often re-blocks within the season; a properly jetted drain usually does not.
Rodding is fine for a simple soft blockage in good pipe, but it does not clean the pipe - it punches through what is in the way. Jetting scours the pipe wall and leaves nothing to grip the next bit of debris, which extends the time before the drain blocks again. And before any excavation, jetting is the right first step: it often saves the dig altogether (root masses that looked like collapse turn out to be a clearable root ball), or at minimum it cleans the line so a proper CCTV inspection can see what is actually going on. Digging into a fat-coated pipe tells you nothing except that there is fat in your pipe.
Pressure and nozzle type are matched to the pipe material and age. A 5000 PSI penetrating nozzle will shred a 100-year-old clay joint that should have been handled gently at a lower pressure with a different tip. Our techs match nozzle and pressure to pipe material, age and condition - not set everything to max output and hope for the best.
Every Prime Plumbing & Gasfitting jet job starts with a quick camera look to confirm what we are dealing with, and ends with a second inspection after the jet to confirm the pipe is clear. You get the before-and-after video files so you can see the roots gone, grease dissolved, or silt flushed - not a verbal 'yeah it is clear now' and a bill.
Sanitary drain work in Victoria is licensed plumbing work. Prime Plumbing & Gasfitting plumbers hold current BPC licences and the licence number appears on every quote and invoice. A Certificate of Compliance is issued where the work required falls under the sanitary plumbing compliance rules - we will tell you up front whether your job needs one.
We run a push-rod camera into the line first to confirm the blockage type and location, and to check pipe condition. Jetting a collapsed or badly cracked line without knowing about it first can make a bad situation worse; the camera check rules that out.
Based on what the camera shows, we choose the right nozzle - penetrating tip for tight root intrusion, rotating tip for grease and fat, flushing tip for silt and sediment. Pressure is set to suit the pipe material and age so the jet clears the blockage without damaging the line.
The jetter is fed into the line and worked through the affected section. Pressure-driven water scours the pipe wall in a full circumference pass, dislodging debris and flushing it downstream. Roots are cut flush with the pipe wall rather than leaving stubs to regrow quickly.
The camera goes back in after the jet to confirm the pipe is genuinely clear, not just passing. We capture a short video of the cleared line so you have proof of the outcome - useful for insurance claims, body corporate records and property sale documentation.
If the camera shows the blockage was caused by a structural fault (cracked pipe, displaced joint, belly in the line), we include a short written summary and a separate fixed-price repair quote. You are under no obligation to proceed with Prime Plumbing & Gasfitting for the repair - the jet stands on its own as a clearing service.
Pricing depends on pipe length, pipe size, and what is blocking it. We come to your property to quote, fixed price in writing on site so there is no meter running. Send your address, pipe size if known and a short description of the blockage and we will come back with a number.
A straightforward residential jet runs one to two hours on site - camera in, jet, camera back out, short video review. Commercial lines, heavily root-bound sewers or silt-choked stormwater pits take longer and are quoted separately.
Not when done correctly. Pressure and nozzle type are matched to pipe material and age. old clay is jetted at a lower pressure with a gentler nozzle than a modern PVC sewer. Before the jet starts, a camera look tells us the pipe condition so we can set up accordingly.
Jetting cuts roots flush with the pipe wall, which is the best non-structural outcome. Roots can regrow over months or years through the same crack or joint that let them in. If roots are a recurring issue, the underlying pipe defect - usually a cracked clay joint - is what needs repair. The camera run after the jet tells you whether that is the case.
Access to the cleanout eye or inspection pit is all we need. If you can arrange access and confirm the scope by phone, you do not need to be on site. Payment is by card on completion or invoice for commercial and body corporate jobs.
Included at no extra cost on every Prime Plumbing & Gasfitting jet job. You receive MP4 files of both the pre-jet inspection and the post-jet clear - useful for insurance, body corporate records or property sale documentation.
Yes. Cafes, restaurants, body corporates and small commercial premises are a common use for jetting - grease and fat build-up in kitchen discharge lines is the single biggest cause of commercial drain blockage. Scheduled preventive jetting on a six- or twelve-month cycle prevents the emergency callout.
Melbourne's east, south-east, inner-east and bayside suburbs - including Ashwood, Chadstone, Noble Park North, Mulgrave, Malvern, Elwood, Burwood, Ormond, Gardenvale, Caulfield, Carnegie, Wantirna South, Rowville. If your suburb is not listed, send your address through the contact form and we will confirm coverage.
