Updated October 2026
Mortdale sits on the Illawarra line between Penshurst and Oatley, with its shopping strip near the station and a pocket of light industry and workshops on the flatter ground. The residential streets are mostly postwar brick and fibro houses, with a growing number of townhouses and duplexes. St George Blocked Drains is a local referral service. We connect Mortdale homes and businesses with licensed local drain plumbers we work with.
Why Mortdale drains block
For houses, the main cause is the age of the pipework. Many Mortdale homes were built in the decades after the war and connected with clay sewer lines that have now been underground a long time. Joint separation and root intrusion are the usual findings, especially where a tree or hedge sits close to the line.
Subdivision has changed a lot of blocks. Where an old house has been replaced by two or three dwellings, the new homes may share a sewer line or connect into older pipe at the boundary. A blockage in a shared section affects every dwelling on it, so working out where the fault is matters.
The commercial and industrial parts of Mortdale produce different waste. Workshops, food businesses and small factories can send oil, sediment and grease into the drainage system, and those lines benefit from scheduled cleaning rather than waiting for a blockage.
What clearing a blocked drain involves
The licensed drain plumbers we work with typically use jet blasting for Mortdale's mix of root-filled residential lines and grease or sediment-heavy commercial ones. A CCTV drain camera confirms the cause and shows whether the pipe is sound. For whole-property backups, the job is handled as a blocked sewer, starting from the overflow relief gully.
As a guide, a standard clear typically costs $150 to $400, a camera inspection $249 to $600, and a combined camera and jetting job $350 to $900. Where roots have broken the pipe, relining typically costs $3,000 to $8,000 or more.
Frequently asked questions
Our duplex shares a sewer line with next door. Who fixes a blockage?
It depends on where the blockage is and what your strata or easement arrangements say. A camera with a locator pinpoints the fault, which makes the conversation straightforward.
Can you arrange drain cleaning for a business?
Yes. Tell us it is a commercial property when you request a quote and we will pass it to a licensed drain plumber who handles commercial work.
Why does our drain block every winter?
Seasonal blockages often come from roots growing actively or from leaf litter and soil washing into stormwater. A camera shows which one you are dealing with.
Need a drain cleared in Mortdale? Get a fast quote and we will connect you with a licensed drain plumber.