The short answer
McDermott Drains is the drains side of McDermott Plumbing, a WA-owned plumbing business based in Ellenbrook. We clear blocked drains, toilets and sinks, cut out tree roots, hydro jet sewer and stormwater lines, and use a drain camera to find what is causing a blockage and where it is in the line. We work 24/7 across Perth north of the Swan River and the western suburbs down to Mosman Park. Call or text 0406 882 648 with your suburb and what’s happening. If sewage is overflowing from a Water Corporation main or onto the street, call Water Corporation on 13 13 75 as well.
What McDermott Drains does
Blocked drains and toilets
Toilets that rise when you flush, showers that pool, floor wastes that gurgle, and outdoor gullies that won’t drain. We clear from the inspection shaft or the nearest sensible access point, then run water through to prove the line is flowing.
Blocked drains Perth →Blocked sinks
Kitchen sinks choked with fat and food scraps, bathroom vanities full of hair and soap, and laundry troughs packed with lint. If the sink is the only thing slow, it’s usually the trap or the waste pipe. If other fixtures are slow too, the problem is further down the line.
Hydro jetting
A high-pressure water jet on a flexible hose, fed into the drain from a shaft or gully. It cuts through roots, scours out fat and scale, and flushes sand and grit down the line, which a cable machine can leave behind.
CCTV drain camera inspections
A camera on a push rod goes into the pipe so we can see what is causing the blockage and how far along the line it is: roots at a joint, a cracked or dropped section, a fat build-up, or something that was flushed and shouldn’t have been.
Tree roots in the sewer
Roots find their way in through a hairline crack or a tired joint and keep growing. We cut and flush them out, then look at the line to see whether they’ll be back.
Tree roots in sewer pipes →Overflow relief gully issues
A full or overflowing ORG means the sewer is blocked further down. A dry, smelly one usually means its water seal has evaporated. We find the blockage, clear it, and check the gully sits where it should.
Overflow relief gully full? →24/7 emergency drains
Sewage coming up through a shower or floor waste, a toilet that won’t go down, or a gully spilling into the yard. Ring any time, day or night, and we’ll tell you straight whether we can get there and what to do until we do.
Emergency plumber Perth →
Gully overflowing or sewage coming up inside?
- Stop using water inside: no flushing, showers, dishwasher or washing machine.
- Keep kids and pets away from the gully and any wet ground, and treat it as sewage.
- Don’t tip drain chemicals into a blocked sewer or keep flushing to push it through.
- If wastewater is overflowing on the property or causing damage, call Water Corporation on 13 13 75 (24/7).
- Call or text us on 0406 882 648 with your suburb and a photo of the gully.
How a drain job usually goes
- Call or text 0406 882 648 with your suburb, which fixtures are slow or backing up, and a photo of the outside gully if you can.
- We ask the questions that narrow it down: one fixture or the whole house, is the overflow relief gully full, has this happened before, and are the neighbours having trouble too.
- On site we find the inspection shaft or the closest access point and clear the line with a drain machine or the hydro jetter, whichever suits what’s in the pipe.
- If it’s a repeat blockage, or we suspect roots or a broken pipe, the camera goes down to find the cause and how far along the line it is.
- We tell you what we found and what your options are, and we’re upfront about anything we don’t do ourselves. If the problem is in Water Corporation’s main, we say so and report it.
Jetting, a drain machine, or the camera?
A drain machine (an electric eel) spins a cable through the blockage. It’s quick and suits a single choke close to the access point. Hydro jetting is better when the pipe is lined with fat, packed with sand, or full of fine roots, because the water scours the whole wall of the pipe and carries the debris away instead of punching a hole through it.
Neither one repairs a pipe. If a line keeps blocking at the same spot, the drain camera is how we find out why: a root mass at a joint, a section that has cracked or dropped, or something lodged in the line. Then we can talk about the right fix rather than clearing it again and hoping.
Why drains block where you live
Older suburbs: clay pipes and big trees
Water Corporation says homes more than 15 years old are less likely to have PVC sewer pipes, and that a hairline crack is enough for a root to get in. That describes a lot of the north and west: Maylands and Guildford with homes going back more than a century, Morley and Bayswater largely built between the 1950s and the early ’70s, Lockridge from 1969, the 1970s streets of Duncraig and Greenwood, Beechboro from 1979, and the Federation and inter-war homes of Mount Lawley, Subiaco, Claremont and Cottesloe. Add mature street trees and decades-old gardens, and roots are the usual reason a drain here keeps blocking.
Newer estates: PVC, but not trouble-free
Ellenbrook, Aveley, Brabham, Alkimos and Yanchep are mostly built on PVC sewer, so roots are less common. What we find instead is wipes, fat from the kitchen, and in newer homes, sand, grout or building rubble left in a line during construction. PVC also isn’t immune to roots where a joint has shifted or a tree has been planted right over the line.
Coast and western suburbs: sand and strata
From Yanchep down through Hillarys, Scarborough, City Beach and Cottesloe, sand gets into outdoor gullies and stormwater lines and settles where the fall is flat, which is where jetting earns its keep. Apartment blocks and older strata along the coast and in the inner north share drain stacks, so we’ll be clear about which part is yours and which is the strata company’s.
Your pipe or Water Corporation’s?
Blockages in the property plumbing are the owner’s responsibility. Blockages in the sewer main, normally outside the property, are Water Corporation’s. If we find the blockage is in the main, we report it and their crew clears it. In a rental, the tenant reports the problem to the landlord or agent, and they book the plumber. Strata buildings can have shared lines, so we’ll tell you which part is yours and which belongs to the strata company. More on who pays for a blocked sewer.
Where McDermott Drains works
Perth north of the Swan River, plus the western suburbs down to Mosman Park. We don’t take drain work south of the river. Tap your area for local plumbing notes.
North-east: our home patch
We’re based in Ellenbrook, so the Swan Valley side of Perth is where we’re usually closest.
- Ellenbrook
- Aveley
- The Vines
- Brabham
- Dayton
- West Swan
- Lexia
- Whiteman
- Ballajura
- Bennett Springs
- Cullacabardee
- Midland
- Swan Valley
- Bullsbrook
- Swan View & Midvale
- Guildford & Woodbridge
- Mundaring
Also covering: Caversham, Henley Brook, Belhus, Upper Swan, Stratton, Jane Brook, Bellevue, Hazelmere.
Inner north-east
Older homes, clay sewers and established trees: the patch where root blockages come back most.
Also covering: Kiara, Lockridge, Embleton, Bedford, Ashfield, Dianella, Mirrabooka, Mount Lawley, Inglewood.
North and the northern coast
From Osborne Park and Scarborough up the coast to Yanchep and Two Rocks.
- Osborne Park
- Scarborough & Innaloo
- Duncraig
- Hillarys
- Joondalup
- Wanneroo
- Clarkson & Butler
- Yanchep & Alkimos
Also covering: Karrinyup, Carine, Balcatta, Girrawheen, Landsdale, Greenwood, Kingsley, Ocean Reef, Mindarie, Quinns Rocks.
Inner city and western suburbs
North of the river from the CBD out to the coast, down as far as Mosman Park.
Suburbs we cover: North Perth, Leederville, Mount Hawthorn, Perth CBD, Northbridge, West Perth, Wembley, Floreat, City Beach, Jolimont, Subiaco, Shenton Park, Nedlands, Dalkeith, Crawley, Claremont, Swanbourne, Cottesloe, Peppermint Grove, Mosman Park.
Common questions
- Is McDermott Drains a different company from McDermott Plumbing?
- No. McDermott Drains is the drains side of McDermott Plumbing: same business (McDermott Group Pty Ltd), same plumbing licence 5348, same crew and the same phone numbers. It just gives the drain work its own name.
- Which areas do you cover for blocked drains?
- Perth north of the Swan River, from the CBD and inner north out to Yanchep, Bullsbrook and the Swan Valley, plus the western suburbs from Wembley and Floreat through Subiaco, Nedlands, Claremont and Cottesloe down to Mosman Park. We’re based in Ellenbrook, so the north-east is home ground. We don’t take drain work south of the river.
- Do you do hydro jetting?
- Yes. We use a hydro jetter for roots, fat, sand and scale in sewer and stormwater lines. Jetting clears what is inside the pipe. It doesn’t fix a cracked or collapsed pipe, so if the line is damaged we’ll tell you.
- What does a CCTV drain camera inspection tell you?
- It shows what is causing the blockage and how far along the line it is, such as roots at a joint, a broken or dropped section, or a build-up of fat. That means the next step is aimed at the right spot instead of guessing.
- Are you available 24/7 for blocked drains?
- Yes. Call or text 0406 882 648 any time, or ring the office on (08) 6187 3999. We’ll tell you honestly whether we can get there and what to do in the meantime, like stopping water use inside if the gully is full.
- Who pays if the blockage is in the sewer main?
- Blockages in your property plumbing are the owner’s responsibility. Blockages in Water Corporation’s main, normally outside the property, are Water Corporation’s to clear. If we find the problem is in the main, we report it to them.
- Will tree roots come back after you clear them?
- Often, yes. Clearing removes the roots inside the pipe but not the crack or joint they came through. If a line keeps blocking, we’ll talk you through the options and be straight about what we do ourselves and what needs a specialist.
Related pages
Official sources
Last updated 8 October 2026. General information only. Every property is different, so call us to talk about yours.