The short answer
McDermott Plumbing clears blocked drains, toilets and sinks across Ellenbrook, Aveley, The Vines, Lexia, Melaleuca, Brabham, Dayton and West Swan. We’re based in Ellenbrook, so call (08) 6187 3999 or text 0406 882 648 and we’ll give you an honest time. We clear from the inspection shaft or the nearest access point with a drain machine or the hydro jetter, and put a CCTV drain camera down when a line keeps blocking. If sewage is overflowing from Water Corporation’s main or out on the street, call Water Corporation on 13 13 75 as well.
Woodlake to Annie’s Landing: 30 years of drains
Ellenbrook was built in stages by a joint venture between the State Government and private landowners. Water Corporation built new water and sewerage headworks for the town in 1994. Woodlake, the first village, started in 1995, and The Bridges followed towards the end of the decade. Coolamon and Charlotte’s Vineyard came in the early 2000s, then Lexia village in 2011 and Annie’s Landing in 2013. Streets a few minutes apart can have house drains nearly 20 years apart in age.
Most of it is detached housing. At the 2021 Census, 89.3% of Ellenbrook’s dwellings were separate houses and only 1.6% were apartments. The town centre is now filling in with townhouses, apartments and micro-lots, where neighbours are more likely to share a sewer line. The suburb’s median age was 32, against a state average of 38, so a lot of these drains serve busy family kitchens and bathrooms.
Aveley, The Vines, Brabham, Dayton and West Swan
Aveley was the Egerton estate until Multiplex started the Vale project in November 2004. It became its own suburb in 2006, and 114 hectares of wetland and Bush Forever reserve run through the middle of it. The Vines began in late 1989 with 390 one-acre lots around the golf course, zoned rural. Smaller-lot estates followed from 1996, starting with The Mews. Mature trees on the fairways, the verges and many of the acreage blocks give The Vines about 15% tree canopy, which is good for shade and bad for old pipe joints.
Brabham’s first estate, Stockland’s Whiteman Edge, started in 2011, and Dayton was gazetted that May as part of the City of Swan’s urban growth corridor. West Swan runs along West Swan Road through the Valley winery country and had 786 residents at the 2021 Census. It’s a mix of houses and larger lots.
Across Tonkin Highway, the localities of Lexia and Melaleuca are mostly Gnangara pine plantation, wetland and conservation land rather than suburban streets. If you’re on a rural property out there, tell us whether you’re on sewer or a septic system when you ring. We clear blocked household drains, but we don’t do septic or ATU work.
What blocks drains in Ellenbrook and Aveley
Most homes here were built from the mid-1990s on, mostly with PVC sewer pipe, so the causes are different from the old clay-pipe suburbs:
- Sand, grout and building rubble left in new lines. This is most common in the newest pockets of Brabham, Dayton, Aveley and northern Ellenbrook, and often turns up in the first year or two.
- Wet wipes, nappies and paper towel. Water Corporation says wipes don’t break down like toilet paper, even the ones labelled “flushable”.
- Fat and food scraps from busy kitchens. Water Corporation says fats, oils and grease hardening in pipes cause 30% of its wastewater blockages.
- Roots in the older villages and around The Vines. PVC holds up much better than clay, but a root can still get in where a joint has shifted or a tree has been planted over the line.
- Bassendean sand washing into outdoor gullies and stormwater where grates are loose or paving has settled.
- Shared lines in town-centre townhouses and strata, where one blockage can back up into more than one home.
Blocked sink in Ellenbrook?
If only the kitchen sink is slow, it’s nearly always the trap or the short waste pipe under it: grease that has cooled hard, scraps that got past the strainer, or a dishwasher hose teed into the same waste. That’s common in a newer Brabham or Aveley kitchen too, not just a 1990s Woodlake one. If the basin, shower and toilet are slow as well, or the overflow relief gully outside is full, the blockage is further down the property drain. Stop using water and call. Our blocked kitchen sink guide covers the safe checks to try first and why caustic drain cleaners are a bad idea.
How we clear it
We find the inspection shaft or the nearest sensible access point and clear the line with a drain machine or the hydro jetter, whichever suits what’s in the pipe. Jetting is best for sand, fat and fine roots. If the drain keeps coming back, or we think a joint has moved, the CCTV drain camera shows us what’s causing it and how far along the line it is, so the next step is aimed at the right spot.
In a home only a few years old, a blocked line can come down to how it was built. We’ll tell you what we found so you can take it up with your builder if you need to. If the problem is in Water Corporation’s sewer main, normally outside the property, it’s theirs to clear. Water Corporation says the plumber calls them in and it pays the plumber a standard fee for locating the blockage.
Suburbs we cover from here: Ellenbrook, Aveley, The Vines, Lexia, Melaleuca, Brabham, Dayton and West Swan, plus the rest of Perth north of the river.
Common questions
- How quickly can you get to a blocked drain in Ellenbrook?
- We’re based in Ellenbrook, so it’s usually our shortest run, but we don’t promise a set arrival time. Call (08) 6187 3999 or text 0406 882 648 and we’ll give you an honest time. If the gully is overflowing, stop running water inside until we get there.
- My house in Brabham or Dayton is only a few years old. Why is the drain blocked?
- In newer homes it’s often building sand, grout or rubble left in the line, or wipes and fat from everyday use. We clear it and tell you what we found, so you can raise it with your builder if it looks like a construction issue.
- Do you do hydro jetting and drain camera inspections in Ellenbrook and Aveley?
- Yes. We use the hydro jetter for sand, grease and roots, and a CCTV drain camera to find the cause of a blockage that keeps coming back and how far along the line it is.
- Who pays if the blockage is in the sewer main?
- Blockages in your property plumbing are the owner’s responsibility. If the blockage is in Water Corporation’s main, normally outside the property, Water Corporation clears it. If we find it there, we call them in.
- I’m on a rural lot near Lexia or The Vines. Can you still help?
- Yes, for blocked household drains, toilets and sinks. Tell us whether the property is on sewer or a septic system when you ring. We don’t do septic tank or ATU work.
Nearby
Blocked drain and plumber pages for the areas next to this one.
How we clear drains here.
Related pages
Official sources
Last updated 14 October 2026. General information only. Every property is different, so call us to talk about yours.