Blocked Drain in Harare
Kitchen sink not draining? Shower flooding when you flush? Sewage backing up into the yard? We clear blocked drains across Harare every day. Most blockages cleared on the first visit. Fixed price before we start.
Open right now
Same-day response across Harare
24/7 for sewage emergencies
3 Quick Steps
Stop Blocked Drain Mess Now
If you have water or sewage on the floor right now, do these three things first.
1. Stop using all water in the house.
Don’t flush, shower, run the washing machine, or fill the sink. Every bit of water adds to the backup.
2. Contain the mess.
Use towels, buckets, or a mop to stop water from spreading. Keep children and pets out of the affected area.
3. Call or WhatsApp us.
Tell us what’s blocked and what you can see. We will give you a price range and an arrival time.
What’s Blocking Your Drain?
Find your blockage type below. We will tell you the likely cause
Blocked Kitchen Sink
Likely cause:
Cooking fat, oil, food scraps, or soap buildup in the U-bend.
Typical fix:
Manual auger or a hot-water-and-degreaser flush. For older buildup, high-pressure jetting.
Blocked Shower or Bath
Likely cause:
Hair, soap scum, and mineral buildup from Harare’s hard water.
Typical fix:
Remove hair from the trap, then run an auger down the line. Jetting if the buildup is deep.
Blocked Basin
Likely cause:
Toothpaste, soap, and hair caught in the bottle trap under the basin.
Typical fix:
Clean out the trap, flush the line. Usually quick.
Blocked Toilet
Likely cause:
Too much paper, wet wipes (which don’t break down despite the label), or a foreign object.
Typical fix:
Plunger first. If that fails, a toilet auger. If still blocked, the blockage is further down the line.
Blocked Outside Drain / Gulley
Likely cause:
Sand, leaves, soap scum, or grease that has washed down the gulley over time.
Typical fix:
Lift the gulley grate, scoop out solids, then jet the line clean.
Blocked Sewer Line or Manhole Backup
Likely cause:
Tree roots in old pipes, collapsed pipe section, or fat buildup over years. Sometimes a full septic tank is confused as a sewer blockage.
Typical fix:
CCTV camera inspection to find the cause, then jetting, rodding, or pipe repair as needed.
Sewage Backing Up Into the House
Likely cause:
A blockage further down the line is forcing waste back up through the lowest drain in the house, usually a shower or bath. This is an emergency.
Typical fix:
Stop using all water, find and clear the main blockage, sanitise. Treated as an emergency callout.
Drains We Unblock in Harare
Kitchen Sink Drains
The most common blockage we get called for. We clear fat, food, and soap buildup.
Shower and Bath Drains
Hair and soap scum collect over time. We pull traps, auger lines, and jet stubborn buildup.
Basin and Bidet Drains
Bottle traps fill with toothpaste, hair, and product residue. We clean them out properly.
Toilet Drains
Soft blockages with a plunger or auger. Harder ones with a toilet snake. Sewer-side blockages with jetting.
Outside Gulleys and Yard Drains
The drains outside your house that catch shower, bath, basin, and washing-machine water. Often blocked by sand, leaves, and grease.
Main Sewer Lines
The line from your house to the council connection or septic tank. We use CCTV cameras and high-pressure jetting.
Storm Water Drains
Separate from sewage in most properties. We clear leaves, sand, and debris before the rainy season.
Commercial and Body Corporate Drains
Restaurants, lodges, schools, body corporates, and office parks. We do scheduled maintenance and emergency callouts.
Grease Trap Cleaning
For restaurants and food businesses. We empty and clean grease traps to keep your kitchen drains flowing.
Why Drains Block in Harare
Drains here block for reasons that don’t apply in other cities. Here is what we see most.
Hard Water Mineral Scale
Harare’s water carries a lot of dissolved calcium and magnesium. Over years, this builds up inside pipes and narrows them. Soap then sticks to the scale, then hair, then everything else.
Tree Roots in Old Pipes
Jacaranda, msasa, and gum tree roots hunt out water and sewer lines. They squeeze into old clay, concrete, or cast iron pipe joints and grow inside. Once roots are in, blockages keep coming back until the section is replaced.
Old Cast Iron and Galvanised Drains
Many pre-1985 Harare homes still have original drain pipes. After 40+ years, the inside rusts and roughens. Anything that flows through catches on the rust.
Cooking Fat and Oil
Pouring hot fat down the sink seems harmless. It cools in the pipe and sticks. Over months, it builds up into a hard block.
Council Sewer Issues
Sometimes the blockage isn’t on your property at all. It’s in the council sewer line. We help you confirm this and contact the council where needed.
Wet Wipes (Even “Flushable” Ones)
Wet wipes don’t break down in water the way toilet paper does. They are the single biggest cause of sewer-side blockages we see.
Outside Gulley Sand and Leaves
Outside drains catch sand from unpaved yards, leaves from msasa and gum trees, and grease from the kitchen line. They need cleaning out at least once a year.
Septic System Overload
Many Harare homes are on septic, not council sewer. A full septic tank pushes waste back up the drain line. The house drains slow first, then back up. People often think it’s a blockage. It’s actually a full tank.
Soakaway Failure
The soakaway (or French drain) that takes the overflow from your septic can collapse or saturate. Same symptoms as a blocked drain. We diagnose both.
Blocked Drain or Full Septic Tank? How to Tell
If your house isn’t on council sewer, this section matters. Many “blocked drain” callouts are actually full septic tanks.
Signs it’s a blocked drain (inside the house):
Only one fixture is slow or blocked (e.g. just the kitchen sink)
Other drains in the house work fine
The blockage clears with a plunger or auger
Signs it’s a full septic tank (whole-system problem):
All drains in the house are slow or backing up at the same time
Gurgling sounds from multiple drains
Smell coming from the septic tank lid or soakaway area
Wet patch in the yard near the soakaway
Last septic emptying was over 2 years ago
Signs it’s a failed soakaway:
Septic was emptied recently, but drains are slow again
Wet patch or smell over the soakaway area
Grass over the soakaway is greener and wetter than the rest of the yard
When we visit a slow-drain callout, we check the septic tank and soakaway first if the house isn’t on council sewer. It saves you the cost of unblocking pipes that aren’t actually blocked.
How We Unblock Drains
We use the right tool for the job. Not every blockage needs jetting. Some need a $5 plunger. Here is what we use.
Plunger
The first tool for soft blockages in basins, sinks, baths, and toilets. Fast, free of damage, and works more often than people expect.
Hand Auger / Drain Snake
A flexible cable we feed down the drain to break or pull out blockages. Best for basin, sink, and shower lines.
Drum Auger / Electric Eel
A bigger, motor-driven snake for longer or tougher lines. Cuts through hair, soap scum, and light root intrusion.
High-Pressure Drain Jetting
Water at high pressure is blasted through the drain. Clears grease, scale, mineral buildup, and tree roots. Doesn’t damage your pipes. The gold standard for serious or repeated blockages.
CCTV Drain Camera Inspection
A waterproof camera we run down the drain to see exactly what’s wrong. Useful for repeated blockages, suspected collapsed pipes, or insurance claims. We give you the recording.
Manhole Rodding
For sewer line blockages accessed from inspection chambers. Traditional but still effective for many jobs.
Pipe Repair or Replacement
When the drain itself is broken, collapsed, fractured, or root-crushed, we excavate, repair, and refill. We use HDPE for underground runs (the best for tree-root areas).
How Our Drain Unblocking Service Works
01
You Call or WhatsApp
Tell us which drain is blocked. Describe what you see (slow, fully blocked, smell, backup). We give you a price range and an arrival time.
02
We Arrive Ready
Our vans carry plungers, hand augers, drum augers, jetting equipment, and the CCTV camera. We don’t have to “come back with the right tool”.
03
We Diagnose and Quote
We find the blockage and tell you exactly what we’ll do. You see the fixed price before we start.
04
We Clear It and Test
We clear the blockage, then run plenty of water through to confirm full flow. For tough cases, we show you the CCTV footage so you know it’s gone.
Why Hire Master Plumbers Harare for Blocked Drains
Full Equipment in the Van
Plunger, hand auger, drum auger, electric eel, jetting machine, CCTV camera. We diagnose and clear on the same visit.
CCTV-First for Stubborn Cases
For repeated blockages or suspected collapsed pipes, we use the camera before we dig. You see what we see.
6-Month Guarantee on the Same Drain
If the same drain blocks again within 6 months, we come back free. In writing.
Fixed Quote First
You see the price before any tool comes out. No “we found something extra” surprises.
Pay How You Want
USD cash, EcoCash, Innbucks, ZIPIT, or bank transfer. After the job is done.
24/7 for Sewage Backups
A backed-up sewer line at 2 a.m. is an emergency. We answer the phone.
Suburbs We Cover for Drain Unblocking
We attend blocked drains anywhere in Harare and the surrounding towns.
- Borrowdale
- Borrowdale Brook
- Mount Pleasant
- Highlands
- Chisipite
- Glen Lorne
- Vainona
- Helensvale
- Greendale
- Newlands
- Eastlea
- Hatfield
- Avondale
- Belvedere
- Mabelreign
- Marlborough
- Emerald Hill
- Westgate
- Waterfalls
- Chitungwiza
- Ruwa
- Norton
Blocked Drain FAQ
How fast can you get to a blocked drain?
For most Harare suburbs, 30 to 60 minutes during the day. For sewage backups in the house, we treat it as an emergency and respond immediately.
Will you damage my pipes?
No. Jetting uses water, not blades. Augers are sized for the pipe. We are careful with old galvanised and clay pipes. If we think a method will damage your pipe, we tell you and use a different approach.
Can I use chemical drain cleaner first?
We don’t recommend it. Chemical cleaners often don’t reach the actual blockage; they damage old pipes, and they make our job more dangerous (the chemicals splash back when we open the trap). Skip the chemicals and call us.
Why does the same drain keep blocking?
Repeated blockages mean there’s a deeper problem, usually tree roots, a collapsed pipe section, or a buildup we haven’t reached yet. We recommend a CCTV inspection to find the cause. Once we know, we fix it once instead of clearing it every six months.
Whose responsibility is the sewer line: mine or the council’s?
The pipe from your house to your boundary is yours. From the boundary into the council main is the council’s. If we find the blockage is on the council side, we tell you and help you report it.
What’s the difference between a blocked drain and a full septic tank?
A blocked drain affects one fixture or one part of the house. A full septic tank slows or backs up every drain in the house at the same time. We check the septic first if your house isn’t on council sewer.
Can you do scheduled drain maintenance?
Yes. For restaurants, lodges, body corporates, and schools, we do monthly, quarterly, or six-monthly drain and grease-trap maintenance contracts. Far cheaper than emergency callouts.
Drains Blocked? Let’s Sort It Today.
Most blockages we clear on the same visit. No call-out fees during the day. Fixed price before we start.
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