Drain Unblocking Flevoland

A province on the seabed: what that means for your drains

Flevoland is the only province made almost entirely by human hands. The Noordoostpolder was drained in the 1940s, Eastern Flevoland in the 1950s and Southern Flevoland in the 1960s. Everything that stands here, from the farms around Emmeloord to the newest blocks in Almere Poort, is built on young sea clay that is still settling slightly. The whole area lies below the level of the Markermeer and the IJsselmeer and is kept dry by pumping stations. Even the water from your kitchen sink eventually leaves the polder through a pump.

For drain unblocking in Flevoland that has two consequences. First, the pipework is young: almost everywhere it is plastic, with inspection chambers by the front wall and a house connection (lateral) that is easy to reach. Second, the ground plays a part. Where the clay settles unevenly, an outside drain develops a kink or a dip, and that is where dirt collects. A blockage that keeps returning in the same spot therefore has more to do with the ground here than with what went down the toilet.

Sewer unblocking from Almere to the Noordoostpolder

Flevoland's six municipalities differ considerably in building period and layout, which determines where the engineer starts looking.

Almere: Haven, Stad, Buiten and Poort

From the 1970s onwards Almere grew in separate cores into the largest city in the province. Almere Haven is the oldest part; the pipes there are first-generation plastic and the ground has had the longest time to settle. Almere Stad and Almere Buiten consist mainly of family homes from the 1980s and 1990s, often with the inspection chamber in the front garden. Almere Poort is one of the youngest districts, with pipes in the screed and wall-hung toilets on a concealed cistern. A blockage here is rarely down to old material, but to what has been flushed through it: wet wipes, grease and food scraps. Our page on drain unblocking in Almere covers the districts and the most common call-outs.

Lelystad: capital on sea clay

Lelystad was designed as the capital of the new province and consists largely of estates from the 1970s and 1980s, spaciously laid out with plenty of greenery. The oldest estates now have decades of pipework in the ground, and trees in the large gardens send roots towards garden drains. In the newer parts by the water the pipework is neat and concealed, so a blockage there is seldom due to old material. What we do often find here is sand and building debris left in the pipe at handover.

Noordoostpolder and Urk

Emmeloord and the ring villages around it are the oldest built-up areas in Flevoland, put up in the first years after the land was drained. The oldest sewers in the province lie here, with concrete or vitrified clay still in some streets and house connections that may or may not have been replaced over the years. Urk is a case apart: a former island with a densely built old village on a hump of boulder clay, narrow streets and buildings that have often been extended. Drains there have been rerouted more than once, and the engineer always brings the camera.

Dronten, Zeewolde and the holiday parks

Dronten, Swifterbant and Biddinghuizen are polder villages with spacious plots, where a drain sometimes runs tens of metres through the garden before it reaches the sewer. Zeewolde is a young municipality, with homes dating from the 1980s onwards and plenty of woodland and leisure along the Wolderwijd and the Nuldernauw. Around Biddinghuizen and Zeewolde there are many holiday parks, where drains dry out after a season of standing idle and turn out to be slow at first use.

Common blockages in Flevoland

Water coming back after a cloudburst

Because the polder is pumped, the sewer can briefly run full in a summer downpour. The water then seeks the lowest point in the house: a shower drain on the ground floor, the floor drain in the utility room or the outside gully. Do not run the washing machine or dishwasher while the water is high, and wait until the downpour has passed. If it still does not drain away afterwards, there is a plug in your own pipe. The engineer opens the inspection chamber by the front wall: if it is full while the street gullies are empty, the problem lies between your house and the main sewer.

Wet wipes in a new-build district

In Almere Poort, Zeewolde and the newer parts of Lelystad the pipework is neat and new, yet many of our call-outs come from here. The cause is almost always the same: wet wipes, kitchen roll or grease clumping together in the pipe under the floor. Do not flush again if the water in the pan is high, and close the isolation valve on the cistern. The engineer removes the plug mechanically and checks with the camera whether building debris is lying in the pipe, because mortar and sealant residue from the build also linger for a long time.

A slow kitchen sink in a terraced house

In the family homes of Almere Buiten and the Lelystad estates from the 1980s, the kitchen waste often first runs through a long pipe under the floor. Grease that goes down the sink warm sets there and forms a hard layer. Unscrew the trap under the sink over a bucket and clean it; if the plug is further along, the engineer clears the pipe with a drain auger and flushes it through with the high-pressure jetter.

Our drain unblocking services in Flevoland

As the drain unblocking service for the whole province, we tackle everything to do with a blocked drain. The jobs we are asked for most:

• Blocked or overflowing toilet, also with a concealed cistern: toilet unblocking with a toilet auger or a small machine.
• Kitchen waste with grease and food scraps: kitchen sink unblocking, including cleaning the trap and the pipe behind it.
• Sludge, sand or roots in the house connection: sewer cleaning with the high-pressure jetter, also on long garden drains.
• Subsidence or recurring complaints: a drain camera inspection shows where the pipe is sinking or breaking.

Who is responsible for which part in Flevoland?

As the owner of a home you look after the drains inside the house and the pipe on your own plot, up to the inspection chamber or the point where the house connection crosses the boundary. From there the sewer belongs to the municipality, although where exactly that line lies varies by municipality. The water board pumps the polder and manages the drainage channels and pumping stations, but has nothing to do with your house connection. If you live in a flat, for example in the centre of Almere or Lelystad, the soil stack and the shared pipes usually fall under the owners' association (VvE); tenants report a shared blockage to their landlord. Afterwards the engineer explains what he has found, so you know who to take it up with.

Drain unblocking in Flevoland: calling, price indication and rates

You can reach us day and night on 085 333 4698. Tell us which drain is blocked, whether it has rained in the past day and what you have already tried. You get an assessment and a price indication straight away, and once you agree an engineer is on his way, usually within the hour.

Clearing a blockage costs from €129. The call-out charge is not included in that. Outside office hours, in the evening, at night and at the weekend, an emergency rate applies. For a large job, such as cleaning and inspecting a long outside drain on a polder plot, you can ask for a quote in advance. Customers rate Afvoer Ontstoppen 5/5 based on 48 Google reviews.

Cities in Flevoland with their own page

Afvoer Ontstoppen works across the whole province, from Urk to Zeewolde. For the largest city we have a separate page: drain unblocking in Almere, with information per district. For Lelystad, Dronten, Emmeloord, Urk and Zeewolde you call the same number; the engineer comes anywhere in the polder. You will find all places with their own page under our service area.

Is your drain blocked right now? Call 085 333 4698 for drain unblocking in Flevoland. We are available 24/7 and send an engineer with the right equipment.