Drain Unblocking North Brabant

Sand, Maas clay and peat: the ground beneath North Brabant

Most of North Brabant lies on sand: the Kempen around Eindhoven, the Meierij between Den Bosch ('s-Hertogenbosch) and Tilburg, the woods and heathland around Breda, and the Peel in the east, where peat was once dug. Along the northern edge flows the Maas, with a strip of river clay from Oss via Den Bosch to Waalwijk and the Land van Heusden en Altena. In the west, around Bergen op Zoom, the sand gives way via the steep edge of the Brabantse Wal to sea clay, and in the Biesbosch river and tide meet. Streams such as the Dommel, the Aa and the Mark run through the province, often culverted beneath the towns.

On sand, rainwater soaks away quickly. The sewer has enough capacity there when it rains, and a blockage almost always starts indoors: grease in the kitchen pipe, hair in the shower drain, wet wipes in the toilet. On the clay along the Maas the groundwater is high and the sewer does fill up after a cloudburst; Den Bosch, moreover, lies low between its rivers. Then there is the building history: fortified towns with long drains beneath streets and squares, working-class districts from the textile and Philips era, sprawling post-war districts such as Woensel and Tilburg-Noord, and young districts such as the Reeshof, Meerhoven and Brandevoort. Drain unblocking in North Brabant therefore calls for a different approach in every town.

Drain unblocking by city and region in North Brabant

Eindhoven: Philips garden villages, Woensel and Strijp

Around the centre of Eindhoven stand the garden villages that Philips built for its workers in the 1920s, with narrow pipes and long drains to the street. Woensel is a sprawling post-war residential area of flats and terraced houses, where shared soil stacks and old concrete sewers are common. On Strijp and in Meerhoven stands new-build with plastic pipes, where builders' sand and wet wipes cause most blockages. More about drain unblocking in Eindhoven is on the city page.

Tilburg: working-class districts, Piushaven and the Reeshof

Tilburg is a textile city whose neighbourhoods grew up around the old mills, such as Korvel, the Besterd and Broekhoven. The houses there are small and deep, with a little yard at the back and a drain that runs under the whole house. Around the Piushaven, warehouses have been converted into homes, with drains that were rerouted in the process. The Reeshof in the west is one of the largest new-build districts in the country, where the engineer mostly finds plastic pipes and inspection chambers by the front wall. The page on drain unblocking in Tilburg covers the neighbourhoods in detail.

Breda: inside the ring canals and the districts on sand

Breda city centre lies inside the ring canals, with old buildings around the Grote Kerk in which kitchens and bathrooms were fitted later. Around it lie the old village cores of Ginneken, Princenhage and Teteringen, with detached and semi-detached houses on sand. The Haagse Beemden in the north is a spacious 1970s and 1980s district with lots of greenery and cul-de-sacs, where roots and leaves narrow the outdoor drain. Everything about drain unblocking in Breda is on the city page.

Den Bosch: fortified city on the Binnendieze

Den Bosch was built on a low spot between the Dommel and the Aa, and the Binnendieze still flows beneath the old centre. Some of the old buildings stand on quay walls or above the water, with drains that are long and winding. Around it lie pre-war districts such as het Zand and de Muntel, post-war extensions to the west and the new-build of the Paleiskwartier and the Groote Wielen. Because the city lies so low, water often comes up out of ground-floor gullies here after a cloudburst. We have a separate page on drain unblocking in Den Bosch.

Helmond, Uden and the Peel

Helmond is an industrial city on the Zuid-Willemsvaart canal, with working-class districts by the old factories, post-war neighbourhoods and the new-build of Brandevoort. North and east of it lie Uden, Deurne and the Peel villages on sand and cut-over peat, with many detached houses, long garden pipes and pressure sewers in the countryside, where wet wipes and grease jam the pump chamber.

West Brabant: Roosendaal, Bergen op Zoom and Oosterhout

Roosendaal grew as a railway town with large 1960s and 1970s districts, where the concrete sewers of that era are due for replacement. Bergen op Zoom sits on the Brabantse Wal, with an old fortified core and low, marshy edges on sea clay where the sewer runs slowly. Oosterhout is a leafy municipality with many detached houses and long pipes through the garden.

Along the Maas: Oss and Waalwijk

Oss and Waalwijk lie on the river clay along the Maas, with high groundwater and a sewer that fills up quickly after rain. Both towns have plenty of industry; business premises with a kitchen need a grease trap that is emptied regularly, otherwise the grease runs on into the house connection.

Blockages that are common in North Brabant

Grease in the kitchen pipe

Most calls in the province are about a kitchen sink that no longer drains. First clean the trap under the basin over a bucket. If it still drains badly after that, the grease crust is further along in the pipe under the floor. The engineer clears it with an auger or a drain-cleaning machine and flushes the pipe through, so it gets its full bore back.

Roots in the outdoor drain

On the sandy soils stand many detached houses with trees and shrubs close to the drain. Roots seek moisture and grow into the pipe through a leaking joint, where they form a web that catches paper and waste. A garden gully that drains slowly or a sewer smell in the garden are the first signs. The engineer cuts the roots out and shows you with the camera where the pipe is leaking.

Water rising after a cloudburst

In the low-lying parts of Den Bosch, Oss and Waalwijk and in the polders of West Brabant, water comes up out of the shower drain or the utility-room gully after a summer cloudburst: the sewer in the street is full and is flowing back into your connection. Use no water until the rain has passed. If it happens more often, a non-return valve can be the answer.

Our drain unblocking services in North Brabant

As a drain unblocking company for the whole province we tackle every blocked drain. The jobs that come up most often:

• Kitchen sink unblocking: removing the grease crust in the kitchen pipe mechanically and flushing the pipe through.
• Shower drain unblocking, including cleaning the grate and the trap.
• Sewer cleaning with the high-pressure jetter for outdoor drains full of roots, sand or grease.
• A drain camera inspection for recurring problems, so you know whether the pipe is leaking, subsided or broken.

Who is responsible for which part of the drain?

As the owner you look after the drains inside the house and the pipe on your own land, usually up to the inspection chamber at the property boundary. Beyond that lies the municipal sewer; exactly where the boundary falls differs from one municipality to the next. In a block of flats in Woensel or Tilburg-Noord the soil stack and the collector pipe fall under the owners' association (VvE) or the landlord. If you rent, a blockage caused by your own use is often at your expense, but a subsided or broken pipe is the landlord's. Ditches and streams are a matter for the water board. Afterwards the engineer tells you where the cause lay, so you can report it to the right party.

Calling, price indication and rates

Call 085 333 4698, at night and at the weekend too. Tell us which drain is blocked, which town you live in and what you have already tried. You get a price indication straight away, and once you agree an engineer comes out, usually within the hour, with auger, machine, high-pressure jetter and camera.

Clearing a blockage costs from €129. The call-out charge is not included in that price and is added separately. Outside office hours, so in the evening, at night, at the weekend and on public holidays, an emergency rate applies. For bigger jobs, such as cleaning and inspecting a long outdoor drain at a detached house in Oosterhout or Uden, you can ask for a quote first. Customers rate Afvoer Ontstoppen 5/5 based on 48 Google reviews.

Cities in North Brabant with their own page

For the four largest cities in the province we have a separate page with their neighbourhoods and what sets them apart: drain unblocking in Eindhoven, Tilburg, Breda and Den Bosch. If you live in Helmond, Oss, Roosendaal, Bergen op Zoom or one of the villages, we come out just the same. All places with their own page are listed under our service area.

Do you have a blockage right now? Call 085 333 4698. Our drain unblocking service is on call 24/7 throughout North Brabant and sends an engineer to you as quickly as possible.