Signs the line needs clearing

  • One sink, tub or shower drains slower than it used to
  • Water gurgles in a drain after you run another fixture
  • Two fixtures or more backing up together
  • The tub fills when the washing machine drains
  • A sewage smell around a floor drain or an outside cleanout
  • The clog came back within days of a store bought drain cleaner

What the plumber does

One slow fixture puts the blockage close: the trap, or a short run of pipe past it. The plumber drops the trap, or feeds in a cable machine, a motorized auger that chews through hair, soap and grease packed on the pipe wall.

Several fixtures backing up at once puts the trouble farther out, at the building drain or the sewer. The plumber opens a cleanout and runs the main from there. Packed grease or root growth moves the job up to a jetter, or to a camera run first, so nobody is guessing at what sits down the line.

Clearing a clog and finding the cause are two different jobs. Ask the plumber what they found, because a line that clogs twice a year has something wrong with it beyond the clog: a belly in the pipe, a broken section, roots at a joint, or a vent that is not doing its job.

A chrome kitchen faucet running water into a stainless steel sink
Kitchen lines clog more often than any other drain in the house.

Common questions

One slow sink. Worth a call?

Try the cheap option first: a barbed plastic drain stick from any hardware store pulls hair out of a bathroom trap in about a minute. Call us when it comes back, when a second fixture slows down, or when one drain pushes water into another.

What is hydro jetting?

A jetting hose goes down the line and blasts the walls clean, cutting through grease, scale and root hair that a cable only bores a hole through. Old pipe gets inspected first, since brittle line and high pressure make an expensive pair.

Can you clear a main line for a condo?

That depends on the building. In many condo buildings the line past your unit belongs to the association. Call and describe the setup and we will tell you whether a plumber or your property manager should take the next step.

Does the visit cost anything if I say no?

No. The plumber opens up the problem, explains it and puts a number on it. Walking away at that point costs nothing.