Seattle Drain Cleaning

A plunger or bottled cleaner only reaches the first few feet of pipe. If the real blockage sits further down the line, in a root intrusion or a buildup of grease and sludge, it will keep coming back no matter how often you treat the symptom. A camera inspection shows us exactly where the clog lives so we can clear the actual cause instead of the surface of it.

Despite the labels, most wipes don't break down the way toilet paper does. They tend to clump together or catch on rough spots inside older pipes, which is exactly how a lot of main line clogs get started. The same goes for paper towels, cotton swabs, and feminine hygiene products. Sticking to toilet paper, and using a strainer in sinks and tubs, prevents a surprising number of service calls.

A drain snake breaks up or pulls out a basic clog close to the fixture, and it's often all a single slow sink or tub needs. Hydro jetting uses high-pressure water to scour the full width of the pipe, which makes it the better call for grease, root intrusion, or sludge built up in a main line. Our technicians will tell you which one fits after they see what's actually going on in the pipe, not before.

If your sink, shower, and toilet are all slow or backing up around the same time, the problem usually isn't any one of those fixtures. It typically points to a blockage in the main sewer line that everything drains into. That's worth a same-day call rather than waiting, since a main line backup can get worse quickly. A camera inspection will confirm whether it needs cleaning or a deeper repair.

They can clear a very minor clog, but they're a short-term fix at best, and the caustic chemicals inside them can corrode older cast iron or clay pipe over time. On anything beyond a simple slow drain, a professional cleaning with an auger, camera, or hydro jetting clears the actual blockage without putting the pipe at risk.

Yes. Cast iron and clay tile lines, common in Seattle homes built before 1970, corrode and develop rough patches or small cracks over the years. Debris and grease catch on those rough spots much more easily than they would in newer PVC pipe. Regular inspections catch that kind of wear before it turns into a full blockage.

Not always. It's worth checking the stopper or strainer first, since a partially closed pop-up assembly or a strainer packed with hair and debris can slow a drain on its own. If the sink is still slow after clearing that out, the blockage is likely further down the line and worth a professional look.

A few different things can cause this. Trapped debris or bacteria inside the pipe is the most common, but a dried-out P-trap that's no longer holding water can also let sewer gas rise straight up through the drain. In other cases, a failing seal or a deeper clog is the culprit. It's hard to tell which one you're dealing with from the smell alone, so it's worth having a technician take a look.

We feed a small, waterproof camera into the line to get a real-time look at what's happening inside the pipe, whether that's a crack, a collapsed section, or roots growing in through a joint. It tells us exactly where the problem is and what caused it before we recommend a fix, so you're not paying for guesswork.