Drain Cleaning in Durham, NC

Where clogs come from

In kitchens, cooking fat cools and coats the pipe, then catches food scraps. Bathroom lines collect hair and soap film. Wipes sold as flushable don't break apart like toilet paper and tend to snag. Outside, tree roots can find their way into joints in older clay or cast iron sewer pipe. That is worth keeping in mind in Durham, where close to 30% of homes were built before 1980.

Reading the symptoms

• A single slow fixture: the trap or the short branch behind it is usually the problem.
• Two fixtures in one bathroom: the shared branch line may be partly blocked.
• Gurgling toilets, water rising in a shower when the washer drains, or every drain slow: the main building drain or sewer lateral is likely clogged.

With a main line clog, every flush and every load of laundry makes it worse, so cut back on water until it is cleared.

Before reaching for chemicals

Bottled drain openers seldom reach a main line clog, can harm older pipe and leave caustic water for whoever works on the drain next. A plunger on a single sink or tub is a fair first try. If that doesn't do it, a cable is the next step.

What a plumber does

Most clogs are cleared by feeding a powered cable through the fixture or a cleanout to cut through the blockage. Where grease, scale or roots keep coming back, hydro jetting scrubs the pipe walls clean. If a main line clogs again and again, a sewer camera can show a sag, crack or root intrusion that cleaning won't fix.

Public sewer or private line?

The City of Durham Department of Water Management runs the public sewer and its two water reclamation facilities. If wastewater is overflowing from a manhole or a cleanout near the street, or neighbors are backing up too, contact the City. If the public line is flowing and only your house is affected, the clog is on the private side and a plumber can clear it.

What affects the cost

Which line is blocked, whether there is an accessible cleanout, how far the clog sits from it, whether jetting or a camera is needed, and when the visit happens. Ask what the price covers before the plumber starts.