Kitchen sinks
Grease and food buildup narrowing the trap and the line beyond it. The most common repeat call we get, because grease keeps building back up if the line is never actually cleared to the main.
DHS Plumbing · Drain Cleaning
Cleared properly, not just cleared again.
The Quality & Integrity You Expect
A slow or backed-up drain gets snaked and cleared, plain and simple. If it's the second or third call on the same line, we camera it first instead of running the snake a third time and hoping.
Cleared and flowing, or the visit is free.
- 01If we snake a drain and it isn't clear and flowing by the time we leave, that visit doesn't get billed.
- 02If a camera inspection shows the real problem is a broken or collapsed line beyond a standard clear, we quote that separately, in writing, before any further work.
- 03Applies to standard kitchen, bathroom, and main line clogs reachable by cable.
What clear actually looks like.
Drag the handle. Same line, before the visit and after.
Before
After
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What we clear.
Bathroom drains
Hair and soap scum in sinks, tubs, and showers. Usually a quick clear, though a slow tub drain that keeps coming back is worth a camera look at the trap.
Main line & sewer backups
When more than one fixture is slow or backing up at once, it's usually the main line, not any single drain, and it's the case where a camera pays for itself fastest.
Causes and prevention.
The questions we get most, on the phone and on the job.
Snaking clears the immediate blockage but doesn't show you what's causing it: a low spot in the pipe (a "belly"), root intrusion, or scale buildup on old cast iron. A camera inspection finds the actual cause instead of guessing.
We'd rather you didn't, especially on older pipe. The chemicals generate heat that can stress aging PVC joints and cast iron, and they don't touch a solid blockage like roots or a belly in the line.
In this area, mostly tree roots finding their way into aging clay or cast-iron sewer laterals through small cracks or joints, plus grease buildup from kitchen lines that never got properly cleared.
Scrape grease into the trash instead of the sink, use a hair catcher in showers, and if a line has backed up more than once, get it cameraed once so you know what you're actually dealing with.
We quote it as its own line item before we run it, and only recommend it when snaking alone hasn't held. You'll always see the number in writing before you say yes.
Get a free estimate.
Tell us what the drain is doing and we'll give you a straight answer, snake or camera, before anyone comes out.
- No obligation. The estimate is free either way.
- Usually a same or next-day response.
- We never sell or share your information.