What's included in our drain cleaning in Oklahoma City
A clog is a symptom. Our job is to clear it and find out why it formed. Every drain call includes:
- Locating the blockage. We run fixtures in a set order to tell a branch clog from a main line clog before any tool goes in the pipe.
- Clearing the line. We use a cable machine with a cutting head sized to the pipe, from small hand augers for lavatories to heavy machines for the sewer.
- Jetting when cable is not enough. Grease and sludge that a cable only pokes through get scoured off the pipe walls with water.
- A camera look when it keeps coming back. Repeat clogs get a video inspection so we can see roots, breaks or sags.
- A straight explanation of what caused it and how to keep it from happening again.
Where the clog is tells you what it is
Each drain in a house has its own usual suspect, and knowing it saves time and money.
| Drain | Usual cause | How we clear it |
| Kitchen sink | Grease and food that hardens downstream | Cable with a cutting head, then jetting if grease coats the pipe |
| Bathroom sink | Hair, soap and toothpaste at the stopper | Pull and clean the pop-up, then a small cable |
| Tub and shower | Hair and soap scum in the trap | Small cable through the drain or overflow |
| Toilet | Wipes, too much paper, small toys | Closet auger, or pull the toilet if it is lodged deep |
| Laundry standpipe | Lint and fabric fibers | Cable the line and check that the standpipe is sized right |
| Main sewer line | Roots, grease, wipes or a sag holding waste | Large cable from the cleanout, then camera if needed |
Floor drains are a special case. One in a laundry room or garage that smells but drains fine usually has a dry trap, and a bucket of water restores the seal. One that pushes water up, especially when the washer empties, sits low on the system and is warning you about a clog further down the main line.
Clogged drain repair methods compared
| Method | Good for | Limits |
| Plunger | A fresh clog in one toilet or sink | Does nothing for a main line clog |
| Chemical drain opener | We do not recommend it | Caustic, rarely reaches the clog, dangerous to the next person who opens the pipe |
| Cable machine | Most clogs, including roots and wipes | Punches a hole but can leave grease on the pipe walls |
| Water jetting | Grease, sludge and root regrowth | Needs a camera check first on old or damaged pipe |
When grease or roots keep closing a line, hydro jetting cleans the pipe wall instead of just opening a path. And when we need to see what is going on underground, a sewer camera inspection settles it.
What affects the cost of drain cleaning
- Which line is clogged. A bathroom sink branch is a shorter job than a main sewer line.
- Access. A clear cleanout makes the work faster. Without one, we may have to pull a toilet or work through a roof vent.
- What the clog is made of. Hair clears quickly. Packed grease or heavy roots take more time and sometimes jetting.
- Follow-up work. A camera inspection or root treatment adds to the visit.
We price the actual job after we see it, and financing is available for larger repairs.
Clogged drains in Oklahoma City: local factors
Grease is the biggest local offender. The City of Oklahoma City reports that more than one-third of sewer line blockages in the city are caused by fats, oils and grease, and it warns that the average kitchen disposer will not break grease down enough to prevent clogs. Hot grease goes down as a liquid, then cools and sticks to the pipe a few feet later.
Older neighborhoods have their own issues. Mature trees send roots into clay and cast iron sewer joints, and our sewer root removal service handles lines that keep filling with them. Shifting clay soil can leave a sag in a yard line where waste settles. The plumbing code calls for a quarter inch of fall per foot on smaller drain pipe, and lines that lost that slope clog more. Keep in mind that the City treats the private line from your house to its main as your responsibility.
Keeping drains clear between cleanings
- Wipe greasy pans with a paper towel and put grease in the trash, not the sink.
- Feed a garbage disposal slowly with cold water running. InSinkErator says coffee grounds and eggshells added all at once can clog restricted plumbing.
- Flush only toilet paper. Wipes, even ones labeled flushable, are something we pull out of clogged toilet lines all the time.
- Put a hair catcher in every tub and shower.
If you want to know who you are calling, read about our company and team.