What it costs to unclog a sink, by situation
Prices are for Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley, during regular hours (9 to 5, Monday to Friday) unless the row says otherwise. Outside those hours, every price is double.
| The situation | What it takes | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Clog in the trap or the pipe just behind the wall | Trap cleaned, line cleared with an electric drain machine. | From $329 |
| The same job outside 9 to 5, Monday to Friday | Same work, at the after-hours rate. | From $658 |
| A kitchen line coated with grease along its length | The machine opens it. If it keeps closing up, hydro jetting washes the pipe wall clean. | Jetting is quoted on site |
| Trap or pipes that crumble when opened | Corroded parts replaced so the sink can be put back together. | Quoted before we replace anything |
| Other drains are backing up too | This is the main line. Cleared from a cleanout with a large drum machine. | From $649 |
| You want to see what caused it | Camera inspection of the line, with the video sent to you. | + $249 |
| Another slow drain in the house | A second drain cleared on the same visit. | + $149 |
| Drain cleaner has been poured in | Protective gear, and the water vacuumed out and contained before work starts. | + $50 if you tell us |
| The drain will not clear within 2 hours | Something is wrong with the pipe itself. You get a written estimate for what it needs. | The fee still applies |
“From” is the price when the job goes the way it usually does, and it covers up to 2 hours on site. If it turns out to need more, you get the new price before the extra work starts, and you can say no.
What changes the price
| Kitchen or bathroom | Kitchen lines carry grease, which coats a long stretch of pipe and takes more passes to clear. |
|---|---|
| How far down it is | A clog in the trap is quick. One in the wall or the branch line needs a longer cable. |
| Access | A cabinet packed around old or corroded fittings takes longer to open up safely. |
| Drain cleaner in the line | If drain cleaner has been poured in, the plumber needs protective gear and has to remove the water safely first. That adds $50 if you tell us, $100 if we find it on site without being told. Always tell us. |
| Time of day | Regular hours are 9 to 5, Monday to Friday. Outside those hours, every price is double. |
One drain, or the main line?
It is the question that decides the price. A single drain is a small job. The main line is a bigger one, and it gets worse with every tap you run.
Your answer appears here.
A guide, not a diagnosis. The plumber checks before starting work.
What causes it
| Grease and cooking fat | It goes down as a liquid, cools a few feet along and coats the pipe. Each layer narrows the line until food debris blocks what is left. |
|---|---|
| Food that swells or settles | Rice, pasta, coffee grounds, eggshell and potato peel. Some swell with water and some sink and pack together. |
| Hair, soap and toothpaste | The bathroom sink version: hair wraps around the pop-up stopper and soap scum glues it in place. |
| Something in the trap | Bottle caps, jewellery and bits of packaging sit in the U-bend and catch everything that follows. |
| An old or badly sloped pipe | Decades of scale inside galvanized or cast iron pipe, or a run without enough fall, means even normal use blocks it. |
On the job
Try this first
- Bail out standing water so you can see what you're doing.
- Put a bucket under the trap, undo the two slip nuts by hand and clean the trap out.
- Skip the chemical drain cleaner. It rarely clears a full blockage and it's hard on pipes and on whoever opens them next.
Stop and call a plumber if
- The trap is clear and the sink still won't drain
- Water backs up into the other bowl or the dishwasher
- The pipes under the sink are corroded or leaking
Call 1-800-604-0631, any hour.
What the plumber does
- Run the other bowl, the dishwasher and nearby fixtures to find how far down the blockage is.
- Bail the standing water, take the trap apart and clean it out.
- Feed an electric drain machine into the pipe in the wall, far enough to reach where your sink joins the larger drain.
- Reassemble the trap, replacing washers that have hardened.
- Fill both bowls and release them together. A drain that takes a full sink of water at once is clear. Then check every joint for drips.
What the $329 covers
- Coming to you and working out where the blockage is
- Taking the trap apart and cleaning it
- Clearing the line with an electric drain machine
- A full-sink test and a leak check
- Leaving the cabinet dry and as we found it
- Replacing a corroded trap or pipework
- Hydro jetting a grease-lined pipe
- Garburator repairs or replacement
- A camera inspection, unless you add one
The price covers up to 2 hours on site, and we prove the drain works before we leave. If it will not clear in that time, the fee still applies and you get a written estimate. There is no guarantee against a new clog. Unclog a sink is booked through Unclog.it and done by a Pure Mechanical Group plumber.
Why is that other quote $99?
You will see drain specials advertised for $99 or less. Before you compare one with the price on this page, ask what it covers.
| What is included? | Many specials cover a set length of cable through an existing cleanout, on one drain, and nothing else. |
|---|---|
| What if it does not clear? | This is where the price changes. Ask what the next step costs before anyone arrives. |
| What does it cost tonight? | An advertised price is a daytime price. Ask for the evening and weekend rate. |
| Is the price in writing? | A price you were told on the phone and a price on the invoice should be the same number. |
It is hard to send a licensed plumber, a stocked truck and a drain machine to your door for $99 and cover the cost on the clearing alone. Often the visit pays for itself on what is sold once someone is inside. Our price is higher because it is the price of clearing the drain. You know it before we come, and anything beyond it is quoted before it is done.
Stop it happening again
- Wipe greasy pans with a paper towel and put it in the green bin before you wash them.
- Use a strainer in the kitchen sink and empty it into the compost.
- Keep coffee grounds, rice and pasta out of the drain, even with a garburator.
- Finish the dishes with a minute of hot water, to carry what is in the pipe to the larger drain.
- In the bathroom, lift out the pop-up stopper every month or two and clean off the hair.
Questions people ask
How much does it cost to unclog a sink in Metro Vancouver?
With Unclog.it it starts from $329 during regular hours (9 to 5, Monday to Friday) and from $658 outside them. It is more than a toilet because the plumber takes the trap apart and uses an electric drain machine. That price covers a blockage in the trap or the pipe behind the wall.
Why does my kitchen sink keep clogging?
Almost always grease. A drain machine punches a hole through it and the sink runs again, but the coating on the pipe wall is still there and it closes up within months. If yours has been cleared more than once, hydro jetting is the fix that lasts, because it washes the pipe wall clean.
Hydro jetting: what it involvesBoth bowls are backing up. What does that mean?
The blockage is after the point where the two bowls join, so it is in the shared pipe and not in either trap. If the dishwasher also backs up into the sink, that confirms it. Cleaning the trap will not help; the line needs a drain machine.
Is it safe to pour boiling water down the sink?
Hot tap water is fine. Boiling water is not a good idea on plastic drain pipe, which softens, or into a porcelain sink, which can crack. It also does very little to a real blockage.
Do baking soda and vinegar work?
They fizz, they help with smells, and they do no harm. They will not clear a sink that is fully blocked. Think of them as cleaning, not unclogging.
How long does it take?
Most sink clogs are cleared within an hour of the plumber starting. Old pipework that has to be taken apart carefully, or a long greasy line, takes longer.
What if the drain will not clear?
The price covers up to 2 hours on site. If the drain will not clear in that time, it almost always means the pipe itself is damaged or something is lodged that a machine cannot move. The fee still applies, because the plumber, the truck and the equipment were there doing the work, and you get a written estimate for what it needs next.
Is there a guarantee if it clogs again?
No. We run water and prove the drain is working before we leave, and you see it for yourself. After that we cannot control what goes down it. If it blocks again, call us and we will come back and take a look. If there is a new blockage to clear, that is a new job at the full price.
