What it usually means
| The main sewer line is closing up | Roots, grease or a sagging pipe are narrowing the one pipe everything shares. Lowest fixtures slow first. This is the stage before a backup. |
|---|---|
| Just one bathroom is slow | Then it is that bathroom's branch line, not the whole house. Hair and soap where the tub, sink and toilet join. |
| Slow with gurgling | Either the main line or a blocked vent. See gurgling drains. |
| A septic tank that is full | If you are on septic, slow drains everywhere are often the first sign the tank is due. |
| Slow only after heavy use | Laundry day or a house full of guests. The pipe copes with a trickle and not a flood, which means it is partly blocked. |
What to check yourself
- Work out which fixtures are slow. Write them down by floor. If the basement is worst and upstairs is nearly normal, it is the main line.
- Flush the lowest toilet and watch the nearest tub or floor drain for water rising.
- Find your main cleanout and look at it without opening it. Dampness or staining around the cap means water has been backing up to it.
- Do not open the cleanout cap if drains are backing up. If the line is full, what is in it comes out.
- Ease off the water until it is cleared. Stagger showers and laundry.
Stop and call a plumber if
- Water comes up in a tub, shower or floor drain when another fixture drains
- The lowest toilet will not flush properly
- There is a sewage smell in the basement
- It has been getting slower for weeks
Call 1-800-604-0631, any hour.
What fixing it costs
Clearing the main line is from $649. Those are regular-hours prices (9 to 5, Monday to Friday). Outside those hours every price is double. Each covers up to 2 hours on site, and the drain is tested in front of you before we leave.
If it has happened before, add a camera inspection for $249 on the same visit. It shows whether you have roots, a low spot or a broken pipe, and whether clearing it once a year is enough or the pipe needs repair. What a camera inspection involves.
Questions people ask
Can I wait and see?
You can, but slow everywhere only goes one direction. Clearing a slow line in regular hours costs half what clearing a backed-up one costs at midnight.
Will drain cleaner help?
No. It cannot reach or dissolve a root mass thirty feet out, and it leaves caustic water sitting in your pipes for whoever opens them next.
How often should a main line be cleaned?
A sound pipe should not need it. A line with roots usually needs cutting every one to two years until it is repaired or lined.