Drain Cleaning in McKinney, TX

One drain or many?

This is the most useful question to answer before you do anything else, because it tells you where the blockage is.

• One fixture is slow, such as a single bathroom sink or shower, and everything else drains normally. The clog is almost certainly in that fixture's trap or branch line. This is often a do-it-yourself job.
• All the fixtures in one bathroom are slow, or the tub gurgles when the sink drains. The clog is further down, in the branch line that serves that bathroom.
• Several fixtures across the house are slow or backing up, the lowest drain (often a shower or tub) fills with dirty water when you flush a toilet or run the washing machine, or you smell sewage. The problem is in the main building drain or the sewer line outside. Stop using water and read drain backing up.

What typically causes clogs

Different drains clog for different reasons:

• Bathroom sinks: hair, toothpaste, soap scum and the gunk that builds up on the pop-up stopper.
• Showers and tubs: hair combined with soap. This is the single most common household clog.
• Kitchen sinks: cooking grease and fats that set as they cool, plus coffee grounds, rice, pasta and fibrous peelings. A garbage disposal does not make these safe to put down the drain.
• Toilets: too much paper, "flushable" wipes (which do not break down like paper), hygiene products and children's toys.
• Main lines: tree roots getting in through joints, a sag or "belly" in the pipe where waste settles, grease building up over years, or a collapsed section of older pipe.

What you can safely try first

For a single slow fixture:

1. Clean the stopper and strainer. Pull out the bathroom sink stopper or shower strainer and clear the hair. This alone fixes a surprising number of slow drains.
2. Use a plunger. Use a cup plunger for sinks and tubs, and a flange plunger for toilets. For a double kitchen sink, block the other side. For a bathroom sink or tub, cover the overflow hole with a wet cloth so the pressure goes down the drain.
3. Try a plastic drain snake. These inexpensive barbed strips pull out hair from sink and shower drains.
4. Clean the P-trap under a sink. Put a bucket underneath, unscrew the slip nuts by hand, and clear it out.
5. Flush with hot water. For grease in a kitchen line, very hot (not boiling, if you have PVC) water with dish soap can move a soft blockage.

Stop and call a professional if the clog comes back within days, several fixtures are affected, you see sewage, or you have to remove a toilet to get at it.

How professional drain cleaning works

A plumber will usually start by asking which drains are affected and when it started, then choose a method:

• Hand augers and small drum machines clear sink, tub and shower lines through the drain opening or trap.
• Larger cable machines are fed through a cleanout, usually outside near the foundation or in a garage, to cut through blockages and roots in the main line.
• Hydro jetting uses high-pressure water to scour grease, scale and roots off the pipe walls rather than just punching a hole through them. It suits heavy grease in kitchen lines and recurring main line clogs, but it is not appropriate for every pipe, particularly damaged or fragile older lines.
• Camera inspection feeds a waterproof camera down the line to show exactly what is causing the problem and where. This is the step that tells you whether you need cleaning only, or a repair.

When a camera inspection is worth it

Clearing a main line without looking inside is often fine the first time. But ask about a camera inspection if:

• The main line has clogged more than once in a year or two
• The plumber pulls back roots on the cable
• The house is older, including homes around historic downtown McKinney
• You are buying a home and want to know the condition of the sewer line
• Water drains, but slowly, even right after cleaning

If the camera shows a broken, offset or sagging pipe, cleaning will only buy time. See sewer line repair for what the repair options look like.

What affects the cost

Prices vary between companies, so compare on what is actually included. The main factors are:

• Where the clog is. A sink trap is quicker than a main line through a roof vent.
• Access. Is there an accessible cleanout, or does a toilet need to come off?
• Method. A cable machine costs less than hydro jetting.
• Camera inspection. Is it included or extra, and do you get the video?
• Timing. Evening and weekend visits usually cost more.

Good questions to ask: Is there a separate trip or diagnosis fee? Is there a warranty if the same line clogs again within a set period? Will you show me what you pulled out, or the camera footage?

Keeping drains clear

• Scrape grease and food scraps into the trash, not the sink.
• Use hair catchers in showers and tubs.
• Flush only toilet paper. Wipes marketed as flushable still cause blockages.
• Run hot water for a few seconds after using the kitchen sink.
• If roots have been a problem, ask the plumber how often the line should be checked or cleaned.