(618) 444-9976 24/7 emergency sewer service · St. Clair and Madison counties
Drain cleaning reel set up in a basement beside the floor drain and sump

11 · Main Drain Cleaning

Main drain cleaning when every drain is backing up

One slow sink is a plumber’s call. Several drains backing up at once, a floor drain bubbling, a smell in the basement: that is the main line, and that is our work. We clear it, run the camera, and tell you why it happened.

A plumber or Dig N Drain?

We are not the call for a dripping faucet, a running toilet, a water heater or a garbage disposal, and we don’t fish hair, toys or washcloths out of a sink trap. A plumber is the right person for all of those, and we will tell you so.

We are the call when the trouble is downstream of the fixtures: a soggy spot or a dip in the yard, multiple drains backed up, slow drainage throughout, bubbling, sewer odor, a camera inspection, or main drain cleaning.

We clean every drain line in the house

We clear kitchen drains, bathroom drains, shower and tub drains, floor drains, laundry drains and the main sewer drain. When a cable will not do it, or the same line keeps closing up, the jetter comes off the truck. Either way the camera goes in afterward, so you know whether it was a clog or the first sign of a broken pipe.

A plumber’s job, or ours?

The problemPlumberDig N Drain
Dripping faucet, running toilet, a small leak–
Water heater or garbage disposal–
One sink or tub clogged with hair, or a toy down the drain–
Several drains backing up at once–
Slow drains, gurgling or bubbling, a sewer smell–
A soggy spot or a dip in the yard over the line–
Seeing inside the line with a camera–
Main drain cleaning and hydro jetting–
Digging up, repairing or replacing the sewer–

Signs the problem is your main line

  • More than one drain backs up at once
  • Water comes up the floor drain when the washer drains
  • Toilets gurgle when a tub empties
  • There is a sewer smell in the basement
  • There is a soggy spot or a dip in the yard

Talk to the crew

(618) 444-9976

Answered 24/7. Scope and price before any work starts.

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How the job goes

What to expect, step by step

  1. 01Find the clog

    From the clean-out, not the sink.

  2. 02Clear it

    Cable for a simple stoppage, jetter for buildup and roots.

  3. 03Camera the line

    See whether it was a clog or a broken pipe.

  4. 04Tell you why

    What caused it and how to keep it from coming back.

Our work

Photos from our own jobs

Drain cleaning reel set up in a basement beside the floor drain and sump
A drain reel set up at a basement floor drain.

Answers

Questions about main drain cleaning

How much does main drain cleaning cost?

It depends on how far out the clog is, whether a cable clears it or it needs the jetter, and whether there is a clean-out to work from. You get the price before we start. A camera run afterward shows whether it was a simple clog or the first sign of a broken line.

Why are all my drains backing up at once?

When several drains back up together, the blockage is in the main line, downstream of where those drains join, not in any one fixture. Grease, roots, wipes, or a broken or sagging section of the lateral are the usual causes. Clearing the main and running the camera shows which.

Why does water come up my floor drain when the washer drains?

Because the floor drain is usually the lowest opening on the line, and a blockage in the main sends the washer’s water back out the first place it can. It is one of the clearest signs the main needs cleaning, and it tends to get worse, not better.

Do you clear sink and toilet clogs?

No. A single clogged sink, tub or toilet, a hair clog, or a toy down the drain is work for a plumber, and we will tell you so. We clear the main sewer and the branch lines, kitchen, bath, floor and laundry, when the problem is in the line rather than the fixture.

What is the difference between a clog and a broken sewer line?

A clog is something in the pipe: grease, wipes, roots, sludge. A broken line is the pipe itself: a crack, a separated joint, a collapsed section. Both back up the drains, which is why we camera the line after clearing it; a clog that keeps coming back is often a break in disguise.

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Backed up right now?

Call the crew with the camera and the excavator.

A person answers (618) 444-9976 day or night. Not an emergency? Send the form and we will set a time to run the camera.

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