Clogged Drain Cleaning in New York

The causes of a clogged drain change from one part of New York to the next. Older neighborhoods have cast iron and clay sewer lines under big trees, newer subdivisions mostly see grease and wipes in PVC pipe, and many rural homes depend on a septic tank. Find your city or the nearest one below. Each city page has a rough cost range, a look at what local soil and trees do to drains, and one number that connects you with a local plumber.

Many homes in New York are old enough to have cast iron stacks and clay sewer laterals, and big street and yard trees send roots into the joints. A lot of older cities still carry storm water and sewage in the same pipes, so a hard rain can push water up through a basement floor drain. Upstate winters freeze the ground and any line that runs too shallow. Water is soft in some regions and hard in others, and septic systems and cesspools still serve many suburban and rural homes.

• Combined sewers in many older cities
• Cast iron stacks and clay laterals in older homes
• Basement floor drains that back up in heavy rain
• Frozen ground in upstate winters
• Septic systems and cesspools in some suburbs and rural areas

Ask whether your sewer line has a house trap, since a clogged house trap in an older home can stop every drain at once.

• Kitchen sink. Cooking grease and oil that cool and harden on the pipe wall, plus food scraps, coffee grounds and soap scum that stick to it. A garbage disposal sends more solids down, not fewer.
• Bathroom sink. Hair mixed with soap, toothpaste and shaving residue, caught on the pop-up stopper or in the trap. Small items dropped down the drain add to it.
• Tub or shower. Hair is the main cause, bound together with soap scum and conditioner. Older tubs with a trip lever drain collect it in the overflow and the drum trap.
• Toilet. Too much paper at once, wipes labeled flushable, paper towels, cotton swabs, dental floss and toys. Low-flow toilets from before about 2005 clog more often.
• Floor or laundry drain. Lint from the washing machine, sand and grit, soap, and in basements the silt that washes in. A dry trap lets sewer gas up as well.
• Main sewer line. Tree roots coming in at joints in clay and cast iron pipe, grease built up from years of kitchen use, wipes, and pipe that has sagged or cracked.
• Outdoor or yard drain. Leaves, dirt, sand and roots in yard drains, area drains, driveway trench drains and the pipes that carry downspout water away.