Drain Cleaning
Clear the line, then find out why it clogged
Anyone can push a clog down the line. The useful question in a sixty-year-old house is why that drain backs up every few months — because in Florissant the answer is usually cast-iron scale or roots in a clay lateral, and neither gets fixed by cabling.
- Kitchen, bath, laundry and main lines
- Cabling and hydro-jetting
- Camera inspection on repeat clogs
- No caustic chemicals
Method
Three ways to clear a line, and when each is right
Matching the method to the blockage is most of the job. The wrong tool either fails or damages sixty-year-old pipe.
Cabling
A rotating cable that punches through and pulls back soft blockages — hair, grease, paper. Fast, and right for most household clogs.
Hydro-jetting
High-pressure water that scours the pipe wall. The right call for heavy grease and for scale inside old cast iron.
Camera first
On a line that has clogged more than once, we look before we clear. In this housing stock repeat clogs usually mean a real defect.
Wondering what it runs? See our drain cleaning cost guide for typical Florissant pricing.
Why it matters
Why we do not recommend store-bought drain chemicals
They rarely reach the clog
Caustic cleaners sit in standing water and dilute. The blockage is usually further down than the chemical ever gets.
They damage old cast iron
Most Florissant homes still have original cast-iron drains. Repeated caustic use eats at already-thinned pipe and can turn a clog into a leak.
They hide the real problem
Clearing just enough to drain masks scale, roots or a belly until it becomes a much bigger repair.
And they come back
If a drain clogs again within a few months, chemicals were treating a symptom. Something structural is going on.
Repeat clogs
When a clog is really a pipe problem
One clog is a clog. The third clog in the same line is a diagnosis waiting to happen.
In Florissant's postwar housing we regularly find two things. Inside the house, cast-iron drain lines that have scaled inward over sixty years until the effective diameter is half what it was — the pipe is intact, but it clogs like a much smaller line. Outside, clay tile laterals with root intrusion at the joints. Cabling clears both temporarily and neither permanently. A camera inspection tells you which one you have, and then you can decide whether to keep clearing it or fix it once.
How we work
What to expect when you call
- 01
We locate the blockage
Which fixture, which line, and how far down. That determines the access point and the tool.
- 02
We clear it
Cabled or jetted depending on what it is. Work area protected, and no chemicals going into your pipes.
- 03
We tell you if it will come back
If we see roots, scale or a belly, you hear about it with the camera footage — not a vague warning designed to sell you something.
Free estimate
Get a drain cleared
Tell us which drain and how long it has been slow. Repeat clogs are worth mentioning — it changes what we bring.
Related: drain cleaning cost, cast-iron drain lines, sewer lateral repair, camera inspection, emergency service
Got a plumbing problem that is not getting better on its own?
Call for anything urgent, or send the form and we will get back to you within one business day with a real number.