Drain cleaning in St. Louis
Kitchen sinks, tubs, toilets, basement floor drains and main sewer lines. Call, say which drain is backing up, and a local drain cleaning company takes it from there.
Call (314) 464-2238Answered 24/7 by a local licensed master drainlayer. Same-day service on most calls.
Which drain is backing up?
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One sink, tub or shower is slow
The clog is close to that fixture: grease and food in a kitchen line, hair and soap in a bath line. A small cable machine clears it, usually in one visit.
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A toilet keeps clogging
If plunging works for a day and then it is back, the blockage is past the toilet or something is lodged in the trap.
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Water is coming up the basement floor drain
The floor drain is the lowest opening in the house, so a blocked main line shows up there first. Stop running water until the line is open.
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Several drains are slow or gurgling
More than one fixture means the problem is in the main line they share, not in any single drain.
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The same clog every few months
Something in the pipe is catching debris: roots at a joint, a sag in the line, or a break. A camera shows which one.
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Roots have been cut out before
Roots grow back through the same joints. Cutting them on a schedule keeps the line open between visits.
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A kitchen line that closes up with grease
A cable tunnels through grease and leaves the rest on the pipe wall. High-pressure water takes it off.
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The camera found a broken pipe
Pipe that is worn out but still in one piece can be lined from the inside. Pipe that has collapsed or sagged has to be dug up.
What it costs
Service work is $240 an hour. If a camera is used during the visit, add $60. If the visit turns into a dig-up repair or a lining project, $200 comes back as a credit on that job.
The company that answers is a licensed master drainlayer. The same crew cleans, inspects, digs and lines, so the people who clear the clog are the ones who can fix the pipe if it turns out to be broken.
Why drains clog in older St. Louis homes
A lot of the housing around St. Louis went up before 1970. Homes of that age were commonly built with cast iron drain stacks inside and a clay tile sewer lateral running from the house to the public main. Both last a long time, and both clog in predictable ways.
Cast iron rusts from the inside, and the rough scale catches grease, soap and paper. Clay tile was laid in short sections, and every joint is a place where tree roots can work in after the water. The big street trees in the older neighborhoods are the usual source.
In the city and most of St. Louis County, the sewer district, MSD, maintains the public mains. The lateral from your house to the main is yours. The City of St. Louis and many county municipalities run a sewer lateral repair program, paid for by a yearly fee on the property tax bill. Those programs pay toward fixing a broken lateral. They don't pay for clearing a clog or cutting roots. What each one charges and pays is in the city-by-city guide to sewer lateral programs.
Common questions
How much does drain cleaning cost in St. Louis?
Service work is $240 an hour. If a camera is used during the visit, add $60. If the visit turns into a dig-up repair or a lining project, $200 is credited back toward that job.
Why does the same drain keep clogging?
A clog that comes back within a few months usually means something in the pipe is catching debris: tree roots at a joint, a sag where solids settle, or a cracked section. Cabling clears what has built up but leaves the cause in place. After the second repeat, a camera inspection is the better next step than cabling it a third time.
What is the difference between snaking and hydro jetting?
A snake is a spinning steel cable that breaks a clog apart or pulls it out. It opens the line but leaves most of the buildup on the pipe wall. Hydro jetting uses high-pressure water to wash the whole inside of the pipe. A single clogged sink or toilet rarely needs jetting. A line coated in grease or sludge often does.
Can I use Drano or another chemical drain cleaner?
It can open a light hair clog close to the drain. It rarely reaches a blockage in a main line and does nothing to tree roots. If it doesn't work, the caustic liquid is still sitting in the pipe, so tell whoever comes out that you used it.
Should a broken sewer pipe be lined or dug up?
Pipe that is cracked, root-filled or worn thin but still holds its shape can usually be lined from the inside, which leaves floors and driveways alone. Pipe that has collapsed, or that sags and holds water, has to be dug up and re-laid. A camera inspection shows which you have.
Who is responsible for the sewer line, me or the sewer district?
The public main belongs to the sewer provider: MSD in the City of St. Louis and most of St. Louis County, and the city or a sewer district elsewhere. The lateral that runs from your house to the main belongs to you, including the part under the street.