Drains
Drain cleaning in Toronto
A drain that clogs once is a nuisance. A drain that keeps clogging is telling you something about the pipe. We clear the blockage and find out which kind you have.
or dial (365) 363-3352Answered day and night
- Sinks, tubs or showers draining slowly, even after plunging
- Gurgling from a toilet or floor drain when another fixture runs
- Sewage odour downstairs, strongest around the floor drain
- Water around the basement floor drain when the washing machine empties
A price before we startNothing cut or opened until you say yes.
- Licensed & insureddetails confirmed on the call
- Phones answered 24/7a person, not a queue
- Price before we startcall-out rate on the phone
- Old Toronto & East Yorkhouses, condos, businesses
Signs your drains need attention
- Sinks, tubs or showers draining slowly, even after plunging
- Gurgling from a toilet or floor drain when another fixture runs
- Sewage odour downstairs, strongest around the floor drain
- Water around the basement floor drain when the washing machine empties
- Several fixtures backing up at once, which usually means the main line, not a branch
Signs you need drain cleaning
- Water backs up in the tub when the toilet flushes
- Gurgling from a sink after the washer drains
- Floor drain damp, or giving off a sewer smell
- The same drain needs plunging every few weeks
- Slow drains on more than one fixture
What’s usually causing it
Kitchen lines clog with grease and food solids that cool and harden on the pipe wall. Bathroom drains clog with hair and soap. Those are local problems, and a cable through the fixture drain usually clears them.
Main-line clogs are different. Many Toronto homes still have their original clay or cast iron drains running under the basement floor and out to the street. Clay pipe joints let in roots from the city’s mature street trees, and old cast iron scales up inside, narrowing the pipe until it catches everything that passes. If the basement floor drain is the first thing to back up, the problem is almost always in this main line.
How we clear drains
Cabling
A motorized cable with a cutting head breaks up the clog and cuts roots. It’s quick, it works on most blockages, and it’s where we start.
Hydro jetting
A high-pressure water jet strips grease, scale and fine roots from the whole inside of the pipe instead of punching a hole through the middle of the clog. We recommend it for lines that keep clogging and for kitchen lines in older homes.
Camera inspection
If a main line has backed up more than once, we put a camera through it after clearing it. You see what we see: roots, a sag, a cracked section or a broken joint. That turns a guess into a plan, whether that’s yearly maintenance or a sewer line repair.
Keeping drains clear
- Scrape and blot greasy pans before they go in the sink, and never pour fat down it.
- Use a hair catcher in showers and tubs.
- Only toilet paper goes in the toilet. “Flushable” wipes don’t break down the way paper does.
- If roots are a known problem, book cleaning before they block the line, not after.
On the job, step by step
- 1Pull the trap or cleanout
Bucket under it, cap or trap off, standing water bailed first.
- 2Run the right cable
Small drum for sinks and tubs, sectional machine for the stack and lateral.
- 3Camera the line
Push camera fed in after the cable to read joints, roots and belly.
- 4Flush and show you
Hot water run at full flow, footage played back, trap reset with new washers.
Questions we get about drain cleaning
Are chemical drain cleaners safe for my pipes?
We don’t recommend them. They rarely clear a solid clog, they can damage old pipes, and the next person to open that drain gets splashed with caustic chemicals. A plunger or a phone call is safer.
What makes the floor drain downstairs overflow in a storm?
In heavy rain the sewers can fill, and water pushes back toward the lowest drain in the house. That isn’t a clog. A backwater valve is designed to stop it.
How often should a main drain with roots be cleaned?
It depends on how fast the roots grow back. Many homes do well with a yearly cleaning; a camera inspection shows whether a permanent repair makes more sense.
Drain backing up? Call now.
A plumber answers day and night, and the call-out rate is quoted before anyone drives over.