Main Floor Drain & Main Line Cleaning in Toronto

Signs you need main drain cleaning

• Dirty water rises at the basement floor drain each time someone flushes upstairs
• Two or three fixtures go slow together
• The basement toilet or shower gurgles when the washing machine drains
• A new sewage odour around the floor drain

A single sluggish sink usually means a clogged branch. When several drains slow down together, and the lowest ones suffer first, look at the main.

What causes it in older Toronto homes

A large share of Toronto houses built before the 1950s still drain through century-old clay tile or cast-iron laterals. Joints in clay let tree roots in; cast iron scales and tuberculates on the inside until the bore shrinks. Many basements also have an old interior trap, sometimes called a running trap, just inside the front wall, which collects debris. Wipes, paper towel and grease from years of use pile up at these points. Where a lateral has sagged under a driveway, water sits in the low spot and solids settle there.

What we do on site, in order

1. We find the best access: a cleanout on the stack, the running trap, or, if necessary, a pulled toilet.
2. We run a heavy sectional cable machine toward the street, starting with a spear head and moving to a wider cutter once the line is open.
3. We flush the line hard with water from upstairs to prove it carries flow.
4. Where roots or a recurring clog are involved, we push a sewer camera down the line and show you the cause on the monitor.
5. We clean the floor drain grate and disinfect the area we worked in.

What affects the price

We quote before we start. Access matters most: a clean, reachable cleanout is quicker than pulling a toilet. Root-packed laterals take longer than soft clogs, and a run under a long front yard takes more cable. Should the footage reveal a broken or collapsed pipe, we explain the repair choices and give a separate price for them.

When to call right away

Call as soon as you see water rising out of a floor drain. Sewage on a basement floor is a health hazard, and finished basements soak it up fast. If it is raining hard at the time, read our guide on sewer backup vs groundwater too.

The job, in four moves

1. 1
   Pull the trap or cleanout

   Bucket under it, cap or trap off, standing water bailed first.

2. 2
   Run the right cable

   Small drum for sinks and tubs, sectional machine for the stack and lateral.

3. 3
   Camera the line

   Push camera fed in after the cable to read joints, roots and belly.

4. 4
   Flush and show you

   Hot water run at full flow, footage played back, trap reset with new washers.

Common questions