Why a cleared drain clogs again, and how we stop it
A cable pushed through a clog opens a narrow path and leaves most of the grease, soap, hair, sand or roots stuck to the inside of the pipe. The drain works for a few weeks, then the path closes. That is why the camera goes in before any tool. Soft material such as hair or soap gets a sectional cable. Grease, hard water scale, packed sand and roots call for the jetter. A pipe that has cracked or sagged needs a repair, since cleaning cannot fix a break.
The jetter forces water through a nozzle at high pressure, scouring every side of the pipe, trimming roots where they push in at the joints and flushing the debris down toward the main. It does no harm to sound copper, PVC, ABS or cast iron. Newport Beach gives it plenty of work. Sand from beach days washes into outdoor showers, floor drains and laundry lines on the Peninsula, on Balboa Island and in West Newport, and older houses in Corona del Mar and Newport Heights can still drain through cast iron or clay that roots find at the joints. The camera tells us how hard an old line can be jetted.
The public sewer main belongs to the city, or to the district that serves your street. The private lateral running from your house to that main is the owner's to maintain, and that is the pipe we clean, inspect and repair. In condos and townhomes, a shared drain stack may be partly the HOA's, so we talk with the association before working on pipe that serves other units. Inside, we clear every drain in the home: sinks, tubs, showers, the laundry standpipe, floor drains and outdoor showers. Before we pack up, the camera runs through again so you can compare the clean line with the blocked one.
Reasons Newport Beach calls us for drains
- C-36 Plumbing work under CSLB license #1131308
- 24-hour emergency response when a main line backs up
- The price in writing, approved by you first
- Every job backed by a written workmanship warranty
Signs a drain needs more than a plunger
- Two or more drains running slow at once
- Gurgling from a toilet when a sink or shower drains
- A sink that clogs again soon after being cleared
- Sewer odor inside, or near the cleanout by the house
- Water backing into the tub while the washer empties
- An outdoor shower or floor drain that holds sandy water
Look with a camera
Before any cleaning, a camera travels the line and you see on a monitor what is blocking it and what shape the pipe is in.
Pick the tool
A cable handles hair and soft clogs. Sand, grease, scale and roots get the jetter.
Check it again
The camera goes back in, and you see clean pipe wall from end to end rather than a narrow opening.
Keep it flowing
We leave you a few habits that keep the line clear, such as brushing sand off feet and beach gear before the outdoor shower, and for restaurant kitchens or root-prone laterals, a suggested jetting schedule.
How we clear drains in Newport Beach
We are based in Newport Beach and clean drains all over Orange County. A drain that is only partly cleared usually backs up again, which is why each job follows the same four rules.
Footage you get to see
You see the blockage on video, then the same pipe after cleaning, and judge the result with your own eyes.
The whole pipe wall, jetted
The nozzle scours every side of the pipe, so the line is left clean instead of carrying a narrow tunnel through the mess.
Nothing caustic in your pipes
Jetting uses only water. For upkeep we suggest an enzyme product, not the caustic openers sold in stores, which wear down old cast iron.
Bad news before another bill
If the line is broken or has a low belly, the footage shows it, and you hear about it before paying for one more cleaning that would not last.
Why drain jobs are priced one at a time
Getting to the clog is the first question. Sink traps and cleanouts beside the house are simple to open. When there is no cleanout on the lateral, we go in through a pulled toilet or a roof vent instead, which adds setup. In condos and townhomes on a shared stack, the blockage may sit in pipe that serves several units, and the HOA may have to approve the work.
Next come the line and the method. Running a cable through one sink is lighter work than jetting the full length of a lateral. Sand packed into a floor drain, or roots in an old cast iron or clay line in Corona del Mar or Newport Heights, may need a camera look first, and finding the trouble on a long run takes time too. If the camera finds a broken section, the repair is a separate job, and replacing a sewer lateral needs a City of Newport Beach permit.
After the camera look, the price is written down for you, and the work waits for your yes.
Drain calls around Orange County
We are based in Newport Beach. Elsewhere in the county, the nearest of our 10 locations sends the plumber who clears the drain.
Newport Beach neighborhoods
Sandy outdoor showers on Balboa Island and the Peninsula, root-filled laterals in Corona del Mar, and shared condo stacks from Eastbluff to Newport Coast.
Laguna Beach, Laguna Woods and Aliso Viejo
Long downhill laterals in Laguna Beach, shared stacks in Laguna Woods Village, and condo lines in Aliso Viejo and Laguna Hills, cleared by a plumber from the nearest of our locations.
Fountain Valley, Huntington Beach and Santa Ana
Slab-built tract homes in Fountain Valley and Huntington Beach and older Santa Ana and Tustin neighborhoods, with a plumber from the nearest of our locations.
Other parts of Orange County
Irvine, Costa Mesa, Orange, Laguna Niguel and Mission Viejo are among the locations that take drain calls in the rest of the county.
Straight talk about drains
Jetting does no harm to a pipe whose wall is intact. The risk is a line that is already falling apart, so the camera always goes in ahead of the water. Cast iron worn thin, or a clay joint that has pulled apart, goes on the repair list instead.
A snake drives a cutter through the stoppage and gets water draining. A jetter scrubs the line from end to end. Lines that were only snaked tend to clog again at the same spot, while a jetted line usually stays open much longer.
Copper, PVC, ABS and sound cast iron are jetted routinely. Clay laterals under older Corona del Mar and Newport Heights homes get a camera inspection and a lower pressure, or a repair when the joints have failed.
Drain jobs vary: which line is blocked, how easy it is to reach, whether it needs jetting and how long the trouble takes to find. After the camera look, you get one written price to accept or turn down before any work.
Most homes never need jetting on a schedule. A restaurant kitchen near the harbor, a building whose stack keeps backing up, or a beach house where sand reaches the lines every summer is another story, and jetting it once or twice a year on a plan keeps the buildup from coming back.
24/7 Emergency Plumbing
A person answers at any hour for leaks, floods and backups.
Water Heater Repair & Install
Tank heaters repaired or replaced with straps and a permit.
Sewer Repair & Repipe
Broken or root-filled laterals lined or replaced.
Gas Leak Detection & Repair
Gas leaks traced, repaired and pressure tested.
Call us about a backed-up drain
We are based in Newport Beach and answer around the clock, and sewage backing up in any Orange County home or business gets our 24-hour emergency response.