Main Sewer Line Cleaning in Philadelphia

Main sewer line cleaning clears the single pipe that carries every drop of wastewater out of your home. In most Philadelphia homes that line runs from the cast iron stack in the basement, through the house trap near the front wall, and out under the sidewalk as a lateral to the city main under the street. When that pipe clogs, nothing in the house can drain. Toilets back up into tubs, the washing machine pushes water out of the basement floor drain, and the smell of sewage fills the basement.

A clogged sewer line is not a problem a plunger or store bought cleaner can fix. The blockage is usually 10 to 80 feet away and made of roots, grease, wipes, scale or a combination of all four. Fullerton Plumbing and Drain Cleaning carries heavy sectional cable machines with root cutting blades, hydro jetters for grease and sludge, and sewer cameras on every drain truck. We open the line first so your house works again, then we find out why it clogged so it does not happen again next month.

We handle main line drain cleaning for rowhomes, twins, singles, apartment buildings and commercial properties across Philadelphia and Bucks, Montgomery, Delaware and Chester counties. Fullerton is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, including nights, weekends and holidays, because a main sewer line clog rarely waits for a convenient time. You get an upfront quote before any work starts, a live camera view of your pipe when we inspect it, and a clean basement when we leave.

Why Main Sewer Lines Clog in Philadelphia Homes

Philadelphia is a city of brick rowhomes built from the late 1800s through the 1950s, and most of them still drain through the original pipes. Inside, the stack is cast iron. Outside, the lateral under the sidewalk is often terra cotta clay or cast iron. Clay pipe comes in short sections with joints every few feet, and those joints loosen over decades. Street tree roots from London planes, maples and oaks find the moisture and grow right in. Many older homes also have a U shaped house trap on the main drain near the front basement wall. That trap is a natural catch point for wipes, grease and paper, and it is the first place we check when a South Philly, Fishtown or West Philly basement starts backing up.

In Philadelphia, the property owner is generally responsible for the sewer lateral from the house all the way out to the city main under the street. The Philadelphia Water Department maintains the main itself, not your house connection. That means a clogged lateral under the sidewalk is your line to clear. Northeast Philadelphia rowhomes and twins from the 1950s and 1960s have their own patterns, including cast iron that has scaled inside and Orangeburg pipe in some mid century homes. In the suburbs, mature trees on the Main Line and in Delaware County towns cause many of the same root clogs.

What Affects the Cost of Main Sewer Line Cleaning

The cost of main sewer line cleaning depends on what is clogging the line, how far out the blockage sits and how easy it is to reach. A clear house trap cleanout in the basement is faster than pulling a toilet or working through a roof vent. Heavy root masses take more time and different cutting heads than a simple wipes clog. Night, weekend and holiday calls, adding a camera inspection, or following up with hydro jetting all change the scope. We look at your setup and give you an upfront quote before any work starts.