The kitchen sink
Cooking fat sets as it cools in the pipe under a kitchen sink, and scraps and coffee grounds stick to it until water backs up into the basin. The plumber you hire opens the line and gets the sink draining.
Drain Cleaning in Minneapolis
Standing water in the tub after a shower, a kitchen sink that gurgles and empties at a crawl, a basement floor drain pushing water back up. Each of these means something is lodged in the pipe, and a call to us connects you with a plumber who clears it.
This page goes drain by drain, then covers what the city checks on its side, where your cleanout is and a sewer smell in the basement.
Which drain is blocked
Bathroom sinks, tubs and showers
Bathroom drains slow down as hair knots together with soap scum in the trap and the pipe just past it. Pulling that knot free lets a basin or tub empty the way it should again.
Basement floor drains and laundry
A basement floor drain that overflows on laundry day may not be blocked itself. The water from the washer can be stopping at a plug further out, in the main line.
The main line out of the house
A toilet bubbling while the tub drains, or every fixture on the lowest floor backing up at once, puts the blockage below the branch lines. The plumber works from a cleanout to clear the main line or the lateral beyond it.
When the city checks its side
If a drain backs up, Minneapolis Sewer Operations sends a crew to look at no charge. When the blockage is in the city-owned sewer, city crews clear it; when it is in your private lateral, the city says you may need a professional drain cleaning service.
The city names roots that have grown into a cracked or broken lateral as the leading cause of backups. The lateral from your house to the city main is yours to keep clear, and the sewer line page explains how far it runs.
Finding your sewer cleanout
A cleanout is a capped pipe that gives access to the sewer lateral so blockages can be cleaned out. The city says it should be in the basement or the front yard, possibly behind bushes close to the outside walls.
In Minneapolis the cleanout belongs to the property owner and the city cannot put one in. If you cannot find yours, the city suggests calling a plumber to locate it or install one.
A sewer smell in the basement
The city traces a sewer gas smell in a basement, ahead of any other cause, to floor drains that are not kept up. Its advice is to pour a bucket of water down each floor drain now and then and to use fixtures regularly so water stays in their traps.
Roots or a cracked pipe can bring the same clog back, a problem the sewer line page deals with; running toilets come under fixture repair, and the home page shows what else we take calls for.
Call for a free plumbing estimate
Call us to discuss your current issue and how we can assist you. The call is free and you get a free, personalized estimate with no obligation. We're here to help.
Call (855) 321-3426