If your sink is gurgling, the basement floor drain is backing up, or the toilet flushes slow and the shower drains slower, call. I clear kitchen, bathroom, floor, and main-line drains across St. Charles, Campton Hills, Geneva, Wasco, Lily Lake, and the rest of Kane County. Flat price in writing before any work. And I’ll tell you what caused it, so you’re not back here in six months.
What I clear
- Kitchen sink lines. Almost always grease and food. Common spot is the trap and the first ten feet of two-inch drain after the wall. Disposal-side and non-disposal-side need different approaches.
- Bathroom sink and tub lines. Hair and soap scum, ninety percent of the time. The trap arm or the tee at the stack catches it.
- Toilet drains. A flushing problem is sometimes a clog, sometimes a vent, sometimes the wax ring. Different fixes, different calls.
- Floor drains and laundry standpipes. Lint, hair, sediment, and in older homes the lateral they tie into is sometimes the actual problem.
- Main sewer lines. Tree roots, grease accumulation, scale buildup in older cast iron, occasionally a wipe or a kid’s toy. The clear is the same; the diagnosis is what matters.
Cable rodding versus hydro jetting
Most drain calls in Kane County get fixed with a cable. The exceptions are worth knowing.
Cable rodding uses a steel cable with a cutter or auger head to cut a hole through whatever’s blocking the line. It’s fast, it’s the right tool for hair and paper and soft blockages, and it’s what your kitchen line probably needs. The downside: it punches through the clog without scrubbing the pipe wall, so grease and scale grow back fast.
Hydro jetting runs water through the line at high pressure with a spinning nozzle, scouring the pipe wall back to bare pipe. It’s the right call for:
- Recurring kitchen-line clogs (grease that keeps coming back)
- Cast iron mains with scale buildup
- Tree-root mats in clay tile laterals
- Restaurant or rental properties that see heavy load
Jetting costs more than rodding because the equipment is more expensive and the job takes longer. For a one-off hair clog in a bathroom sink, it’s overkill. For a kitchen line that’s been slow for years, it’s the only thing that holds.
What it costs
Pricing depends on the line, the access, and whether it’s a cable job or a jetting job. A bathroom sink with a cleanout under the trap is a different call than a main line through a roof vent. Every job gets a flat price in writing on the site visit, and that price is the price.
If I rod or jet your line and it’s still backed up when I leave, the call is on me. The exception is a collapsed line or a structural issue that turns out to need a repair, not a clearing — in that case the camera earns its keep and we talk about next steps.
Fastest way to get a quote is to call me at 630-310-4736.
When a clogged drain isn’t really a drain problem
Some calls come in as “my drain is slow” and end up being something else.
- Recurring main-line backups every six to twelve months mean the line has a structural issue — root intrusion, a belly that holds water and catches debris, an offset joint, a partial collapse. Clearing it again gets you another six months. A camera inspection tells you what you’re actually dealing with.
- Multiple drains slow at once means the problem is downstream of all of them — the main line or the city tap.
- Sewer smell with a slow drain can be a venting problem (a dry trap, a blocked roof vent), not a clog. Different fix.
- Slow toilet plus gurgling shower means the air can’t move freely in the drain stack, often a vent issue.
I’ll tell you on the site visit which one you’ve got.
Drains in Kane County
Pre-1980 homes in Geneva, St. Charles, Batavia, and Aurora often still have cast iron drains. Once you’ve got a recurring clog in cast iron, jetting it back to bare pipe is what holds. Tree-root intrusion into clay tile laterals is the most common main-line problem west of the Fox River. Septic systems are a different conversation — call before you book.
If you’re not sure whether you need a drain call or a sewer line conversation, call. I’ll tell you on the phone in five minutes.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
- My drain is slow but water still goes down. Is that actually a problem?
- Yes. A slow drain means buildup is most of the way around the inside of the pipe. The longer it runs, the more it grabs. Catching it now is a 30-minute call. Catching it after a full backup is a Saturday-night emergency with the laundry on hold and the kitchen out of service.
- What's the difference between rodding and hydro jetting?
- Rodding cuts a hole through the clog with a steel cable. It's fast, cheap, and right for hair, paper, and soft blockages. Hydro jetting blasts water through the line under high pressure and scours the pipe walls clean. It's the right call for grease, scale, and root mat — the soft mass a cable would just punch through and leave behind.
- Why doesn't store-bought drain cleaner work?
- It dissolves the soft top of the clog and sits on the rest. Worse, the lye in most chemical cleaners pits cast iron pipe walls — and a lot of pre-1980 Kane County homes still have cast iron drains. The pitting gives the next clog something to grab onto. You're trading a 30-minute call now for a bigger one later.
- How do I know if it's just a drain or my main sewer line?
- If multiple drains are slow at the same time, it's the main line. If the toilet gurgles when the kitchen sink runs, it's the main line. If a single fixture is slow and everything else flows, it's local. The main-line call usually means a camera inspection is the right next step.
- How long does drain cleaning take?
- Most fixture drains: 30 to 90 minutes start to finish. A full main-line clear runs longer if I have to pull a toilet or work through a roof vent. I'll tell you the time on the phone before I come out.
- How often should I have my main line cleared?
- If you've got mature trees within fifteen feet of the line — common across older Geneva, St. Charles, and Batavia neighborhoods — every twelve to eighteen months as preventive. Otherwise, when symptoms show up. A camera inspection once tells you which camp you're in.
- Do you guarantee the work?
- If I rod or jet your line and it's still backed up when I leave, the call is on me. The exception is a collapsed line or a problem that turns out to need a repair, not a clearing — in that case the camera inspection earns its keep and we talk about next steps.