Drain Cleaning & Clogs in Charleston, IL
A slow drain is annoying. A main sewer line clog is a much bigger problem, and it shows up more often in Charleston's older rental housing near campus. Here's how to tell which one you're dealing with before you reach for a bottle of drain cleaner.
Is it just one drain, or something bigger?
A single slow drain is usually a local clog, hair, soap, grease, or food buildup in one fixture. Only one sink, tub, or shower is affected while everything else drains normally.
- Only one fixture is slow or blocked
- Water eventually drains, just slowly
- No unusual smell or gurgling elsewhere in the house
Possible signs of a bigger problem (main sewer line)
- More than one drain is slow or backed up at the same time
- You hear gurgling in one fixture when you use a different one, like the toilet gurgling when the washing machine drains
- Water or sewage comes up through a floor drain or the lowest drain in the house
- A persistent sewage smell near drains or in the yard
- Standing water or unusually soggy, green patches in the yard above where a sewer line runs
What to do
- If it's one fixture with mild slow drainage, it's usually safe to wait for a scheduled visit
- If two or more of the main line signs above sound familiar, stop using water in the house where possible and call us
- Skip the chemical drain cleaner if you suspect a main line issue, it won't clear it and can damage older pipes
Not sure which one you're dealing with? Tell us what you're seeing on the contact form and we'll help you figure out what's actually going on before we ever show up.