Drain cleaning clears a blocked kitchen, bathroom, laundry or main sewer line and gets water moving the way it should. On a service call we find the actual cause — grease, hair, roots, scale, or a broken pipe — not just punch a hole through the clog and leave.
How do I know if it's a drain or the main line?
If one fixture is slow — a single sink or tub — the clog is usually local to that line. If several fixtures back up together, or water comes up in the lowest drain in the house (often a floor drain or basement laundry tub) when you run the washing machine or flush a toilet, that points to the main sewer line. That distinction changes both the tool and the approach, so tell us what you're seeing when you call.
When do you actually need drain cleaning?
- A sink, tub or shower draining slower each day until it stops
- A kitchen line that backs up when the dishwasher or disposal runs
- Gurgling from a drain when another fixture is used
- Sewer smell in the yard, a soggy patch of lawn, or a manhole-style cleanout backing up
- Recurring clogs in the same spot every few months — a sign of a partial blockage, not a one-time event
- A laundry line that floods the utility sink mid-cycle
Slow drains rarely fix themselves. They get worse, usually on a weekend, which is when they turn into an emergency plumbing call instead of a scheduled one.
How does the visit go?
We start by asking what's backing up and when, then run a camera or cable from the nearest cleanout to find the blockage before deciding how to clear it. Kitchen and bath lines are usually cabled from a fixture or cleanout. A main line that's rooted or scaled with age often needs hydro-jetting to actually clear the pipe wall, not just open a channel through the debris. If we find a belly in the line, a collapsed section of clay pipe, or a break, we'll show you on camera and talk through repair options before doing anything more than the day's clog.
What affects the cost
- Where the clog is and how far the equipment has to travel — a kitchen line is a different job than 60 feet of main sewer
- Cabling versus hydro-jetting, and whether a camera inspection is needed to locate the problem
- Pipe material and condition — clay, cast iron and old Orangeburg pipe behave differently than modern PVC
- Root intrusion severity, and whether it's a repeat visit to the same section of line
- Access — a cleanout in the yard is straightforward; no cleanout at all means more time to set up
We don't price a job over the phone with a guess. We look at what's actually going on and quote it from there.
What's different about Portland drains
A lot of Portland's housing stock — inner Southeast, North Portland, parts of Beaverton and Hillsboro's older neighborhoods — still runs on clay or cast iron sewer laterals from the 1920s through the 1960s. Those pipe joints are exactly where tree roots get in, and Portland has a lot of mature trees close to the sewer line: Douglas fir, maple, sweetgum, all with root systems that go looking for moisture. Combine that with our long wet season and roots grow into pipe joints nearly year-round, not just in summer like drier climates.
We also see a seasonal pattern: main line backups cluster in the fall and winter when heavy rain saturates the ground and pushes water into already-compromised pipe, and grease-related kitchen clogs spike after the holidays. If your line has backed up once during a big rain, it's worth having it looked at before the next one, not after.
Why call Sheltons Construction
We're a licensed Oregon plumbing contractor working the Portland metro, and clearing the drain is only half the job — we tell you why it happened, whether it's likely to come back, and what it would take to stop it for good, whether that's root treatment, a spot repair, or leaving it alone because it's fine for now. If a slow drain turns out to be tied to an aging water heater or a fixture past its life, we'll say so rather than send someone else out separately — see our water heater repair & installation and tankless water heaters pages if that's part of what's going on.
What to do now
If a drain is slow, gurgling, or backing up, don't wait for it to stop completely. Call and describe what you're seeing — which fixture, how often, whether other drains are affected — and we'll tell you what it sounds like and get a time on the books. For anything actively overflowing, see emergency plumbing. You can also check our FAQ or contact us directly.
We clear drains throughout the Portland metro, including Portland, Beaverton and Hillsboro.
FAQ
Is cabling or hydro-jetting better for my drain? Cabling opens a channel through a clog quickly and works well for hair, grease and minor root growth. Hydro-jetting scours the full pipe wall with high-pressure water, which clears heavier root intrusion and buildup and tends to hold longer. We recommend based on what the camera shows, not by default.
Do I need a camera inspection every time? No. A first-time, simple clog often doesn't need one. A recurring clog, an older home with clay or cast iron sewer line, or symptoms pointing to the main line are cases where a camera saves you from guessing.
Can tree roots really break a sewer line? Roots don't break sound pipe outright, but they exploit existing cracks and loose joints, and over years the pressure they exert widens gaps and can eventually collapse older clay pipe. Regular clearing slows this down; it doesn't stop it if the pipe itself is failing.
How often should a main line be cleaned if I've had root problems before? It depends on the pipe material and how bad the roots are, but many Portland homes with a known root issue in clay or cast iron pipe are on an annual or every-other-year cleaning schedule to stay ahead of backups.
Will drain cleaning fix a bad smell in my yard? Sometimes — if it's a partial blockage venting sewer gas. But a soggy yard or persistent smell can also mean a break in the line, which cleaning alone won't fix. Worth a camera look.