Las Vegas and Clark County
Clogged Drain Repair in Las Vegas
Every clogged drain has a story, and the fixture tells most of it. A kitchen sink blocks for different reasons than a shower, and the fix is different too.
Talk to a plumber
Describe the symptom and where you are in the valley. We will tell you what it usually means and what it takes to fix before anyone comes out.
Call Now (725) 257-2386Serving Las Vegas and Clark County.
Worth having ready
- Which fixtures are affected, and whether anything else behaves differently
- When it started, and whether it is getting worse
- Roughly how old the house is, which narrows the likely pipe material
A clogged drain is cleared at the nearest sensible access point, then the cause is identified so the same fixture does not block again next quarter. Kitchen lines block on grease, bathroom lines on hair and soap, and laundry lines on lint and detergent residue.
Symptoms
Where it blocked and why
- Kitchen sink draining slowly, normally grease and food solids
- Bathroom basin backing up, normally hair, soap and toothpaste
- Shower or tub standing, almost always hair at the trap
- Laundry drain overflowing on a spin cycle, lint and volume
- Toilet blocking repeatedly, sometimes an object rather than waste
- Two fixtures in one room affected together, which moves the cause downstream
Scope
What a clogged drain call covers
What is included
- Clearing the blockage at the appropriate access point
- Removing and cleaning a trap where that is the fault
- Checking the fixtures around it to confirm the line is clear
- Identifying whether the cause is local or further down
- Advice specific to that fixture on stopping the repeat
What is not included
- Main sewer line faults, which are handled as sewer work
- Replacing damaged fixtures, quoted separately
- Retrieving valuables from a trap, which we will attempt but cannot promise
Process
How a blockage is cleared
Confirm how far it reaches
Run the fixtures nearby. If they are unaffected, the blockage is local and the job is short.
Start at the trap
On basins, tubs and showers the trap is the most common location and the cheapest place to find it.
Move down the branch
If the trap is clear, the blockage is further along the branch line and needs cabling from the right access.
Test properly
A full basin of water emptied at once, not a running tap. Partial clearances pass the tap test and fail the next real use.
Explain the cause
What blocked it, and the one habit that would stop it recurring for that particular fixture.
Kitchen drains: grease, not food
Grease goes down warm and liquid, then cools and coats the inside of the line. Food solids catch on that coating. Which means the blockage you are looking at is usually months of grease plus one meal that finally bridged it.
The practical advice is unglamorous and it works: let fats cool and bin them rather than rinsing them, and run the disposal with cold water so fats stay solid and get carried out instead of melting onto the pipe wall.
Bathrooms: hair and soap build a mat
Hair on its own passes. Hair combined with soap scum forms a mat that catches at the trap or the strainer and then collects everything else. Hard water makes this worse, because soap reacts with the calcium and magnesium in 17 grain water to form a sticky scum that rinses poorly.
It is one of the few plumbing problems a three dollar strainer genuinely prevents.
When one fixture is really two
If a basin and a tub in the same bathroom both slow down, the blockage is not in either of them. It is in the branch line they share, and clearing each fixture separately will not touch it.
That distinction is worth making on the phone, because it changes the access point and the length of the visit.
On pricing: we have not published price ranges on this site, because a range we cannot stand behind is worse than no range. Scope and price go in writing before any work starts.
Straight answers
Fair questions about this work
Can I plunge it myself?
On a toilet or a basin, often yes, and it is worth trying first. If it clears and returns within a week, the blockage was never fully removed.
Will you need to pull the toilet?
Only if there is no better access or the blockage is an object at the trap. It is not the first approach.
Why did it come back?
Usually because the original clearance bored a hole rather than removing the buildup. That is a jetting conversation rather than another cabling.
Coverage
Clogged Drain Repair across the valley
We cover clogged drain repair throughout the Las Vegas Valley and Clark County.
Las Vegas
Downtown, the Arts District and the historic central valley, where galvanised supply still turns up.
Plumbing in Las VegasNorth Las Vegas
Aliante and Eldorado newer builds against a wartime era core with very different plumbing.
Plumbing in North Las VegasHenderson
Green Valley, Anthem and Inspirada, plus the original townsite with very different needs.
Plumbing in HendersonBoulder City
The oldest housing in Southern Nevada, built for Hoover Dam workers in the early 1930s.
Plumbing in Boulder CityParadise
The Strip corridor, UNLV and Paradise Palms. Dense, mixed use and mid century in parts.
Plumbing in ParadiseSpring Valley
Chinatown corridor, Peccole Ranch and Rhodes Ranch. 1980s to 2000s, and lots of restaurants.
Plumbing in Spring ValleyFAQ
Clogged Drain Repair questions
Why does my kitchen sink keep clogging?
Grease coating the inside of the line, with food solids catching on it. Clearing the blockage without removing the coating leaves the line ready to block again.
What causes shower drains to clog?
Hair bound together by soap scum. Hard Las Vegas water makes soap scum worse, because soap reacts with the calcium and magnesium in the supply.
Should I use a plunger first?
On a toilet or basin it is reasonable to try. If the blockage clears and comes back quickly, it was not fully removed.
Two fixtures in one bathroom are slow. What does that mean?
The blockage is in the shared branch line rather than at either fixture, so both need clearing from a common access point.
Related
Related services and guides
Drain Cleaning
Cabling and hydro jetting, with a camera when the line keeps coming back.
Drain Cleaning detailsGarbage Disposal Repair
Humming, jammed, leaking or dead. Three of those are usually fixable.
More on garbage disposal repairToilet Repair
Running, weak flushing, rocking or leaking at the base, each a different fault.
Toilet Repair in Las VegasSewer Line Services
Camera inspection, sewer repair and replacement, including trenchless where it fits.
See sewer line servicesNeed clogged drain repair in the valley?
Describe the symptom and we will tell you what it usually means and what it takes to fix.