Drain Cleaning for Blocked and Slow Drains
A slow drain is usually the first sign that something is building up inside the pipe — grease, soap residue, hair, food waste, or tree roots. Drain cleaning clears the immediate blockage, but the useful part is figuring out why it happened so it does not come back in three weeks. We clean drains in homes, strata buildings, and commercial properties across Metro Vancouver and use a camera to confirm the line is actually clear before we leave.
Signs a drain needs professional cleaning
Most blockages do not happen suddenly. They build up over weeks or months until the pipe can no longer move water at all.
- Water draining noticeably slower than it used to
- Gurgling sounds from sinks, tubs, or floor drains
- Sewer or rotten egg odours coming from a drain
- Multiple fixtures backing up at the same time
- Water rising in a floor drain when a toilet is flushed elsewhere in the building
How we clear a blocked drain
The method depends on what is in the pipe and how far in the blockage sits. A cable machine (drain snake) works well for soft blockages near the fixture — hair, grease, and food. For scale, grease build-up along a longer pipe, or root intrusion, high-pressure water jetting does a more thorough job because it cleans the pipe wall rather than just punching a hole through the blockage.
If a drain keeps blocking, we run a camera through the line afterwards. Repeated blockages in the same spot usually mean a collapsed pipe, a bellied section, or root entry through a crack — none of which are solved by snaking the drain again.
Drain cleaning vs. drain repair
Cleaning is the right call when the pipe is structurally sound and the problem is a build-up of material. If the camera shows a crack, a sag, root intrusion through a joint, or a collapsed section, cleaning will give you a few weeks or months of relief but the problem returns. In that case the honest answer is a repair or replacement, and we will show you the footage and explain the options before recommending anything.
Preventing repeat blockages
For kitchen lines, the main culprit is grease and food put through a garbage disposal. For bathroom lines, it is hair and soap scum combined with older galvanized or cast iron pipe that has roughened inside. For exterior lines, roots entering through joints are the most common cause. We can advise on maintenance cleaning intervals and, where roots are the issue, discuss a root-cutting schedule or a longer-term fix.
Drain Cleaning — common questions
Request Drainage Service
Tell us what is happening and where. We will call you back the same business day to discuss the problem and arrange an inspection if needed.