Sewer Cleaning & Drain Cleaning FAQ
The Balkan Sewer and Drain Cleaning FAQ provides answers to your frequently asked drain cleaning and sewer cleaning questions. For questions not answered here or more information, call (718) 641-1222. One of our sewer and drain cleaning representatives is standing by to answer your questions and provide you with industry leading sewer and drain cleaning. Our parent company, Balkan Plumbing has been maintaining the subsurface utilities in New York City for over 60 years.
How quickly should I expect drain cleaning service for a clog?
A reputable drain cleaning company should be able to provide an accurate response time to within a half an hour. If delays occur, advanced notice provided to the client is the industry norm. Most service should be able to be provided in one to two hours. This accounts for travel time as well. You would always verify that you are in the drain company’s service area.
What should I expect to pay for sewer and water main cleaning?
You should expect to pay what you were quoted with any changes mutually approved. Unless some obvious and unforeseen condition exists, the price should remain intact. If addition equipment is needed, or the reported condition changes, it may be reasonable to expect a change in the quoted price. If you hear the technician saying things such as “I need the big machine”, or “It is further out than what I thought”, it may be one of those times.
How do I deal with tree roots in a drain line?
Once completely blocked by roots a drain cleaning machine can frequently open the pipe up on a temporary basis. Future cleanings will be needed, and a possible sewer repair or replacement may be inevitable. Once roots are present, it is almost impossible for a sewer cleaning machine to cut them all out, or for the roots to not grow in again.
Can I prevent clogged drain lines?
Placing a strainer on bathtub and shower drains is also a good idea. Catching hair and other objects before they go down your drain will prevent the need for frequent drain cleaning.
What is water jetting?
Water jetting is ideal for removing grease stoppages from inside a drain pipe. Using a traditional drain cleaning machine typically serves no purpose in dealing with a grease stoppage. A sewer cleaning machine blade will spin around inside the grease stoppage but have no effect in removing it. This is also the case when sediment or debris is inside a drain pipe. In these two particular cases, a water jet can be advisable. In many other cases, it is an added drain cleaning expense that provides no additional benefit.
When should I repair or replace a drain or sewer line?
Other conditions make the decision to repair or replace a sewer pipe much more difficult. One of the factors is strictly personal. Some people only have to live through one or two clogs to decide to replace the sewer line. Other people will suffer through years of stoppages, and thousands of dollars in drain cleaning bills, before they agree to do repair work.
It is fair to say that if a skilled drain technician needs to spend many hours to clear out a stoppage, that means something is structurally wrong with the drain line. In those cases, a video camera inspection can go a long way in determining your next appropriate step.
What brands of sewer and drain cleaning solutions do you use?
Spartan Tool prides itself on producing innovative products that solve the problems of the drain cleaning market, with a focus on safe operation, customer service, and equipment that pays back tremendous dividends over years–even decades–of operation. Assembled at our manufacturing plant in Mishawaka, Indiana, Spartan’s USA-built products are engineered for extraordinary durability, reliability, and ease of use.
For chemical drain cleaning, we often employ the Root-X family of products. Balkan uses the RootX system due to its proven ability to kill pipeline roots. This is a non-systemic, so RootX will only kill the roots it comes in contact with and not harm your above-ground landscaping or vegetation. The RootX system is non-caustic and non-fumigating, and it has no adverse effects on the sewer pipes it is used on.
The patented RootX formula uses the aquatic herbicide Dichlobenil. It’s non-caustic, non-fumigating and non-systemic, and it contains no diquat bromide, copper sulfate or metam sodium. RootX is only sold to professional drain cleaners, municipal contractors and municipal maintenance departments.