Drain & Sewer Services
in the Capital Region, NY

Drain cleaning clears a blockage, such as grease, hair, roots or wipes, so water flows again. Sewer line repair fixes the pipe itself when it is cracked, collapsed, offset or root-damaged. If a line backs up again after it has been cleaned, a camera shows which one you have. See drain cleaning and sewer line repair.

It depends on the job. A single fixture clog, a main-line backup, a spot repair, lining and a full replacement are all different amounts of work, so we diagnose first and quote one flat price you approve before work starts. The drain cleaning cost guide lists what drain and sewer jobs have actually cost on our invoices.

Watch for several fixtures backing up or gurgling at the same time, a basement floor drain that overflows, a sewer smell or odor indoors or in the yard, or a backup that returns after the line has been cleaned. A single slow sink is usually a local clog. Soggy patches or a sinkhole over the line point to a break. Our guide to the 7 warning signs of a sewer line problem has the full list, and a camera confirms it.

On the older clay-tile and cast-iron lines common across the Capital Region, the usual culprit is tree roots growing in through cracked joints, and they grow right back after a snaking. In older homes a clogged house trap can do the same. A rooter clears the immediate clog, but a camera inspection shows where the roots are getting in, so you can spot-repair or line just that section and break the cycle. Read more about tree roots in your sewer line.

Plenty of clogs are a simple clear-and-go, and we will tell you when that is all it is. A camera is worth it when a line backs up repeatedly, when you are buying an older home, or when there is a sewer smell or a sink hole over the run. It shows the true cause (roots, a cracked or collapsed pipe, a bellied section holding waste) before you spend money on the wrong repair. See sewer camera inspection.

Often, yes. Once the camera shows where and how the line is failing, many repairs are a spot fix at the bad joint or, where the site allows, trenchless lining or pipe bursting that spares the full run. We lay out the realistic options and the upfront price for each before any excavation. See trenchless sewer repair and pipe lining.

We clean the old pipe, then either cure a new resin liner inside it (CIPP lining) or pull a new pipe through while breaking the old one apart (pipe bursting), usually through one or two small access points. A camera inspection first confirms whether your line is a candidate. Details and when it does not fit are on our trenchless sewer repair page.

Hydro jetting uses high-pressure water to scour the inside of a drain or sewer line, cutting through grease, scale and roots that a cable can leave on the pipe wall. We decide between a cable and a jet after we see the line. Our guide on snaking vs hydro jetting explains the difference.

A technician runs a waterproof camera down the line while you watch the live feed, and we locate and mark where any fault sits. What we see is explained in what to expect from a sewer camera inspection.

A house trap is a U-shaped trap on the main drain, usually in the basement near where the line leaves the house, found in many older homes. It can catch debris and roots and clog. Albany’s sewer and main-line calls mention one about 48% of the time (155 calls) and Troy’s about 1 in 3 (96 calls), October 2021 to October 2026. If your main line backs up in an older home, the house trap is one of the first things we check.

Both. Inside the cities you are typically on municipal sewer, but a large share of the 140-plus towns we serve are out on well and septic. We handle tank pump-outs, drain-field diagnosis and full septic replacements out in the rural ring, done to the local county health department’s standards, not just city sewer-lateral work. Start with our well, water and septic service.