Clogged Drain Cleaning in Minnesota

Drains clog for different reasons in different parts of Minnesota. Older neighborhoods have cast iron and clay sewer lines under big trees, newer subdivisions mostly see grease and wipes in PVC pipe, and many rural homes depend on a septic tank. Find your city below, or the one closest to you. Every city page shows a rough cost range, what local soil and trees do to drains, and one number that connects you with a local plumber.

Hard water and hard winters both take a toll on drains in Minnesota. Frost reaches deep, and a long winter is rough on any drain or sewer line that is shallow, exposed or already cracked. The water is hardest in the south and west, where scale builds up in older pipe. Many older city homes have clay sewer laterals under maples, ash and elms, and roots find the joints. Cabins and rural homes use septic systems that can freeze when snow cover is thin and the cold comes early.

• Deep frost and long, hard winters
• Hard water across much of the south and west
• Clay sewer laterals in older city homes
• Roots from maples, ash and elms
• Septic systems that can freeze when snow cover is thin

Ask whether the plumber can thaw a frozen septic or sewer line, not only clear a clog.

• Kitchen sink. Cooking grease and oil that cool and harden on the pipe wall, plus food scraps, coffee grounds and soap scum that stick to it. A garbage disposal sends more solids down, not fewer.
• Bathroom sink. Hair mixed with soap, toothpaste and shaving residue, caught on the pop-up stopper or in the trap. Small items dropped down the drain add to it.
• Tub or shower. Hair is the main cause, bound together with soap scum and conditioner. Older tubs with a trip lever drain collect it in the overflow and the drum trap.
• Toilet. Too much paper at once, wipes labeled flushable, paper towels, cotton swabs, dental floss and toys. Low-flow toilets from before about 2005 clog more often.
• Floor or laundry drain. Lint from the washing machine, sand and grit, soap, and in basements the silt that washes in. A dry trap lets sewer gas up as well.
• Main sewer line. Tree roots coming in at joints in clay and cast iron pipe, grease built up from years of kitchen use, wipes, and pipe that has sagged or cracked.
• Outdoor or yard drain. Leaves, dirt, sand and roots in yard drains, area drains, driveway trench drains and the pipes that carry downspout water away.