Drain Cleaning Services
When a drain stops, you want it cleared today. When it keeps slowing down, something in the pipe is causing it, and clearing the clog without finding out what means you will see us again in a few weeks. So we look first, then we clear it, and then we tell you what we found.
Book online any time, day or night. After-hours emergency service scheduling available.
- Licensed in Oregon and Washington
- Since 1927
- Phones staffed seven days a week
- On-site diagnosis & price option
D&F has been clearing Portland drains since 1927 and Clark County drains from our Vancouver branch. Our plumbers are licensed Journeyman plumbers in Oregon and Washington, the truck carries a cable machine, a hydro jetter and a sewer camera, and you see your price options before any work starts.
Drain Backing Up Right Now?
Water coming back up into a tub, shower, toilet or basement floor drain, or more than one drain stopped at once. Call and tell us what it is doing and we will get you on the schedule. Until then, hold off on running water in the house so the backup has nowhere to go.
Portland (503) 282-0993 · Vancouver (360) 693-5516
Book online any time, day or night, or call us. Phones are staffed Monday to Friday 6:00 AM to 9:00 PM, and Saturday and Sunday 9:00 AM to 5:30 PM. After-hours emergency service scheduling is available.
How We Clear a Drain
Tell us what it is doing.
Slow, gurgling, backing up, more than one fixture at once. Where the water is going, and where it is not, tells us where to start and what to put on the truck. Call and talk it through with our team, or book online any time.
We look before we cut.
Before any hydro jetting, and for a main line or a clog that keeps coming back, our plumbers run a camera in through the cleanout. The camera shows us roots, grease, corrosion or a broken section before we choose a tool, which is the difference between clearing a drain and clearing it for a while.
Cable or jet.
A cable machine, the professional version of a drain snake, breaks up hair, soap and food clogs or pulls them out of the pipe. Hydro jetting, often up to 4,000 PSI, removes grease, sludge, scale and roots from the pipe wall instead of punching a hole through them. We match the method to the pipe and the problem; a bathroom sink and a root-filled sewer line are different jobs.
You see what we saw.
If we ran the camera, you watch the footage with the plumber. Then we tell you plainly whether this was a one-time clearing, something to put on a cleaning interval, or a pipe that needs repair. No surprises, and no work you did not agree to first.
Why Drains Fail Here
Portland: Street Trees and the Lateral Under Them
Portland’s street trees are one of the best things about living here and one of the worst things that can happen to a sewer lateral. Mature maples, elms and Douglas fir send roots toward the one reliably damp thing nearby, the joints in your line. Older clay and cast-iron laterals with mortar joints are the usual casualties, and inner Portland (Irvington, Laurelhurst, Sellwood, Buckman, Hawthorne) is full of them.
The tell is a drain that clears and then clogs again a few weeks later. Cabling punches a hole through the blockage; it does not remove what is coating the walls. That is why the same drain backs up every fall.
In Portland the lateral from the house to the main is the homeowner’s responsibility, so getting the diagnosis right the first time is worth something. We camera the line, show you, and recommend from what is in there: jetting to strip the buildup, a spot repair, or trenchless replacement if the pipe has failed.
Clark County: Roots in Spring, Standing Water in Winter
Clark County’s tree canopy does the same thing to a sewer line. Douglas fir, bigleaf maple and ornamental cherry find a hairline gap at a joint, thicken inside the pipe, and turn a full-bore line into something the width of a garden hose. The same drain backing up every spring is the sign.
The other call we get is in November. Most of our rain lands in a five-month stretch, and Clark County soil does not always let it go anywhere. Area drains overflow onto the patio, downspout lines silt up over the summer and show it in the first big storm, and crawl spaces hold water. Almost all of it is preventable in September and expensive in January.
Our Vancouver plumbers are licensed in Washington and keep their trucks in neighborhoods near you.
Signs It Is Time to Call
Slow draining water.
A sink, tub or shower that takes longer than it used to means buildup somewhere in the pipe, and it is only going one direction.
Gurgling.
Bubbling or gurgling from a drain or toilet when something else is running is air trapped behind a blockage.
Smell from the drain.
Food, hair, grease or other debris is stuck in the line and starting to rot.
Water backing up.
Water rising back into a sink, tub, toilet or basement floor drain after it drains is a blockage somewhere in the line, and it will not clear itself.
Standing water.
Puddles in the shower, tub or sink that do not go down, or water sitting around an outdoor drain after the rain has stopped.
More than one fixture at once.
When two or three drains act up together, the problem is usually deeper in the system, often the main line. Call rather than plunge; a plunger on a main-line clog just moves the problem to another fixture.
Our Drain Cleaning Services
Clogged Drain Clearing
Sinks, tubs, showers and toilets. A flexible auger, which most people call a drain snake, breaks up hair, soap scum and food debris or pulls it out of the pipe. It is the right tool for most household clogs, and in a licensed plumber’s hands it is safe on any residential or commercial drain. Same-day service when we can.
Drain Snaking Clogged Drains
Hydro Jetting
Pressurized water, often up to 4,000 PSI, removes grease, sludge, mineral scale and tree roots from the inside of the pipe instead of leaving residue behind for the next clog to build on. It is what we recommend for recurring backups, main sewer lines, hard-water scale and the grease lines in restaurant kitchens. Our plumbers typically run a camera first to make sure the pipe is structurally sound.
Sewer Line Cleaning and Camera Inspection
A waterproof camera goes in through an existing cleanout, so there is no digging, and most inspections take 45 to 60 minutes. It finds root intrusion, corrosion, grease, construction debris and foreign objects, and broken or collapsed sections, and you watch it with us. When something turns up we clean it, repair it, or replace it trenchless.
Kitchen Drains
Grease and cooking oil cool and harden in the line, then catch pasta, rice, eggshells, coffee grounds and the soap scum that dishwashing leaves behind, until the pipe narrows to nothing. A garbage disposal does not change that. We clear the clog, and for a line that has been slow for a long time, hydro jetting removes the buildup a cable leaves behind. Skip the chemical drain cleaners; they corrode pipe and damage disposals.
Bathroom Drains
Hair and soap scum build up in sinks, showers and tubs until the water pools, and toothpaste does the same thing to a bathroom sink. A professional-grade auger clears most of it, and hydro jetting handles buildup that has hardened inside the pipe. Worth doing before a shower backup gets into the tile and grout.
Floor Drains and Basement Backups
Basement and laundry floor drains sit at the lowest point in the house, so when the main line slows down they are often the first place water and sewage come back up. We clear the floor drain, run a camera to see whether the trouble is in the drain itself or further down the main line, and clean or repair what we find. In older Portland and Clark County homes with basements, a floor drain backing up is worth a call right away.
Outdoor and Storm Drains
Storm drains and catch basins, area drains, French drains, gutter and downspout lines, patio, deck and driveway drains, and the drains along a walkway that keep water away from the house. The work is seasonal: what silted up over the summer shows itself in the first big rain, and a clogged outdoor drain sends water toward the basement and the foundation. Jetting, rooter and camera inspection, same as inside the house.
Commercial Drain Cleaning
Restaurants, property managers, hotels, schools and facilities with drains that see more in a week than a house sees in a year. Hydro jetting, grease trap cleaning, commercial-grade augers and camera inspection, on a schedule if you want one: once or twice a year covers most businesses, and food service usually needs it quarterly or monthly.
Straightforward Pricing
That covers getting a licensed plumber to your property, their time and travel, and a professional visual inspection. The plumber then walks you through what they found and your price options.
To be clear about how it works, because it matters: the $139 is charged in addition to any repair work you decide to go ahead with. It is not a credit against the repair.
Whatever the work turns out to be, you see your price options before it starts, and each one includes labor, parts, miscellaneous materials, and the time to acquire parts. We do not price a drain sight unseen, because a bathroom sink and a root-filled sewer line are different jobs, which is why the inspection comes first.
Monthly Pay Relief is available on approved credit. Two options are running now: no payments and no interest if the balance is paid in full within 12 months, or 9.99% APR spread over 96 months, which is eight years.
Keeping Drains Clear
Most of what we pull out of a drain went in a little at a time. A few habits keep it from building up.
Grease goes in a container, not the sink.
Let cooking grease cool, then throw it out with the trash.
Drain screens.
A screen in the sink, tub and shower catches hair and food before they reach the pipe.
Hot water after use.
Run hot water for a bit after using the kitchen sink to carry residue on through the line.
Then put the drains on a schedule. Most homes do well with professional cleaning every one to two years, especially older homes where pipes see more buildup. A sewer camera inspection every 18 to 24 months shows roots and damage while they are still small, and sooner makes sense if large trees surround the house or the line has a history.
Preventive Drain Maintenance
If your drains need regular attention, we can put them on a preventive maintenance schedule: cleaning on an interval that fits the house and the line, so buildup is cleared before it turns into a backup. It suits older homes, lines with a history of roots, and homes with large trees nearby. Ask your plumber at your next visit, or call either branch to set one up.
Why Choose D&F Plumbing, Heating, and Cooling?
Nearly 100 years of serving the Pacific Northwest has taught us a thing or two about drains. Our licensed plumbers proudly wear our signature plaid, and around here people know us as the Plaid Pros.
Licensed Journeyman plumbers.
Licensed in Oregon (#26-23PB, CCB #465) and Washington (#CCDAE, DFPLU**339 N8). The person at your door is a licensed plumber.
Since 1927.
Family owned and operated, with a Vancouver branch whose plumbers hold Washington licenses and live and work in Clark County.
We look first.
Our plumbers inspect the pipe before they jet it, and a cable is often all a single slow fixture needs.
On-site diagnosis and price options.
Getting a licensed plumber to you, with a visual inspection, is our Cost of Inspection Work. Your price options, labor and parts included, come before any work starts, and the choice is yours.
No chemical cleaners.
Store-bought drain cleaners corrode pipe and damage garbage disposals. We clear drains with a cable or with pressurized water.
Book any time.
Book online day or night, or call: phones are staffed seven days a week. After-hours emergency service scheduling available. Monthly Pay Relief available on approved credit.
For nearly 100 years, D&F has delivered quality plumbing and drain service in Portland and Vancouver, combining proven expertise, honest service, and a distinctly Northwest spirit. When a drain needs clearing, call the Plaid Pros.
Portland's most trusted plumbers & HVAC Technicians
99 years in business
Drain Cleaning Questions
Snake or hydro jet, which one do I need?
For hair, soap and most single-fixture clogs, a cable does the job. For grease, roots, scale, a main line, or a drain that keeps coming back, hydro jetting cleans the full pipe and the result lasts longer. We look first and tell you which.
Why does the same drain keep clogging?
Because the cause is still there. Roots regrow at the joint they came in through, and grease rebuilds on a pipe that cabling only punched a hole through. A camera inspection shows which one it is, and then the fix is a cleaning interval, a repair, or a new section of pipe.
Is hydro jetting safe on an old house?
Yes, when the pipe is checked first. Our plumbers inspect before jetting. It is especially effective on PVC and newer sewer lines and is used carefully on older systems. A pipe that is already cracked or collapsed needs repair, not pressure.
How much does drain cleaning cost?
It depends on where the clog is and what it takes to clear it. A bathroom sink and a main line full of roots are different jobs. Our $139 Cost of Inspection Work gets a licensed plumber to you with a visual inspection, and you see your price options before any work starts. We do not price drains over the phone.
Can I use a chemical drain cleaner first?
We would rather you did not. Chemical cleaners corrode pipes and damage garbage disposals. If you want to try something before you call, boiling water down the drain is the safe option.
Who is responsible for the sewer line between my house and the street?
In Portland, the lateral from the house to the main is the homeowner’s responsibility, so roots or a break in that line are yours to fix. A camera inspection shows what is in there and where it is before you decide between cleaning, a repair or trenchless replacement.
Do you come out the same day, or after hours?
We schedule seven days a week and offer same-day service when we can. Book online any time, day or night, or call us during phone hours. After-hours emergency service scheduling is available.
Our Service Areas
Don’t see your city? No worries! We service the surrounding areas as well.
Give us a call, we’ll happy to assist!
Portland, Oregon
Clark County, Washington
