Drain cleaning on Long Island

A drain snake, or auger, is a flexible steel cable that turns as it is fed into the pipe. The tip either bores through a clog or hooks it so it can be pulled back out.

Hand augers suit small bathroom drains. Machine-driven augers have longer, heavier cables for kitchen lines and longer runs. The technician chooses the cable size and head for the pipe and what is likely inside it.

Branch lines are the smaller pipes that carry water from each fixture to the main drain. Most single-fixture clogs live in the trap under the fixture or in the branch line behind the wall.

Cleaning through a cleanout or the fixture opening lets the cable reach the full length of the branch, instead of only clearing the few inches a plunger can reach.

Some drains clog on a predictable cycle: a busy kitchen, a rental with heavy use, or a line with a known low spot. For those, cleaning on a regular schedule keeps flow steady and avoids a backup at a bad moment.

Restaurants, offices and multi-family buildings often set maintenance around their slow periods. Our commercial services page covers larger properties, and kitchens with a grease trap can add grease trap cleaning.

A cable clears a path, but it does not always scrub the whole pipe wall. Thick grease, mineral scale or roots that return soon after snaking may need hydro jet drain cleaning.

If the clog is in the main line that leaves the building, the work moves to sewer jetting or sewer line service. When the cause isn’t clear, a camera inspection shows what is in the pipe.

Yard drains, driveway and trench drains, and parking-lot catch basins fill with leaves, sand and silt until rain has nowhere to go. The result is standing water in the yard, a flooded driveway or a parking lot that ponds after every storm.

JET clears outdoor and storm drains for homes and commercial properties, removing the debris from catch basins and cleaning out the lines that connect them. For longer runs or heavy buildup, hydro jetting flushes the line clean.

The EPA’s advice for septic homes is good practice for any drain: never pour cooking oil or grease down the sink, and don’t flush anything except human waste and toilet paper.

Use strainers in tubs and showers to catch hair, scrape plates into the trash, and skip chemical drain openers. The EPA suggests boiling water or a snake for a stubborn drain.