If the lowest drain in your house is filling with wastewater, the main sewer line is probably blocked, and that is an emergency. Our 24/7 line is answered around the clock, and same-day appointments are offered when available. Until we arrive, stop using water, leave the cleanout cap on unless you know how to release pressure safely, and keep people away from the wet area.
Main line cleaning uses heavier machines than a sink cable. We use sectional or drum cables with cutting heads for roots and, when the pipe is coated, a water jet to finish the job.
Afterward we run a camera down the line when the pipe, the history or your questions call for it, so the backup is explained and not just cleared.
Sewage in the lowest drain: an emergency right now
What helps while you wait
Fixtures that sit lowest, such as a basement shower, a laundry drain or a floor drain, show a main line blockage first. If those are filling or toilets gurgle when another fixture drains, wastewater has nowhere to go but back into the house.
Do not run water to see if it clears. Every gallon you add comes up somewhere. Put towels or a wet vacuum to work only if the electrical situation is safe, and call the line so a crew can come out the same day when one is available.
Find your cleanout before the next backup
A cleanout is a capped access pipe on the sewer line. Knowing where yours is turns a long visit into a short one.
Check outside near the foundation
Look for a 3-inch or 4-inch capped pipe sticking out of the ground or a small flush cap in the yard, often on the side facing the street.
Check the basement and utility area
A cap near the floor of a basement, garage or utility room can be the access point for the main drain.
Clear a path to it
Move shrubs, stored items and soil so a crew can reach it with hoses and cables.
Tell dispatch what you found
Describe the location and whether the cap turns by hand, and we will bring the right tools.
Cutting roots and clearing a main line: which tool does what
| Tool | What it clears | Where it stops working |
|---|---|---|
| Drum or sectional cable with a spade or saw head | Root masses, paper, soft blockages | Cannot remove grease or scale from the pipe wall |
| Water jet with a root-cutting nozzle | Roots, grease, silt and scale across the full wall | Needs a sound pipe and a cleanout |
| Camera with a locator | Nothing, it finds the cause and the depth | Does not clear the line, it shows what to do next |
Our hydro jetting page explains the jet in more detail, and a sewer inspection can be scheduled when the camera is the only thing you need.
How often a main line needs cleaning
There is no honest fixed interval that fits every house. A newer PVC lateral under a lawn with no trees may never need routine cleaning, while an older line near large trees can fill with roots again within a short time.
The camera is what tells you. If the footage shows a smooth pipe, we say so and recommend nothing. If it shows roots at a joint, we explain whether periodic cleaning or a joint repair costs you less over time.
Pipe material, age, slope and nearby trees all play a part, and so does what goes down the drain. Grease, wipes marketed as flushable and kitchen scraps are the usual household contributors.
A different line for businesses: grease traps and floor drains
Restaurants, hotels and kitchens around Westport Plaza and Riverport often have grease traps or interceptors that need scheduled pumping and cleaning. A full trap pushes grease into the main line, which is how a kitchen ends up with a repeat sewer backup.
Our commercial plumbing team can plan trap cleaning, floor drain service and main line jetting outside business hours so the dining room stays open.
Storm drains and yard drains are a separate system
Know which pipe is flooding
The City of Maryland Heights maintains public streets and city storm sewers, and Public Works takes after-hours calls at (314) 298-8700. If water is ponding at a street inlet, that is the city's system and not your sewer line.
A private yard drain, a downspout line or a basement perimeter drain on your property is a different matter. Those lines are yours, and we can clear them, though they follow different rules from a sanitary sewer lateral.
What affects the price of sewer line cleaning
You hear a clear price before work starts. These factors decide it.
Where the blockage sits
A clog near the cleanout is quick. One near the street connection requires full hose length.
What it is made of
Soft paper clears fast. Dense roots or hardened grease need heavier tools.
Pipe material
Cast iron, clay and PVC each limit how aggressively we can cut.
Camera recording
Video adds time and gives you evidence for the city program or a buyer.
Timing
After-hours dispatch is priced differently from a weekday visit.
Check your homeowner policy for sewer backup coverage, since it is often a separate endorsement. For a price on your own line, call the dispatch line.
Main line cleaning in nearby towns
We clean main lines across the 63043 ZIP code and in neighboring communities. Homes along the I-270 and Lindbergh area of Hazelwood are included in the same dispatch zone, and the rest of our service area is on the service area page.
Standards for describing what the camera finds
After a main line is cleared, the camera footage is only useful if the defects are described consistently. The NASSCO PACP coding system is the published standard for naming cracks, roots, offsets and fractures, and it lets a second plumber read your report without guessing.
Ask for the footage and the notes after a cleaning. If roots or a belly show up, that record is the starting point for a repair decision.
Sewer line cleaning questions from Maryland Heights homeowners
Yes. Blocked mains and overflowing floor drains do not wait for morning, so the 24/7 line stays open through nights and weekends. A same-day visit is offered when a crew is free, with the price spelled out first.
If one fixture is slow and the rest drain normally, the clog is in that branch. If several fixtures back up, a basement floor drain bubbles or toilets gurgle, the main line is the likely cause.
The public sewer main is maintained by MSD at (314) 768-6260. The lateral from your house to the main is owned by the homeowner according to the City of Maryland Heights.
Tell the dispatcher. We can often work through a pulled toilet or a vent, and we can install a cleanout so future cleaning is easier.
They almost never do. A main line carries too much volume for a chemical to work, and the liquid sits in the pipe and can harm the plumber who opens it.
Yes, private yard and downspout drains on your property can be cleaned. Public storm sewers in streets are the city's, and Public Works after hours is (314) 298-8700.