Blocked main drain

What to do right now

• Stop using water. No toilets, showers, laundry or dishwasher until the line is clear. All of it ends up in the same pipe.
• Keep away from dirty water. If sewage has come up, see sewage backup for what to do.
• In Toronto, call 311 if your basement drain has backed up, so the City can check its side.
• Call us and tell us which fixtures are affected and when it started.

What blocks a main line

• Tree roots getting in through joints and cracks
• Wipes and hygiene products, including ones labelled flushable
• Grease that has travelled from the kitchen and hardened
• A sag, crack or collapse in the pipe that catches everything passing through

How we clear it and find the cause

We use a cable machine or hydro jetting, depending on what the line needs. Getting water moving is the first job. Knowing why it stopped is the second, so we often follow with a camera inspection. You can watch it live, and the recorded video is emailed to you.

If roots are the cause

Cleaning cuts roots back, but they return through the same joint or crack. If the camera shows roots, we explain how far along the problem is and whether repairing that section makes sense. See sewer line repair.

After the line is clear

If your basement has backed up before, ask about a backwater valve. A blocked line on your property and a surcharged city sewer are different problems, and the fix depends on which one you have.