Drain Cleaning Delaware County PA | $99 Special | 24/7 Emergency

Drain Cleaning in Delaware County, PA

Advanced Drains and Underground Solutions provides professional drain cleaning throughout Delaware County. We clear kitchen drains, bathroom drains, floor drains, laundry lines, and main sewer laterals. Our crews work with both cable machines and high-pressure water jetters, and we carry sewer camera equipment on every main-line call to identify the cause of the blockage before we clear it.

Delaware County’s housing stock is predominantly pre-1970 construction, which means the drain systems in most of the county’s homes were designed and built to standards from a different era. Cast-iron drain pipes from the 1920s through the 1940s develop internal corrosion and tuberculation over time — the interior surface roughens and catches grease, soap residue, and debris more readily than smooth new pipe. Clay tile sewer laterals with mortar joints attract root intrusion; over decades, even small root intrusions can grow into complete blockages. Older galvanized steel branch lines in bathrooms and laundry areas corrode from the inside out and eventually build up to the point where water barely moves.

Main Line vs Branch Line Drain Cleaning

The most important distinction in drain cleaning is whether the problem is in a branch line — the pipe serving one fixture or one room — or in the main lateral, the pipe that carries waste from the entire house to the municipal sewer. The symptoms are different.

A branch-line blockage causes one fixture to drain slowly or not at all while the rest of the house works normally. A kitchen sink that backs up while the shower and toilets drain fine is almost always a branch-line problem. We address these with cable machines sized for the pipe diameter — typically 3 or 4-inch lines — and augment with jetting for grease-heavy kitchen drain blockages where a cable alone will not clean the pipe walls.

A main-line blockage affects multiple fixtures simultaneously. When the toilet backs up at the same time water comes up through the floor drain, or when laundry water appears in the shower, the main lateral is the problem. We access the main lateral through the exterior cleanout (or through the stack cleanout if there is no exterior access) and clear the line with a heavy-duty cable or a hydro-jetter depending on what the camera reveals.

When Drain Cleaning Is Not the Full Answer

Not every drain problem resolves permanently with cleaning. In older Delaware County homes, repeated blockages in the same location are often a symptom of structural pipe damage rather than a simple accumulation of debris. Root intrusion recurs because roots grow through the same joint openings that allowed them in the first place. A belly — a low point in the lateral where solids accumulate — refills after cleaning because the pipe geometry hasn’t changed. Collapsed Orangeburg sections cannot be cleared; they need to be replaced.

When we run a camera through a lateral after clearing a blockage, we document what is there: the material of the pipe, the condition of joints, the presence of roots, offset joints, bellies, or collapsed sections. That documentation tells you whether the blockage you just cleared is likely to stay clear for years or whether it will return in months. It also identifies whether the underlying condition requires repair and what type of repair would address it.

Service Area

We provide drain cleaning in all Delaware County municipalities, including Havertown, Upper Darby, Springfield Township, Media Borough, Radnor Township, Haverford Township, Newtown Township, and all of the county boroughs from Marcus Hook to Swarthmore. We do not subcontract drain cleaning work; our own crews and equipment are dispatched on every call.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is hydro-jetting necessary, or is a cable machine good enough?

For most household clogs — hair, soap, paper accumulation — a cable machine is sufficient. For kitchen drain lines with significant grease buildup, or for a main lateral where the camera shows debris lining the pipe walls, hydro-jetting is more thorough. Jetting cleans the pipe walls rather than just punching a hole through the obstruction. We recommend it when cleaning a line that has not been serviced in many years or when camera inspection shows wall buildup rather than a localized clog.

My drain cleaned fine last year and it is blocked again — why?

If the same line is blocking repeatedly, the cause is almost always something the cleaning addressed only temporarily. Root intrusion returns because the joint is still open. Grease blockages recur in kitchen lines because the pipe walls are rough enough to accumulate grease regardless of how carefully the drain is used. A camera inspection following the cleaning can identify whether the problem is a structural one — a joint defect, a rough interior surface, a belly — that will not resolve without a pipe repair.

How do I know if a slow drain is a simple clog or something more serious?

A slow drain in one fixture, recently developed, is usually a simple accumulation — hair, soap, or debris. A slow drain that developed gradually over months, or one that is accompanied by gurgling sounds from other fixtures, suggests a partial main-line obstruction or a venting problem. A main-line problem causes multiple fixtures to be affected even if not all of them are completely blocked. When in doubt, a camera inspection through the cleanout will confirm whether the issue is in a branch or the main lateral, and what is causing it.

Schedule Drain Cleaning

For same-day drain cleaning anywhere in Delaware County, call Advanced Drains at 1-855-DONT-DIG. We carry cameras on all main-line calls so you understand what we find before we charge you for a repair you may not need.