Drain cleaning services in Camden, NJ

Grease is the first suspect

In a city of rowhouses and mixed-use blocks, the most common cause of a slow drain is the one that hides in plain sight: kitchen grease. Cooking fat goes down hot and liquid, cools within a few feet of the sink and sets into a collar on the line wall. Over months the passage narrows until a sink stands full, the dishwasher backs up, or the lowest drain in the building begins to rise.

A cable machine can bore a hole through that collar, and the water flows, but it leaves a film behind. For a kitchen pipe that has clogged more than once, jetting is most often the better answer. See kitchen grease clogs.

Rowhouses and attached homes

Attached homes share party walls, and in some blocks the lines run close together or are shared. A clog that seems to belong to one house may sit in a shared run, and a neighbour's backup can be a clue. Tell the dispatcher if the house next door has had trouble. Cleanouts may be in a basement with a low ceiling, in a shared alley or absent altogether, and the technician works around that. See cleanout location and access.

Two-family homes and small buildings

In a two- or three-family building the units share a stack and one building drain. A backup in the lowest unit is usually the building's issue, and the owner or manager needs to be on the call to give access and approve the work. See two-family and multi-unit drains.

Basement and floor drains

Where a building has a basement, the floor drain is the lowest opening, and a clogged main line sends water there first, frequently right after the washer empties. Then call. Cleanup and drying are restoration work, outside drain cleaning. See basement floor drain backup.

When it keeps coming back

Buildings with old iron and clay can clog repeatedly because scale, roots and sags give debris something to catch on. A camera pass reveals which is at work: grease film, scale, roots at a joint, or a low spot that holds water. See repeat drain clogs and sewer camera inspection.

Restaurants and corner businesses

Takeouts, delis and restaurants on the ground floor share drains with the apartments above. A kitchen's grease coats the shared line, and a backup affects everyone. Regular jetting on a schedule, together with a maintained grease trap where there is one, keeps lines open. See restaurant and commercial drains.

River, rain and the public sewer

Camden is low and close to the Delaware, and older sewer systems can be stressed in heavy rain. If water comes up your basement drain only in storms, or neighbours report the same, the cause may be the public sewer rather than your own line. The technician can check whether your line is clear. The city handles the street sewer, and we do not advise on responsibility.

Before you phone

Give the address, the type of building, how many units, which fixture failed first and whether the basement drain is wet. Give the access contact and the person who approves the price. The technician explains the plan and gives the price before starting.

What affects the price

A kitchen branch with a basement cleanout is a shorter visit than a shared building drain in an attached house where access runs through a neighbour's alley. Heavy grease that needs a jetter, a house trap, a camera pass or roots add to the work.

Questions worth asking the technician

Ask what the blockage consisted of and where it sat. Ask whether the line is shared with a neighbour, and whether the camera showed grease, scale, roots or a house trap involved. Ask how soon grease is likely to return and what schedule would make sense, especially if there is a restaurant or shop on the ground floor. Ask where the cleanout is so you can find it next time.

Owners should keep a short note per building: age, units, cleanout and trap location, past backups and what was found. It makes every future call shorter.

If you rent

Tell your landlord or manager as soon as a drain slows, and note the date. If it backs up, stop using water, keep children and pets away from any water and stay clear of outlets and appliances. You can call us to describe the problem; we connect you with a technician, but the owner or manager approves the work. We do not give housing or legal advice.

Camden by the numbers

Camden is a city in Camden County. The 2010 census counted 28,358 housing units across 10.34 square miles, a housing density of about 3178.7 units per square mile. About 14 percent of the area is water.

In Camden, about 3178.7 housing units sit on each square mile. Houses sit close together on small lots in this part of the county. Mention it if the people next door have had slow drains lately.

In the 2020 census Camden had 71,791 residents, down 7.2% from 77,344 in 2010. It is a city in Camden County and was incorporated in 1828.

What stands out in Camden

The Cooper River runs through Camden, and Newton Creek forms the city's southern border with Gloucester City.