Drain cleaning services in Washington Township, Gloucester County, NJ

Clogs that keep returning

A drain cleared in spring and slow again by fall is the standard Sewell complaint. When it happens twice, the cause is rarely what went down the drain. It is more often in the line: a root at a joint, a section that has settled, a rough patch of old pipe that catches material or a branch that has too little slope.

Cleaning gives real relief. Asking the technician where the blockage was, and how far down, tells you whether the next blockage is likely to be in the same place. See repeat drain clogs.

Homes in their third and fourth decade

Houses a few decades old are old enough to have lines that have settled and often not old enough for the owners to have thought about them. Pipe material varies, and a house may have cast iron in the main and plastic in the branches. Where the two meet, joints can be rougher than the rest of the line.

If you know when the house was built and whether anything was replaced, tell the dispatcher.

Mature trees and sewer laterals

Sewell has many established trees, and roots look for the moisture and nutrients in a sewer lateral. They enter at joints, grow into a mass and gradually choke the line.

A cable with a cutting head clears the roots; a jetter can clear the debris. The roots most often grow back, and the technician can say how fast. See tree root removal.

Storm-day basement backups

A backup that appears during or after a storm is worth thinking through. If water comes up at a basement floor drain, the cause can be the house pipe, a blockage in the public pipe or ground conditions. The symptoms can look the same. If the house line is clear, the drain technician can say what points to the public side; the technician cannot say who is responsible.

Note whether the issue has happened on dry days too. See sewer backup in the basement.

Backwater valves

A backwater valve is a device in the pipe that closes to stop water coming back into the house. Some houses have one and some do not. If you are unsure, it is a fair question to put to a plumber; a drain technician does not install or recommend them. If you have one, it has to be accessible and clean to work.

Gurgling and what it means

Gurgling is air looking for a path. If it happens when a different fixture drains, the shared pipe is involved. If it happens everywhere, the main or the vent might be the issue. Vent work belongs to a plumber.

See gurgling and slow drains.

How a visit goes

The technician looks at the fixtures involved, asks what you noticed and explains the probable cause. They give the price before work starts. They clear the pipe, run water to test and, if the findings call for it, camera the line.

Before the technician arrives

Stop running water in the affected area. Keep the washer and dishwasher off. If water is rising, keep people away from it and do not touch electrical items near it. Skip the chemical cleaners; they do not clear a real blockage and are a hazard for whoever opens the line next.

When a camera is worth it

A camera is worth it after a second clog in the same pipe, when several fixtures are slow, when you are buying the house or when the technician suspects roots or a sag. See sewer camera inspection.

Kitchen and bath lines

Kitchen lines clog with grease, and bathroom lines clog with hair and soap. In most houses the two meet the main at different points, so a slow kitchen with a normal bathroom points to the kitchen branch. See clogged kitchen sink and shower and tub drains.

Which Washington Township ZIP is yours

Washington Township is the largest municipality in Gloucester County and is served by several ZIP codes: Sewell is 08080, while Blackwood (Turnersville), Sicklerville, Pitman and others share the township. If your mailing address says Sewell, you are in the area on this page. If it says something else, tell the dispatcher your street and the technician will confirm the setting. The pipes do not follow the postal lines, and neither does the advice.

Before you phone

Give the address, which fixtures are affected, how long it has been going on and whether it has happened before. Mention trees near the pipe, a basement or slab, and where the cleanout is if you know. Say whether you are on sewer or septic.

What drives the cost of a visit in Washington Township, Gloucester County

The price depends on which line is clogged, the access, the equipment and whether a camera is added.

Good questions for the technician

Ask where the blockage was, what it was made of and whether the pipe is probable to clog again. Ask whether roots were found. Ask what the workmanship guarantee on completed work covers and when to call back.

What the census numbers say about Washington Township

Washington Township is a township in Gloucester County. The 2010 census counted 17,810 housing units across 21.6 square miles, a housing density of about 833 units per square mile.

In Washington Township, about 833 housing units sit on each square mile. The house-to-street run is short at this lot size, which makes the cleanout the first stop. With 21.38 square miles of land, the address and nearest cross street matter when you call.

Named communities within Washington Township include Turnersville, Grenloch, Hurffville and Sewell. A street name alone can repeat across towns, so add the community name.

Washington Township is a township in Gloucester County, incorporated in 1836. The 2020 census counted 48,677 residents, up 0.2% from 48,559 in 2010.

Communities within Washington Township

Washington Township includes Sewell. These communities use their own postal names, so callers often give a postal name rather than the township’s. All are served from this page, so tell the dispatcher the street and which community you are in.

• Sewell is a community in Washington Township, Gloucester County, and its streets are a mix of established subdivisions and newer construction, many with mature trees that have had decades to grow.

What stands out in Washington Township, Gloucester County

Grenloch Terrace in the township was once a Lenape settlement known as Tetamekon.