DIY vs professional pipe cleaning: where to draw the line

01 /Which pipe cleaning jobs can you do yourself?

You can safely do the jobs at the fixture: cleaning stoppers and strainers, clearing traps, plunging, and running a small hand auger a short distance into a sink, tub or shower drain. These cover a large share of household clogs, because hair, soap and food tend to catch within the first metre of the drain.

For plastic drains specifically, see ABS and PVC pipe cleaning, which covers safe heads. The most common DIY job has its own walk-through in cleaning the pipes under a sink. Outside, straight rainwater lines such as buried downspout leaders are also reasonable homeowner work with a hose and drain rods; see outside drain pipe cleaning.

02 /Which pipe cleaning jobs need a professional?

Jobs need a professional when the problem is beyond the fixture branch, when the equipment is powerful enough to injure, or when a diagnosis requires a camera. The clearest signal is multiple fixtures affected: that means the building drain or lateral.

• Main line backups: water coming up in a basement floor drain or tub when other fixtures are used.
• Root cutting: requires the right cable size, cutter and usually a camera to find the joint.
• Hydro jetting: high-pressure equipment with injection injury risk.
• Cast iron descaling: fast-spinning shafts and staged work with camera checks. See cast iron drain pipe cleaning.
• Stack and roof vent work: fall hazard and pressurized cleanouts. See main stack and vent cleaning.
• Standing sewage in a basement: contamination, electrical and slip hazards.
• Any line you suspect has chemical in it: burn hazard.

What a professional visit should include, whether a plumber or a drain-cleaning company is the right call, and what to check before hiring are covered in what is drain cleaning.

03 /Should you rent a drum auger?

Rent a drum auger only if you have used one before, understand cable size and kinking, and can wear proper gloves and eye protection. Rental machines are powerful, and most serious DIY drain injuries involve a cable that kinks, whips or wraps a hand while the motor keeps turning.

04 /Can you hydro jet your own drain?

Hydro jetting is a professional task in most homes. Consumer pressure-washer sewer jetter attachments exist, but they lack the flow, hose control, footage tracking and safety controls of drain jetting equipment, and a nozzle that exits a cleanout while running can cause an injection injury. Jetting old clay or cast iron without a camera also risks pipe damage.

The machines, pressures and nozzles are covered at SewerJetting.ca. For where jetting fits against other methods, see pipe cleaning methods compared.

05 /When do you stop and call a pro?

1. More than one fixture is slow or backing up.
2. Water appears in a floor drain, tub or shower when another fixture drains.
3. The hand auger reaches its full length without finding the clog.
4. You hit something hard that does not yield, or the cable returns roots, soil or rust flakes.
5. You smell strong sewer gas, or anyone feels dizzy or unwell.
6. The drain holds chemical drain cleaner.
7. Water is near electrical panels, outlets, cords or appliances.
8. You would need to go on the roof or open a stack cleanout.

06 /What does a good DIY toolkit look like?

A good DIY drain toolkit is small and inexpensive, and it covers the fixture jobs that make up most household clogs. Anything beyond it is usually a sign the job belongs to a professional.

• Flange plunger for toilets and a cup plunger for sinks and tubs; plug the overflow when plunging a sink or tub.
• Plastic barbed hair strip for bathroom sinks and showers.
• Hand auger, 1/4 inch by about 7.5 metres, with a bulb head for fixture drains.
• Closet auger for toilets, which protects the porcelain.
• Bucket, towels, rubber gloves and eye protection for trap work.
• Slip-joint pliers for stubborn trap nuts, used gently on plastic.

Leave out the chemical drain opener. It is the one item in most household kits that turns a simple clog into a hazard for whoever works on the drain next. For how each tool works, including drain rods, drill-driven brushes and hose bladders, see drain pipe cleaning tools.

07 /What should you ask a professional before they start?

• Which method will you use, and why that one for my pipe material?
• Will you camera the line before or after, and will I get the footage?
• What cable or cutter size, or what nozzle and pressure, for this line?
• Where will you access the line, and will anything need to be removed (toilet, trap, vent cap)?
• Is the price for the job or by the hour, and what happens if the clog is not cleared?
• If you find a defect, will you locate it and mark its position and depth?
• Do you carry liability insurance, and does the quote cover cleanup?

Those questions let you compare quotes on the same basis. The Pipe Method Matcher gives you the method to ask for; the cost guide gives you ranges to compare.

08 /What does DIY save compared with hiring a pro?

Where DIY saves money is the fixture. Where it costs money is the main line, where a missed diagnosis leads to repeat calls. When you are ready, request quotes.

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