A drain snake being used for drain cleaning in San Antonio, TX.

It's pretty common for San Antonio homeowners to use their plumbing system every day—often dozens of times per day—and just take it for granted that it will work perfectly every time. As long as clean, fresh water comes out of the faucet when you twist the tap, and dirty wastewater swirls away down the drain, there's no need to give it a second thought. But your plumbing is a complex system, and while it's built to last, it can't keep chugging along day in and day out unless it gets regular maintenance, repair and San Antonio drain cleaning services.

Because we rely on our plumbing to supply water and help keep our homes sanitary, it can be annoying, aggravating and sometimes downright scary when it suddenly doesn't work like it's supposed to. A clogged drain is a common plumbing issue that pretty much everyone has to deal with at some point in their lives. Often the issue can be resolved with a plunger and some elbow grease, but sometimes you get a reoccurring or stubborn clog that just won't go away. When that happens, you need San Antonio drain cleaning services from a professional plumber.

Clean drain.

If you've got a problem that requires professional drain cleaning, trust your local San Antonio plumber to get it resolved quickly and efficiently. The team of service professionals at Mr. Rooter Plumbing of San Antonio have years of experience clearing even the most difficult-to-budge blockages, so we know how to find, fix and prevent the problem that is plaguing your pipes.

How Does Mr. Rooter Handle San Antonio Drain Cleaning?

A Mr. Rooter Plumbing technician using specialized equipment for San Antonio drain cleaning.

If you need help dealing with some of the unpleasant problems listed above, or you want maintenance for your system to avoid experiencing those issues in the future, our team of expert plumbers can help with experienced, capable San Antonio drain cleaning services such as video camera inspection and hydro jetting.

Inspection and Diagnosis

Sometimes homeowners in San Antonio know exactly what caused their current pipe trouble, but more often than not, it's a mystery. That makes sense because it's usually actually a combination of problems hidden away out of sight in your pipes. The first step is a thorough investigation to discover and diagnose the issue at hand.

One of the tools our licensed plumbers use prior to San Antonio drain cleaning is video camera inspection. Your plumber will maneuver it through the pipes while it records video footage. This diagnostic tool allows us to better understand what is going on inside the pipes in and under your home.

HydroScrub® Jetting

Augers or plumbing snakes are effective in some situations, but they grab the main chunks of a blockage and bring it out, leaving behind a lot of buildup and residue—especially fat, oil and grease. Hydro jetting services are the most effective San Antonio drain cleaning method to get rid of all that sludge and get the interior of your lines sparkling clean so wastewater can be disposed of without any trouble. Jets of highly pressurized water blast away FOG, clumps of hair, rotting food particles and other soft blockages, which makes it more difficult for clogs to form again right away because they don't have anything sticky to hold on to.

Hydro jetting also reduces wear and tear damage on your pipes, which keeps them in great shape so you can go longer between plumbing replacements. It's an excellent preventative maintenance tool—if your pipes aren't showing signs of blockages but it's been a while since they were last cleaned, hydro jetting services will maintain them so you won't have to deal with major clog-related issues in the future.

Choose Mr. Rooter for Drain Cleaning, San Antonio TX

A drain snake being used for drain cleaning in San Antonio, TX.

Plumbing problems can be really stressful. We seek to eliminate that stress by providing prompt, trustworthy, expert plumbing service to take care of any issue you may experience efficiently and effectively. The team of plumbers at Mr. Rooter Plumbing of San Antonio are proud to provide the highest standards of workmanship and customer service.

We will show up on time for your scheduled appointment, in uniform and driving a company vehicle. Then, we will thoroughly investigate the problem, answer your questions and address any concerns you may have. Customer satisfaction is our top priority!

Upfront, Flat Rate Pricing

When they call Mr. Rooter Plumbing for services such as drain cleaning, San Antonio, TX residents never have to worry about how much the final bill is going to be once the service is complete. We provide an upfront, flat rate so you know exactly how much you'll be paying before we begin work. That way, you can make an informed decision about what's best for your property and your budget.

Frequently Asked San Antonio Drain Cleaning Questions

If you'd like to know more about San Antonio drain cleaning or you have questions about our other reliable plumbing services, call us to speak with our knowledgeable customer service representatives and get all your questions answered quickly and easily. Or, check out our replies to some common questions below.

How Do You Know If You Need San Antonio Drain Cleaning?

You may think you know exactly what it looks like when you need San Antonio drain cleaning—the water just sits in your fixture and won't go down the pipe. Fair enough, that is definitely one of the most common and obvious signs of trouble. But usually, there are other warning signs that come before the point where your drain is completely non-functioning. If you are aware of the indications that your system is suffering from blockages and needs San Antonio drain cleaning services, you can call Mr. Rooter Plumbing to get help from a qualified plumber before it turns into a major headache that costs you time, money and stress to resolve. Here are some of the signs of trouble you should be watching for:

Slow-moving drain where water takes (what seems like) forever to move out of fixtures such as sinks or tubs
Foul odors coming from pipes that may smell like rotting food in kitchen drains or sewage in the bathroom or laundry room
Strange sounds coming from your pipes such as banging, grinding, screeching, gurgling or sucking
When you use one fixture, another reacts—for example, you turn on the bathroom sink tap and the toilet gurgles
Sink flies or gnats hovering around or coming out of pipes
Visible raw sewage backing up in low-lying fixtures such as toilets, bathtubs, showers and floor drains
Fixtures that clog frequently for no obvious reason—you think you've dealt with the problem only to have it happen again the next time you use the fixture.

What's the Most Common Cause of Clogged Drains?

If you noticed some of the symptoms listed above occurring in your home, you may be wondering what caused the problem with your drain lines in the first place. We'll need to investigate in person to discover what exactly went wrong with your particular system, but by far the most common cause of a clogged pipe or other San Antonio drain cleaning issues is people rinsing or flushing stuff down the drain that really doesn't belong in their sewer lines. In fact, the only things that should be going into your sewer lines are wastewater, human waste and toilet paper. You can get away with a few food scraps if you have an in-sink garbage disposal, but everything else can and should be kept out of your pipes to keep your plumbing system in good working order for longer.

There are generally two types of blockages: hard and soft. Hard blockages are caused by larger items such as toys, bottle caps, razor blades, a piece of jewelry or other stuff that can be dropped down a pipe accidentally or flushed by a curious child. It goes a short distance and then gets wedged into a bend in the pipe, partially blocking it off and causing all sorts of trouble until it's removed.

Soft blockages are the more common problem, and they are caused by soft items like a buildup of hair and soap scum in a shower, excessively large clumps of toilet paper in a toilet or food particles in a kitchen sink. But the biggest problem in kitchen wastewater pipes is fat, oil and grease buildup. It's so notorious, it has its own acronym in the plumbing industry: FOG. That cooking grease or oil might be liquid when you pour it down the drain, but FOG coats the insides of your pipe and solidifies, creating a sticky mess that grabs and holds on to anything that follows it down the drain.

How Often Should I Get Drain Cleaning Services?

It's difficult to say exactly how often you may need San Antonio drain cleaning service because some households use their drain line a lot less frequently than others. But the general rule of thumb is that in most cases, annual drain cleaning is sufficient to keep your lines clear and functioning well. Regular maintenance service from a reliable plumber will give you complete peace of mind knowing that you won't have to deal with a nasty, unsanitary, inconvenient drain problem any time soon.

How Much Does San Antonio Drain Cleaning Cost?

While this may seem like a pretty straightforward service, the cost of San Antonio drain cleaning can differ quite a bit based on factors such as the nature of the problem and where it is lurking in your wastewater drainage system. For example, if you don't currently have any noticeable problems with your drain lines and you just want to avoid them in the future with preventative maintenance, your plumber can get straight to work and get the job done without any trouble. That's also the case if your system has a relatively minor issue like a basic clogged drain. Because it doesn't take long to resolve and it's a routine service, it's on the less costly side.

However, while these are less common, it's possible there could be serious issues that are difficult and time-consuming to deal with, like tree root intrusion. This does require San Antonio drain cleaning, but it's a longer process and it may be necessary to perform sewer line repair as well, so homeowners can expect the service to be more costly than a routine cleaning in those types of scenarios.

What's the Best Chemical Drain Cleaning Product?

Most plumbing experts actually don't recommend the use of harsh chemical drain cleaners. With frequent use, they can eat away at your pipes from the inside out and cause your system to need some major replacements before its time. Those harmful chemicals can also leak into the rivers and groundwater around San Antonio, contaminating them and affecting local flora and fauna. Hydro jetting is gentler on your system and a lot more environmentally-friendly, since it's only water and doesn't have the same corrosive properties as chemical cleaners.

Is Baking Soda and Vinegar Safe for Drain Cleaning?

If you're looking around for natural San Antonio drain cleaning solutions, you've probably come across the suggestion to use baking soda and vinegar to clear a drain clog. It's not unsafe, exactly—but it's not very effective either. It's true that baking soda and vinegar will create an explosive reaction in a closed environment like a capped bottle, but your pipe is not a closed environment. It'll just fizzle away for a short time and then you'll have added more material to the clog. Cola is another "trick" that doesn't usually work too well, and all that sugar is not good for your system.

What Can I Do to Avoid Clogs Between Drain Cleaning Appointments?

The number one, most effective way to avoid clogs and other frustrating plumbing problems is regular San Antonio drain cleaning services from a professional plumber. But there are also some things homeowners can do that will help considerably to both avoid clogged drains and decrease the rate of wear and tear damage over time. Here are a few maintenance and prevention tips:

Avoid pouring liquified fat, oil and grease into your kitchen sink, and keep fatty or greasy foods out of your in-sink garbage disposal.
If you don't have a garbage disposal, or even if you do, make sure to use your kitchen sink's strainer plug to keep food scraps out of your wastewater lines.
Do not flush anything other than toilet paper and human waste in your toilet—"flushable" wipes are not actually flushable.
Invest in a simple hair catcher for your shower and bathtub drains, and your bathroom sink if you brush your hair over the sink. These are mesh covers that fit over drains and prevent most hair from getting into your wastewater lines.
Teach small children how to use toilets responsibly by using a moderate amount of toilet paper and not flushing anything that doesn't belong
San Antonio has some of the hardest water in the USA, which means it contains high levels of dissolved minerals such as calcium. That doesn't make it unsafe to drink, but it can seriously damage your plumbing system by leaving mineral deposits inside the lines. While there's no way to completely avoid this issue, having your plumber install a water softening system can help.

Help! What Do I Do If I Have a San Antonio Drain Cleaning Emergency?

You need full access to all your plumbing fixtures, so if one of them is out of commission after hours or on the weekend, you need San Antonio drain cleaning emergency service right away to get it resolved so you can use it again. Plumbing disasters don't wait for a convenient time to strike, which is why our emergency plumbing team is standing by to provide 24-hour service whenever you need it. Call us any time of the night or day and we'll get an experienced plumber at your door with a smile as soon as possible to unclog your line and get your fixture working again. We charge the same rate for our services regardless of when it happens, so there's no need to worry about overtime charges or additional fees.

Need Effective San Antonio Drain Cleaning Service?

Whether you're in San Antonio, TX or nearby service areas such as Boerne, Converse and Longhorn, you can count on the same excellent workmanship and outstanding customer service from the team of drain cleaning professionals at Mr. Rooter Plumbing of San Antonio. We also offer many other professional services such as sewer line repair and water heater installation. We don't just work on residential plumbing systems—business owners can rely on us for expert commercial drain cleaning services and more for all commercial plumbing needs.

Contact us today by picking up the phone and calling schedule an appointment at a time that works best for you, or to chat with our friendly customer service staff and find out more about what we can do to get your pipes and fixtures in perfect working order with our services for plumbing repair.