Clogged Drain Cleaning in New Jersey

Drains clog for different reasons in different parts of New Jersey. Older neighborhoods deal with cast iron and clay sewer lines under big trees, more recent neighborhoods mainly with grease and wipes in PVC pipe, and many rural homes with a septic tank that needs attention. Find your city or the closest one below. On each city page you will find a rough cost range, notes on local soil and trees, and one number for a local plumber.

Older housing is common in New Jersey, and with it come cast iron stacks, clay laterals and, in some mid-century neighborhoods, Orangeburg pipe that flattens as it ages. Many older cities in the north still have combined sewers, so a heavy storm can push water back toward basements. Mature oaks, maples and sycamores shade many streets and send roots into sewer laterals. Nor'easters and coastal storms soak low ground near the shore, and rural and shore homes often rely on septic systems.

• Combined sewers in many older northern cities
• Orangeburg pipe in some mid-century homes
• Cast iron and clay pipe in older houses
• Roots from mature oaks, maples and sycamores
• Nor'easters and coastal flooding near the shore

Ask whether the camera shows cast iron, clay or Orangeburg in your lateral before the plumber prices a repair.

• Kitchen sink. Cooking grease and oil that cool and harden on the pipe wall, plus food scraps, coffee grounds and soap scum that stick to it. A garbage disposal sends more solids down, not fewer.
• Bathroom sink. Hair mixed with soap, toothpaste and shaving residue, caught on the pop-up stopper or in the trap. Small items dropped down the drain add to it.
• Tub or shower. Hair is the main cause, bound together with soap scum and conditioner. Older tubs with a trip lever drain collect it in the overflow and the drum trap.
• Toilet. Too much paper at once, wipes labeled flushable, paper towels, cotton swabs, dental floss and toys. Low-flow toilets from before about 2005 clog more often.
• Floor or laundry drain. Lint from the washing machine, sand and grit, soap, and in basements the silt that washes in. A dry trap lets sewer gas up as well.
• Main sewer line. Tree roots coming in at joints in clay and cast iron pipe, grease built up from years of kitchen use, wipes, and pipe that has sagged or cracked.
• Outdoor or yard drain. Leaves, dirt, sand and roots in yard drains, area drains, driveway trench drains and the pipes that carry downspout water away.