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CostHelper.com > Home & Garden  > Unclogging a Pipe or a Toilet

Unclogging a Pipe or a Toilet Cost


How Much Does Unclogging a Pipe or a Toilet Cost?


low cost Range: $90-$325

Related Topics:

Replacing a Toilet

Sewer Line Replacement

Plumber

Burst Pipe

Septic System

Septic Tank Cleaning

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Rates for unclogging pipes vary in every part of the country, state and city, according to a representative of the Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors of California. Plumbers charge either by the job, or the hour. Either way, in most cases, plumbers will want to see the project before quoting a rate.
 
Typical costs:
Additional costs:
  • If the pipe is accessed by moving the toilet, some companies will charge extra to cover possible breakage, others add only the cost of a new wax ring.
Discounts:
Shopping for unclogging a pipe or a toilet:
Article updated March 2007
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What People Are Paying - Recent Comments


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Snake main sewer line from house to street
Amount: $245.00
Posted by: deniser in Burlington, MA.Posted: September 21st, 2010 10:09AM
Firm or Company: Mass Sewer & DrainDifficulty of Access: medium
Other Work: none
I didn't get a quote when I called the night before, I guess I was too anxious to just get it done and this company was recommended by my plumber who I trust, and they called me right back (kept trying to get me on the phone until I was able to answer). The guy came first thing the next morning. It didn't take too long, maybe 45 minutes. He said it was a fairly easy job, most are more difficult. 56' to the street. He did spend time to explain some things to me about prevention, and he didn't make a mess. I guess I'm glad it wasn't $500-$1000, which I had anticipated. 60 day guarantee.
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Toilet overflow
Amount: $425.00
Posted by: Ms. Ria in Hampton, VA.Posted: September 30th, 2010 08:09AM
Firm or Company: Roto rooterDifficulty of Access:
Other Work: Replace main pipe
Called root rooter the toilet won't flush,water coming fr. Sink going to toilet&tub Jerome charged $295. + sold me a $50.a gallon liquid. (supposedly good for unclogging pipes )it comes w/6 mo. Wrty. 3day later toilet overflow all the way to wood laminate floor. Jerome inspected it and determined it's different problem pipes leaks due to corrosion. Cost$425 second pipe was not installed(it was part of $425.) means job was left unfinished. I will not recommend. 5hrs for 1pipe! And wants another $129. + parts for 2nd pipe.not happy!
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I Keep Wanting to Cancel the Home Warranty
Amount: $60.00
Posted by: SavvyCat in DFW, TX.Posted: October 6th, 2010 07:10AM
Firm or Company: Rescue RooterDifficulty of Access:
I grumble every time I renew my home warranty... until something happens. I just had a clog, seem to get a good one at least once a year, and the service fee I pay with the warranty is $60.00. This time the little snake didn't do it. It got something, but it apparently wasn't THE thing. He had to pull out this monster auger with a scary gnashing metal thing on the end. After he finally conquered the clog after an hour, he told me this trip, without the warranty, would have been over $300. If that was the only thing that went wrong in the house this year I would be under the cost of the warranty, but sadly it's not.
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Roots in Main Drain.
Amount: $58.00
Posted by: Rick M. in Haddonfield, NJ.Posted: October 30th, 2010 10:10AM
Firm or Company: Home Depot RentalDifficulty of Access: Easy
My House is 86 years old and about every 3-4 years the main drain clogs up with roots. I rented the biggest sewer snake Home Depot has and cleaned it out myself. It was messy job, took about 1/2 hour. The hardest part was getting the thing down the basement. Wear Gloves! Ones you don't mind throwing out.
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Unclog Basement Line
Amount: $16.00
Posted by: Roman Dell in Kelowna, Canada, DC.Posted: November 8th, 2010 05:11AM
Firm or Company: DIYDifficulty of Access: Easy
Other Work: None
We had a renter in the basement suite. She had long haur & washed it every day. The line eventually clogged up. Roto Rooter estimated $250-$300. I went to Walmart & bought a hand crank $16 snake. At home I connected my electric drill to the end rather than than the hand crank. A half hour later & three passes the line was clear. Lot of black smelly goo. This is a cronic clogging problem so the $16 snake will come in handy.
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Grease clog kitchen line
Amount: $280.00
Posted by: Mike V in Houston, TX.Posted: November 24th, 2010 02:11AM
Firm or Company: Nicks PlumbingDifficulty of Access: Easy
I had a grease clog that seems to happen every 5 years or so on this line. I tried a 25ft 1/4 inch drill auger for two days with no success. Plumber took about 2 hours with his 75ft snake to clear it out. Plumbing prices have gone up quite a bit in the last few years.
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Clogged Tub Drain
Amount: $265.00
Posted by: kevin_pdx in Portland, OR.Posted: December 31st, 2010 03:12PM
Firm or Company: mr, rooterDifficulty of Access:
Tub drain completely stopped up...on New Years Eve no less. Called a local rooter company and the guy showed up in few hours. Gave us an estimate of $265, which seems on the high end of reasonable compared to what others are paying. Anyway, the only other option was not taking a shower to go out for New Years...so there you have it.
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Main Line
Amount: $645.00
Posted by: ericforman66 in Cheshire, CT.Posted: January 1st, 2011 11:01AM
Firm or Company: Advanced Rooter & DrainDifficulty of Access: None
Other Work: None
Nice enough guy to chat with, but absolutely ridiculous price for the easiest possible access to the main line, even if it is 200 feet long. No discount for needing my tools and help to repair his ancient snake machine, and he broke all three caps to our trap/clean-out manifold and had no qualms about leaving them that way, mentioning it would cost me more to fix if he even had any replacement caps with him. He kept repeating that RotoRooter would've charged $1800 for the same service, but based on costhelper.com reports, he's a crazy liar. I'm ashamed of myself for paying him, but with with my family and upstairs tenants needing facilities restored fast, I was desperate.
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Complaining
Amount: $15,000.00
Posted by: High Priced Plumber ready for work in Seattle, WA.Posted: January 5th, 2011 01:01PM
Firm or Company: ANYDifficulty of Access: ANY
Other Work: ANY
Im a Plumber, so I say this to all you nasty scank females that flush your used tampons and your toilet clogs up, why dont you stick your french manicured nails in that nasty toilet and clean it out? why your too good for that! so you call a plumber, he does it but charges for his time, fuel, materials, vehicle, experience and knowledge, but you complain when it cost more than 10 dollars! WTF do you cry babies think this is? charity? you think we should donate our time and materials? all this stuff cost money, how do you think we have to pay for this stuff? duh you never thought about this? i think that 200+ is reasonable for these services, i would have charged your welfare ass alot more! your the type that dont work and want everything for free or highly discounted, NOT ON MY WATCH! have you seen the fuel prices? tool prices? schooling prices? and if you never went to a trade school then you learned from on the job training in return have worked for minimum wage for 5yrs to become a Journeyman so you still complain, why
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clogged toilet and bath
Amount: $2,200.00
Posted by: slv in akron, OH.Posted: January 18th, 2011 07:01AM
Firm or Company: RotoRooterDifficulty of Access: moderate
Other Work: none
This estimate was to replace sewer line under bathroom floor, which would not have solved the problem. I had HJack's come and clear the clog for $356. RotoRooter could have made some big bucks on that one. What a scam!
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Clogged sewer out to street
Amount: $345.00
Posted by: Happily Flushing in Warrington, PA.Posted: January 26th, 2011 04:01AM
Firm or Company: Roto RooterDifficulty of Access: moderate
Main sewer line was backed up. L. from Roto Rooter came out that day, around 7 PM. Not only was there snow on the ground, and temps in the 20s, he had to pry off the rusty frozen sewer cap, then power snake the 100 feet or so. When it still wasn't running well, he did the sewer camera, identified the problem, showed me a place where the cast iron pipe was starting to go bad, then re-snaked the entire pipe. Flow improved further. For no extra charge, he then checked and snaked the sewer trap out by the road where my line connects to the public sewer. He worked for 2 hours, dragging all sorts of heavy tools and equipment around. The problem was solved, I got his cell phone number in case of problems, and a 6 month warranty. Totally worth the $345. I gave him a nice tip, too.
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Unclogging kitchen sink, snaked to main line
Amount: $414.00
Posted by: rooter-o-rama in West Valley City, UT.Posted: February 3rd, 2011 08:02PM
Firm or Company: Rescue RooterDifficulty of Access: easy
Other Work: Flushed water heater
They said that they would come out 24/7 for the same price. They were here within an hour at 8pm. They had a Service plan where you would save money. I saved $50 on the sink drain and it included checking the whole house for problems plus flushing the water heater today and a year from today. The Service plan was $133, but with the $50 it saved me today, plus the other stuff I thought it was worth it. Not so sure about the other $300 though. My kitchen was flooding because the water was backing up into the dishwasher, so what ya gonna do?
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Clogged sewer main line
Amount: $331.00
Posted by: Ross Craig in Edmonds, WA.Posted: March 12th, 2011 03:03PM
Firm or Company: Roto RooterDifficulty of Access: moderate
Two technicians showed up and worked for about an hour. They had to cut the clean-out cap off of the cast iron drain pipe to get to the clog. The $331 includes the cost of a replacement clean-out cap and snaking the drain to the street. Seems like a fair deal to me.
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RotoRipOFF
Amount: $0.00
Posted by: EllenR in Rochester, NY.Posted: March 20th, 2011 03:03PM
Firm or Company: RotoRooterDifficulty of Access:
Seriously....I asked for a 'ballpark estimate' over the phone...which they refused to give...so at 11pm at night the plumber comes out, quotes my $319 to snake my toilet drain (the toilet was already off) and I tell him to get lost! could have saved us both time/effort. Rented an industrial snake from HOME DEPOT for $50 bucks...PROBLEM SOLVED....so there!
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Clogged Kitchen Line to Main - Kitchen tied into vent
Amount: $175.00
Posted by: Dave in Elmhurst, IL in Elmhurst, IL.Posted: March 21st, 2011 04:03PM
Firm or Company: Dhamer Plumbing, Elmhurst ILDifficulty of Access: easy
Our basement laundry tub filled almost to the top with sewer backup on Saturday morning. Bailed it and tried liquid plumber and bought a cheap snake to see where the plug was. Was about 5' under concrete. Plumber came next morning first thing, used motorized auger through an access vent and cleared it out no problem. Plumber and 1 assistant - $175 if completed in an hour. Fair deal - could probably have rented an auger but have 5 kids and work for a living so don't mind paying a fair price for plumber and assistant on a responsive call. BTW I did call RotoRooter and they refused to even provide minimum service call price, hourly rates or anything so I recognized poor and expensive business practices when I saw them and didn't bother with them. Sounds like others have also had a bad experience. Probably ok guys but i don't like a system that doesn't even disclose any basic information.
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Main drian in the basement
Amount: $425.00
Posted by: JesseMN in minneapolis, MN.Posted: March 24th, 2011 08:03AM
Firm or Company: companyDifficulty of Access: easy
Had a company come and open the main drain in the basement. water was coming out from the drain and flooding the laundry room.
cost was $425. it took about an hour work with a mechanical Auger ( snake). clog was was like 20 feet deep.
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Sewer backup and overflow
Amount: $12,000.00
Posted by: In Shock in Claremont, NH.Posted: March 28th, 2011 01:03PM
Firm or Company: ServProDifficulty of Access: easy
Had a sewer backup in toilet and bathtub which overflowed (on a Sunday) and went down into my finished basement. Did not have a backflow preventor but this price still seems awfully high. Were there for 8 hours tops and came back a couple days later to remove the fans and dehumidifiers. Does this seem reasonable to others?
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Snake main line and a bathtub drain through a vent on the roof
Amount: $195.00
Posted by: Alex J in Pacheco, CA.Posted: April 9th, 2011 10:04PM
Firm or Company: Family owed firmDifficulty of Access: Medium
Other Work: None
Our kitchen garbage disposal must have clogged up a drain line further down the pipe, because food, grease, and water started bubbling up in our guest bathroom tub. I tried plunging and a 25-ft snake ($14 at Home Depot) to no avail.

I called a local plumber and ran a snake through our cleanout toward the street connection (about 70 ft away). He pulled out a big mass of roots, meaning our lateral had failed and tree roots were clogging it up. But the tub was still full of water.

Next step, he brought out a smaller snake and snaked through the tub...couldn't get it. He took apart the trap in our kitchen sink and snaked through there...couldn't get it. Next he borrowed a ladder and went onto the roof above the bathroom and snaked through the vent there Bingo! Tub and sink ran clear. Bad news was, we probably need a new sewer line ($4000-$6000).

Charge for all the work was $250, which seemed reasonable since he stayed about 1.5 hours. After telling him I had used their company twice before, he gave me a discount. Total as $195.
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snake out drain and repair leak
Amount: $520.68
Posted by: Flushed of $ in Seattle, WA.Posted: April 14th, 2011 11:04PM
Firm or Company: Butterfield PLumbing LLCDifficulty of Access: ? my son set appt.
We had 2 upstairs toilets, a shower, a washing machine, and 3 upstairs sinks that, when used, backed up into our downstairs toilet and then into our downstairs bathtub! We couldn't wash, shower, flush etc! + odd spot on bedroom wall next to bath.
My son called Butterfield. (They had 5 stars.) They charged 520.68 and left! He booked a 2nd Co.
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unclogging a pipe
Amount: $349.30
Posted by: Flushed of $ in Seattle, WA.Posted: April 14th, 2011 11:04PM
Firm or Company: Roto-RooterDifficulty of Access: easy
Called Roto-Rooter to clean up the mess left by Butterfield Plumbing the day before. The 1st guy
wrote some indecipherable notes on an inspection paper and said more people would come to "fix" the terrible job done the day before. I needed to pay him $349.30 now. I did. Meanwhile another Roto-Rooter fellow arrived.
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unclogging a pipe
Amount: $10,156.13
Posted by: Flushed of $ in Seattle, WA.Posted: April 14th, 2011 11:04PM
Firm or Company: Roto-RooterDifficulty of Access:
The second Roto-Rooter guy said he would give a free re-camera towards main to see condition of line under street. (Remember we could not wash, shower, flush, run any water that would not go into
the downstairs toilet and then into the downstairs tub.) The cause he said was root infiltration.
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unclog drain and permaline pipe to main
Amount: $9,855.00
Posted by: Flushed of $ in Seattle, WA.Posted: April 15th, 2011 12:04AM
Firm or Company: Roto-RooterDifficulty of Access:
In addition to previous repair of drain will install 30' of permaliner from 1st excavation to city main, all parts, labor, and permits incl. to complete this job.
Got suspicious when guy kept pushing the contracts at me, saying he had another emergency. He followed me to the bank to cash out a CD, demanding I sign his contract 1st. I said not until I see if I have enough money. I walked with a walker. I called my credit card
company tonight for help. Help comes at 5:00 this AM. Will stay up all night, if I have to, to get some of my $ back and learn how to stop the work they are to do today. Now there is an excavating machine, a huge covered pile of dirt, yellow tape around a pear tree, orange cones, a metal plate over the 10' hole. Payment was always demanded 1st because the job was so big. The 4 day job would be done in 2. I was to receive discounts on everything. Yet at the end, I paid $880.01 more than quoted! Let him do the last calculation without checking it--guess that's when he charged me $880.71 more! Our clogged up drain cost me $20,479.30! That's not counting the $520.00 charged by Butterfield Plumbing! Don't use Roto-Rooters! I was royally flushed of $.
P.S. So far everything works. Hope I don't find all that H2O in the downstairs bathtub!
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snake out drain and repair leak
Amount: $0.00
Posted by: Flushed of $ in Seattle, WA.Posted: April 27th, 2011 05:04PM
Firm or Company: Butterfield PLumbing LLCDifficulty of Access: easy
Other Work: April 14, 2011
On April 14, 2011, I wrote a scathing report here on Butterfield Plumbing. Today I sit corrected and give them their 5 stars back.
After the patched sewer pipe continued to leak (or so we thought), we called them back. 2nd plumber said there was a leak higher up. After removing drywall up to the ceiling, he found a cracked pipe.
He worked 4 1/2 hours, cleaned up, and charged us zero $. Butterfield plumbing wishes to please the customer. I restore the 5 stars they had on yelp.com and wrote them a rave review of my own.
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plumbing prices
Amount: $0.00
Posted by: denise...proud wife of plumber in nj, NJ.Posted: May 29th, 2011 02:05AM
Firm or Company: n/aDifficulty of Access:
Other Work: n/a
I loooove the comment from the "high priced" plumber on this page!! Although he may have been a bit intense....i completely understand why! I am a 30 yr old mom of 3 boys and the proud wife of an HONEST plumber!!! i dont think people consider the cost to the plumber...like the man said above...tools, GAS, schooling, insurance, trucks, employees...etc. it adds up!! U should see the amount of $ that goes out every month to keep a healthy business going! Now, yes, some of you seem to have been legitamitely ripped off! I feel for you...i would be in the same situation if i wasnt married to a plumber! Im proud to say that my husbands prices are fair..just this past memorial day wknd he left my moms party at 8pm to snake a toilet for an elderly woman...thirty mins away...and i charged her $190! For a holiday wknd emergency call half hour away!!! I guess i felt badly for her..but we dont charge that for every snake job! $300 is normal. We try to help when we can. Good luck to all!!
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Snake out drain from kitchen clear out
Amount: $148.00
Posted by: Unhappy Bill in Ormond Beach, FL.Posted: July 8th, 2011 05:07AM
Firm or Company: Roto RooterDifficulty of Access: Simple
Other Work: None
I was very upset with the high bill from Roto Rooter today so I looked on the Internet to see if anyone else had a similar experience. I was surprised to see how many people have had similar experiences with Roto Rooter. Why should we have to pay so much for someone to do what anyone can do, that is turn on the motor and feed the auger snake into the line?

We called Roto Rooter to snake our line from outside the kitchen toward the street. To my utter amazement, the bill was $148 for a 10 minute job. I would have been disgusted with a bill half that amount for that job. After reading the complaints of others, I guess I was lucky that it wasn't higher than that. The service technician asked if I wanted a bottle of the drain cleaner liquid. I said no, it would be cheaper to get it at Lowes. I didn't realize that if I had gotten it, the bill would have been $180 instead of $148. The technician showed me the standard list of prices when I expressed displeasure at the high price he was charging. I have rarely been so disappointed at the price for what was done.

Next time I have a clogged line, I will go and rent the same piece of equipment that Roto Rooter uses and it will only cost $20 for 4 hours or $30 per day. That is the rental price I just found on the Internet. Fortunately, snaking a drain line can be done by almost anyone, it is not technical like working on your TV or computer.
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whole house clean out through roof vents
Amount: $350.00
Posted by: Exorbitant prices in el paso, TX.Posted: September 5th, 2011 09:09PM
Firm or Company: local co.Difficulty of Access: easy
Other Work: double sink clog
Should have SIGNED A CONTRACT BEFORE any work was done.Too expensive for work done running a snake down six vent pipes took less than an hour. I had to loan him a bucket and rags(inside the house), and provide the electricity while running the snake. Will go rent one and have honey-do next time. Thinking about it roofers climb on the roof tops just to give estimates and don't charge for it, don't know why it is such a big deal. The prices being charged for this non-technical easy work are not a good value. Sure there was a risk involved of going up on the roof, but he sat down to use the machine and my roof is not that steep. Besides I know how much it costs to run a business including advertising,insurance, employees, fuel,truck maintenance, regulatory fees. It was just not a good value. The plumber industry should rethink their rates, Maybe an hourly rate & charge for parts. They are charging more than some SPECIALTY doctors!...it's just ridiculous.
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How much is toooo much? Main cleanout
Amount: $175.00
Posted by: Candy Copeland in Bellflower, CA, .Posted: September 18th, 2011 01:09PM
Firm or Company: JanDifficulty of Access:
Our main is clogged. Called first plumbing company and that guy said he'd have to dig up our main to the street, knock a hole in it , suck out the sewage when they broke into it, then put in a cleanout and replace the main pipe. Est. was $900.00.
Second guy/company said the same thing. Est. was $2800.00. We did have that companies crew with the snake camera come and look into the main with cameras. Cost, $175.00.
Is $2,800.00 to much?
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Unclogging the Main Line
Amount: $290.00
Posted by: a user in Sarasota, .Posted: September 25th, 2011 09:09AM
Firm or Company: Plumbing TodayDifficulty of Access:
Excellent work, and found this site helpful in determining price fairness.
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Unclogging toilet and removing toilet
Amount: $335.00
Posted by: Llo in Baton Rouge, LA.Posted: October 28th, 2011 06:10PM
Firm or Company: Homecare 360°Difficulty of Access: No
Other Work: No
1st visit, applied 6' roto rooter $109, flushing was minimally improved but not all the way. Plumber explained the next step would be to remove entire toilet to see if there is an object causing the poor flushing pressure or if a new toilet is needed.
2nd visit, removed toilet and found child's toy lodged in toilet. Charge was $225
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Unclogging shower and kitchen sink
Amount: $176.00
Posted by: barlow in Neptune Beach, FL.Posted: January 18th, 2012 07:01AM
Firm or Company: Bill FenwickDifficulty of Access: Difficult
I helped get some gear up to the roof and hold the ladder. Shower drain was clogged and kithen sink required vent access on the roof to clear drain.

Wasn't sure what charges would be, this price was after a 25 dollar off coupon.
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Clearing Main Sewer Line with 100' power auger.
Amount: $150.00
Posted by: William Thomas Schlosser in Lakewood, CO.Posted: February 9th, 2012 09:02PM
Firm or Company: Afford -A-RooterDifficulty of Access: Easy
Our main line was very clogged. We called a drain-cleaning company, and hired them to use a 100' line, to attempt to clear the line. We knew before hand that this may not completely clear the line, which is 200'. And in fact it didnt. But we were satisfied that he did his best; he recommended a sewer-jetting, to clear the built-up grease-like material lining the pipe. Problem solved. Total cost: $150+$485=$635.00
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