Anyone can clear a clog. The real question is why the same drain keeps backing up. A recurring clog is a symptom of a deeper cause, and until you fix that cause, you will keep reaching for the plunger. Here are the usual suspects.
Grease and soap buildup
In kitchen lines, grease is enemy number one. It goes down warm and liquid, then cools and hardens on the pipe wall, catching food particles until the pipe narrows to nothing. In bathrooms, soap scum and hair do the same. Cabling clears the immediate blockage; hydro jetting scours the wall clean.
Tree roots in the sewer
When multiple drains back up at once, or a main clogs again within weeks, suspect roots. They enter aging clay or cast-iron laterals through joints and cracks, forming a net that catches everything. This is extremely common on the tree-lined lots of communities like Ferndale.
Pipe problems: bellies and offsets
A section of pipe that has sagged (a belly) or shifted (an offset joint) traps waste and clogs repeatedly no matter how often you clear it. Only a camera inspection reveals these, and only a repair fixes them.
The right fix
For recurring clogs, our drain cleaning and clog removal team runs a camera first to find the true cause, then matches the method to the problem — cabling, hydro jetting where the pipe can handle it, or a targeted sewer repair if the pipe itself is the issue.
Prevention that works
- Never pour grease down the drain — collect and trash it.
- Use drain screens to catch hair and food scraps.
- Run hot water after using the kitchen sink to keep lines clear.
- If you have older clay laterals and mature trees, schedule periodic camera checks.
From our licensed plumbers
What a camera shows that a snake never will
There is a reason the same drain keeps clogging even after a plumber "fixed" it, and it comes down to the difference between two tools that look interchangeable but answer completely different questions. A snake answers "can I get water flowing again right now." A camera answers "why did this stop flowing in the first place." Skip the second question and you are treating a symptom while the cause sits there waiting to reappear.
A cable clears a path through a clog; it does not tell you why the clog formed. That distinction is the whole game with recurring backups. We have pulled a snake through a "fixed" line dozens of times only to have the homeowner call back in a month — because the cable punched a hole through grease that immediately closed back up, or slipped past roots that kept growing. A camera changes the conversation: you see the greasy pipe wall, the root intrusion at a specific joint, or the low spot in the pipe that traps everything that passes.
The honest tradeoff is cabling versus hydro jetting. Jetting scours the pipe wall clean rather than boring through the middle, so it actually solves grease and root problems — but only when the pipe is sound enough to take the pressure, which is why we camera first and never jet automatically. For homes with older lines around Ferndale, matching the method to the pipe is what keeps a drain cleaning from becoming a monthly ritual.
Frequently asked questions
Generally no. They can damage older pipes, are often ineffective on grease and roots, and create a hazard for the next person who opens the drain. Mechanical clearing and, where appropriate, hydro jetting are safer and more effective.
Most homes do not need routine cleaning, but if you have older clay laterals with root history, a periodic camera check and preventive clearing can head off backups before they happen.
Have a plumbing problem right now?
Our licensed Bloomfield Hills plumbers answer 24/7 and quote the price before any work begins.
Call (831) 290-4327
