“Drain guy walked me through three options from a printed rate card before touching a tool. Picked the middle one. No upsell, no drama, done in an hour.”
A backed-up drain is the least mysterious emergency in the book, which is why our price for it is not mysterious either: $189 flat for a standard mainline clearing through an accessible cleanout (illustrative demo pricing), quoted on the phone, honored at the door. Tub, sink, and laundry lines run less.
What makes Kelvin's drain call different is what happens after the water goes down. Every van carries an inspection camera, and any recurring clog gets scoped so you know whether you are dealing with a grease habit, a root intrusion at a joint, or a bellied pipe. Guessing is how the same clog becomes an annual subscription.
Calls we clear every week
- Kitchen sink backing up: grease and years of soap load
- Main line backup hitting the lowest drain first, usually a basement floor drain or tub
- Gurgling toilets when the washing machine drains: venting or partial main blockage
- Roots at the clay joint outside the foundation, the classic in prewar neighborhoods
- Slow everything upstairs: stack or vent issue, not six separate clogs
Clearing is the floor, not the ceiling
The machine clears the blockage; the camera tells the truth about the pipe. If the scope shows clean walls after clearing, we say so and leave. If it shows roots or a sag, you get the footage on your phone, a marked location and depth from the locator, and a flat quote for the durable fix, from spot repair to a hydro-jetting and root treatment program.
Recurring-clog households on the Whole-Home plan get an annual camera check included, which is how a $189 problem stays a $189 problem instead of becoming a dig (plan terms illustrative).
What it costs
| Job | Rate |
|---|---|
| Standard mainline clearingThrough accessible cleanout, camera check included | $189 flat |
| Secondary line: sink, tub, laundryCleared and flow-tested | from $149 |
| Hydro jettingFor grease-loaded or root-prone lines | from $420 |
| Camera inspection with locateFootage sent to your phone | $179, free with clearing |
Illustrative demo pricing. Members take 10 to 20 percent off (plan terms on the membership page).
Fair questions
Is the $189 real or a doorway price?
It is the real price for the standard job: accessible cleanout, single mainline blockage, cable clearing. The exceptions (no cleanout, pulling a toilet, severe roots) are named with their own flat rates before work starts. Illustrative demo pricing throughout.
Chemical drain cleaner: yes or no?
No. The caustic ones damage pipes and make the eventual service call hazardous for the tech. An enzyme maintenance treatment after a proper clearing is the version of that idea that works.
How do I know if my sewer line has roots?
Backups that return every 6 to 12 months, especially in houses older than 1970, are the classic tell. The camera answers it definitively, and the footage is yours either way.
Reviews
What the neighbors say
4.9 average across 2,384 reviews. Fictional reviews, illustrative of format.
“Booked online at 9:40 pm for a leaking shutoff valve. Dispatcher called at 7:31 the next morning, tech landed in the 8 to 10 window. This is how it should work everywhere.”
“Sump pump died during that week of storms. Emergency line answered on the second ring at 11 pm, pump replaced by 1 am. Yes it cost more at night. They told me exactly how much more before rolling.”
Pick a window. We do the rest.
Two hour arrival windows, a tech you can vet before the doorbell, and the price agreed before work starts.