Drain Cleaning in
Palo Alto, CA
Kitchen, bath, laundry and main line clogs in Palo Alto homes, cleared by JetPipe, a family owned plumbing company. Motorized augers, hydro jetting and camera inspection.
From a Slow Sink to a Main Line That Has Stopped
Grease that cooled inside the pipe and built up in layers, usually over years rather than weeks. The classic symptom is a sink that drains fine in summer and slowly in winter.
Hair bound together with soap scum, sitting just past the trap or further down the branch. Quick to clear, quick to come back if nobody looks at why.
Lint, detergent residue and a standpipe that overflows when the washer dumps. Often a sizing or venting issue rather than a blockage.
Roots, a collapsed section, or a belly holding water. This is the one where clearing it and leaving is the wrong answer, and a sewer camera inspection is how we tell the difference.
The Clog Usually Tells Us How Old the House Is
Drain pipe in this city falls into roughly three generations, and the one under your floor decides whether a clog is an event or a pattern.
Older drains, the 1890s to 1940s homes of Professorville, Old Palo Alto, Crescent Park and the streets around downtown. Rust and buildup form on the inside wall of old iron until the working diameter is a fraction of what it was. Nothing is technically blocking the line. The line is simply narrower than the household needs, which is why it clears and then closes again on a predictable schedule.
Slab on grade, the Eichler tracts of Greenmeadow, Fairmeadow, Green Gables and Charleston Meadows. The drain lines run beneath the floor, so a clog in a branch we can reach is routine, and a repeat clog is the point where we want the camera. It tells us whether we are clearing buildup or looking at a section that has shifted, and that decides everything that follows.
Barron Park, Midtown and the remodels and rebuilds in between. Mid-century single-story homes on a slab or a raised floor, which we confirm at the estimate, and many have had a kitchen or bath redone over the decades. A repeat clog here often points at one old section tied into newer pipe, or at one bad fitting, not at the whole system.
Knowing which of the three we are in changes what we recommend, and it is the reason we look before we quote rather than after.
Jetting Is a Tool We Choose Carefully
Hydro jetting is part of our regular drain work, so the recommendation and the equipment come from the same team. That keeps scheduling simple and keeps the advice about what your pipe actually needs.
It also means we can be honest about when jetting is the wrong tool. High pressure water strips a pipe back to its wall, which is exactly what you want in a greased up kitchen line and exactly what you do not want in old cast iron that has already thinned from the inside. We run the camera first and tell you which situation your house is in. If jetting is not a candidate, we say so rather than selling it anyway.
Some Lines Do Not Need Clearing, They Need Replacing
If the same line backs up three times in a year, the clog is not the problem. Roots have found a joint, a section has settled out of slope, or the pipe has lost enough diameter that normal household use overwhelms it. Clearing it again buys you a few months and costs you the price of the visit each time.
We will show you the camera footage and say plainly which of those it is. Where replacement is the answer, we do that work too, and in many yards trenchless installation lets us replace the line without trenching the whole thing. Sewer replacement typically takes one to three days.
Drains We Have Cleared
Real jobs we have completed, with the camera footage that came with them.
400+ reviews from Bay Area homeowners
Drain Service Across Palo Alto
JetPipe is based in Sunnyvale and serves Palo Alto, which puts most Palo Alto addresses a short drive away.
The map shows where we work most weeks, not a fence. We are based in Sunnyvale and we regularly take jobs in Palo Alto. One call tells you whether we can reach you and when.
Why does the same drain keep clogging?
Usually because the pipe itself has changed. In homes from the 1890s to the 1940s, such as those in Professorville, Old Palo Alto and Crescent Park, old drain lines narrow with rust and buildup, or a section settles and holds water. A camera run shows which one it is, and that decides whether cleaning is a fix or only a pause.
Will jetting damage an old pipe?
Only if the pipe is the wrong candidate, and checking that is our first step. Old cast iron that has thinned from the inside should not take high pressure water, so we run the camera before choosing a tool and tell you plainly when jetting is off the table.
Who is responsible for the sewer lateral, me or the city?
Both, depending on where the cleanout is. When a city cleanout exists, the city owns the lateral from the main up to and including that cleanout, and the homeowner owns the rest to the house. Palo Alto does not require a sewer lateral inspection at sale, but if our camera shows the problem sits on the city side, we show you the footage so you can pass it along.
Is the camera inspection an extra charge?
Included with the drain cleaning. We would rather you see what is in your pipe than take our word for it, and it is the only way to tell a one time clog from a pattern.
I poured chemical cleaner down it first. Does that matter?
Mention it before we begin, because those products sit in the line and are caustic for whoever opens the trap. They also do little against grease or roots, and in older pipe they can thin a wall that is already thin.
How long does clearing a main line take?
Plan on one to two hours for most main line clearings, camera run included. If the camera shows roots or a collapse, we stop and talk about it instead of spending your afternoon clearing something that will close again.