Clogged Drain Cleaning in Rhode Island

The causes of a clogged drain change from one part of Rhode Island to the next. Older neighborhoods have cast iron and clay sewer lines under big trees, newer subdivisions mostly see grease and wipes in PVC pipe, and many rural homes depend on a septic tank. Find your city or the nearest one below. Each city page has a rough cost range, a look at what local soil and trees do to drains, and one number that connects you with a local plumber.

Triple-deckers, mill-era houses and older colonials fill many neighborhoods in Rhode Island, and they often have cast iron stacks and clay laterals. Some older city areas have combined sewers, so heavy rain can push water back toward basements. Water is soft, so roots and grease matter more than scale. Outside the sewer areas, homes use septic systems, and some older properties still have cesspools. Nor'easters and coastal storms flood low ground near the bay.

• Cast iron and clay pipe in older homes
• Combined sewers in some older city areas
• Septic systems and some remaining cesspools
• Nor'easters and coastal storms
• Roots from mature street and yard trees

Ask whether a backup in a multi-family house is in your own branch line or the shared main, since the fix and the cost differ.

• 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.