Sewer · Rooter · Drain
Sewer line service in Yakima: camera first, then the fix
Clogs, backups, roots and broken lines. We look inside the pipe before we clear it, repair it or replace it.
Chapter 01
What a failing sewer line is telling you
Most sewer trouble starts quietly. One drain gurgles when another one runs, a toilet is slow to clear, the basement floor drain smells, or there's a wet patch in the yard that doesn't match the weather. By the time sewage shows up in a tub, the line has usually been struggling for a while.
The causes are the same ones we see across the Yakima Valley and Tri-Cities. A clog of grease and paper that built up in a bad spot. Tree roots that found a joint and moved in. A line that has bellied, so water sits in a low stretch and solids settle out. Or a pipe that has cracked, shifted or collapsed after decades underground. Each one needs a different fix, which is why guessing is the expensive way to do this job.
A sewage smell deserves a look even when nothing has backed up. It can be a dry trap, a worn seal on a pump, or a break in the line. We'd rather sort out which one it is than have you wondering for another week.
Shephard plumber in a hooded sweatshirt working at a flooded drain in a yard
Clear it or fix it, and know which before we start
Clearing a line and repairing a line are different jobs. Rooter service and drain cleaning cut through roots and scour out buildup so water has a clean run again. That's the right call for a clog in a sound pipe. It's the wrong call for a broken one, because a cracked line that gets cleared will back up again.
When the camera shows damage, you get the choice in plain terms: repair the bad section or replace the run. Where the yard allows it, we'll talk through trenchless sewer replacement by pipe bursting, which puts new pipe in the old line's path without a trench the full length of the lawn. Where it doesn't, we dig, and we do our own digging.
Sewer work isn't only residential. We handle waste lines for offices, shops and commercial kitchens, and we install and replace sump and sewage ejection pumps where a basement or lower level sits below the line.
Chapter 03
What goes down the toilet, and what doesn't
Only human waste and toilet paper belong in a toilet. Wipes and paper towels don't break down, and they clog lines.
Washington's Emergency Management Division has said it just as plainly: it seems obvious, but those two things are the only ones that should be flushed. Wipes and paper towels are behind clogs in house lines and in the mains that serve whole neighborhoods.
Grease is the other repeat offender, so pour it in a can instead of the sink. And if a big tree sits over your sewer line, a camera check every so often is a lot cheaper than a backup on a holiday weekend.
Signs it's time to call again
Call us back if a drain we cleared starts slowing down again within a few weeks, if more than one fixture backs up at the same time, if you hear gurgling when the washer drains, or if the smell comes back. A line that clogs twice in a short stretch is usually telling you about a problem you can't clear your way out of, and the camera is how we find it.
Tell us which fixtures are affected and when it happens. A detail like "only when the washer drains" or "only after a hard rain" often narrows down where in the line to look. Our office is open Monday to Friday, 7am to 5pm.
Shephard Plumbing, 18 S 4th Ave, Yakima, WA 98902. Washington L&I plumbing contractor license SHEPHPL791N6. Office hours Monday to Friday, 7am to 5pm. Call (509) 728-3403.
Camera first
Look before we dig, and tell you what we saw.
A sewer repair done blind is a guess with a shovel. So the order never changes: inspect, locate, clear, and only then repair.
Also on the truck: Video Inspection, Sewer Locating, rooter service, drain cleaning, pipe bursting, and sump and sewage ejection pumps.
Video Inspection
A camera goes down the line first, so the repair starts from what is actually in the pipe: roots at a joint, a crack, a sag where water pools, or a clear pipe and a problem somewhere else.
Sewer Locating
Then we find it from above ground. Locating shows where the line runs and where the trouble sits along it, so a repair means one planned dig in the right spot instead of trial holes across the yard.
Rooter and Drain
If the pipe is sound, rooter service and drain cleaning clear the roots and buildup, and the camera can confirm that the line is really open.
Repair
If it isn't sound, we repair the bad section or replace the run: by trench where we have to, by pipe bursting where the line and the yard allow it.
“Jeo and Zac great teamwork, professional and great customer service!! Job well done!!! Highly recommended. Commercial and Residential plumbing!!”