Drain Cleaning That Fixes the Cause
Good drain cleaning reads the clog before it reaches for a tool. Every clog has a cause, and the wrong tool either misses it or hurts the pipe. A simple, localized clog gets cabled and cleared. When the trouble runs deeper, a backup that keeps returning, a blocked main, or a pipe we suspect is fragile, we send a camera down to see what we are dealing with. Then we clear it with a cable or a hydro jet, whichever the blockage and the pipe actually call for. The service call costs $0, the estimate comes in writing, and an actively backing-up drain gets a 60-minute response, any hour.
- Diagnosis before method
- $0 service call
- Cabling or hydro jetting
- Licensed, family-owned since 2008
We clear the clog and clean the line. If the camera shows the line is actually damaged or collapsed, that’s a sewer line repair, and we’ll show you the footage rather than jet a pipe that can’t take it.
What is drain cleaning?
Drain cleaning is the removal of a blockage from a drain line and the cleaning of the pipe walls around it, using mechanical cabling (snaking) or high-pressure hydro jetting. It treats what’s inside the pipe: grease, hair, roots, scale, and objects. It is not sewer repair, which fixes the pipe itself when it has cracked, sagged, or collapsed. When a clog keeps returning or a main line is involved, a camera inspection is what tells the two apart.
No Service Call Fee
It costs nothing for us to come out and look at the drain. You get a free written estimate before any work.
We Diagnose, Not Guess
For a clog that keeps returning, a main line, or a pipe we suspect is fragile, a camera finds the real cause and confirms the pipe can take the method. A simple, localized clog gets cabled and cleared.
Cable or Hydro Jet
A cable for a single localized clog, a hydro jet for grease, roots, and recurring buildup, chosen for the pipe.
What kinds of drains do we clear?
Every drain in a house, from a slow bathroom sink to a blocked main. A clogged drain announces itself differently depending on where it lives. Here's how we read each one.
Kitchen Drain Cleaning
The kitchen line is the grease line. Fats coat the pipe wall, harden, and narrow it until nothing passes. A cable buys weeks. Jetting strips the wall clean and buys years, when the camera confirms the pipe is sound.
- Grease removed, not pierced
- Disposal and trap lines cleared
- Jetting for the recurring cases
Bathroom Drain Cleaning
Sinks, tubs, and showers clog on hair bound up with soap scum. The plug builds slowly, which is why the drain got slow before it stopped. We remove it whole and restore full flow.
- Hair and soap plugs pulled out
- Slow drains restored to full flow
- Traps and branch lines serviced
Toilets & Branch Lines
A toilet that clogs alone is usually a local problem or a flushed object. A toilet that gurgles when the tub drains is a branch or main problem. The difference decides the fix, and we check before we choose.
- Object retrieval
- Branch-line clearing
- Escalation to the main when signs point there
Laundry & Floor Drains
Laundry lines catch lint and detergent sludge. Floor drains catch everything else and dry-trap odors on top. Both are easy to ignore until a wash cycle ends up on the garage floor.
- Lint and sludge buildup cleared
- Floor drains cleaned and tested
- Traps checked and reprimed
Main Line Backups
When the lowest drain backs up or several fixtures gurgle together, the main is blocked and it's urgent. We clear it, then camera it, and tell you plainly whether it needed cleaning or needs repair.
- 60-minute response on active backups
- Cleared, then verified on camera
- Honest cleaning-vs-repair verdict
The Clog That Keeps Coming Back
A drain that re-clogs on a schedule has a cause a cable isn't removing: roots, grease, scale, or a low spot holding debris. Our clogged drain service finds it on camera and clears the cause, not the symptom.
- Cause found on camera, not guessed
- Roots, grease, and scale removed
- Repair flagged only when it's real
How does All Star clear a drain?
A simple, localized clog gets cabled and cleared, no fuss. When a clog keeps returning, sits in the main, or runs through a pipe we suspect is fragile, a camera earns its place: it answers the two questions that decide the method, what is blocking the line, and what the line is made of.
Four steps, and the reasoning behind each one.
Read the clog, then choose the tool
A simple clog shows its hand in where and how it backs up, and the cable handles it. When the signs point deeper, a camera travels the line and shows the cause: grease, hair, roots, scale, an object, or a sag holding water. It also shows the pipe itself. Sound PVC, copper, or healthy cast iron handles high pressure. Old clay, Orangeburg, or corroded cast iron can crack under it, and that you can't tell from the sink.
Match the tool to what we found
A cable (snake) drills through a localized clog: fast, inexpensive, and gentle enough for fragile pipe. A hydro jet runs 3,000 to 8,000 PSI of water and scours the full pipe diameter: the answer for grease, roots, and buildup that keeps returning. Neither is better. Each is right for different findings.
Clear the line completely
Punching a hole through a blockage makes the water drain today and the clog return next month. Clearing means the cause leaves the pipe: the root mass cut and flushed, the grease stripped off the walls, the object out. That standard is why our work holds.
Verify on camera and show you
The camera goes back down after clearing. You see the open line yourself, and if the footage shows damage a cleaning can't fix, a sag, a crack, a failed joint, you see that too, with a separate written quote for the repair. No pressure, and no jetting a pipe that can't take it.
Snake or hydro jet: which does your drain need?
It's the most common question in drain work, and the honest answer is: it depends on the clog and the pipe. Here's the real comparison, the one we run in our own heads after the camera comes out.
We carry both on the truck, so the choice is about your line, not our schedule.
A one-off, localized clog: snake.
One fixture blocked, cause is a discrete plug, pipe is fine. The cable clears it quickly and cheaply, and there's no reason to bring pressure into it.
Grease in the line: jet.
A cable slides through grease and leaves the coating behind, so the line re-narrows within weeks. Jetting strips the walls back to bare pipe. For kitchens, it's the only fix that lasts.
Roots in the line: jet, then verdict.
Jetting cuts roots out and flushes them. But roots got in through a gap, and the camera decides the second question: whether the gap is minor or the start of a repair conversation.
Old or fragile pipe: snake, no debate.
Clay, Orangeburg, and corroded cast iron can crack under high pressure. On those lines the cable is the safe call even when a jet would clean better. We will not jet a pipe that can't take it.
A clog that returns on schedule: camera, then jet.
Recurrence means the cause never left. The camera names it (roots, grease, scale, a belly), and if the pipe is sound, jetting removes what the cable has been drilling through all year.
Backing up right now: whichever clears it fastest.
An active backup gets urgency first and optimization second. We stop the flooding, then scope and finish the job properly once the water is down.
Our thanks to the people who keep our communities running.
A 5% discount, up to $200 off, for first responders, military, healthcare workers, teachers, seniors, and nonprofit staff. Mention "Community Heroes" when you call, and we'll take care of the rest.
- First Responders
- Military
- Healthcare Workers
- Seniors
- Teachers
- Nonprofit Employees
Applies to repairs over $500. Cannot be combined with other promotions. Proof of eligibility may be requested at the time of service.
Three offices, one drain line.
Camera rigs, cables, and jetters dispatch from all three All Star Plumbing offices. One number reaches the team closest to you: (866) 986-4842.
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San Diego / Rancho Bernardo Office
11956 Bernardo Plaza Dr, Suite 147, San Diego, CA 92128
(858) 727-5807Open 24/7. Dispatch answers day and night.
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Murrieta Office
26193 Jefferson Ave, Ste C, Murrieta, CA 92562
(951) 783-4260Open 24/7. Dispatch answers day and night.
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Aliso Viejo Office
65 Enterprise, Suite 400c, Aliso Viejo, CA 92656
(949) 541-6940Open 24/7. Dispatch answers day and night.
Drain cleaning pages for your city
For service details near you, see your city's drain cleaning page:
What stands behind every drain call.
You don't need a corporate dispatcher and a $99 trip fee to fix a plumbing problem.
Call (866) 986-4842 to Talk to a Plumber TodayAll Star Plumbing since
Family-owned, matching the method to the drain since 2008.
Drains cleared
Kitchen, bath, laundry, and main-line clogs, cabled or jetted.
Bonded & insured
A licensed California plumbing contractor, bonded and insured.
Active backups
A drain backing up right now is answered around the clock, with a 60-minute response.
Clogs cleared, in customers' words.
Verified 5-star Google reviews from All Star customers.
John and son were awesome!! On time, thorough, respectful, and didn't just solve the problem. They thoroughly cleaned the clogged pipe, explained what caused the problem, and advised how to avoid it in the future. 15/10!! If you can work with these guys, please do. They are worth every penny and then some.
Customer Service was excellent, I had an emergency plumbing issue on an early Saturday night. My kitchen was flooding and I was panicking. Everyone from answering my call to getting a plumber to my house was so helpful and communicating with me throughout the ordeal. Sergio was the plumber that came to the rescue. He explained everything and even answered some other questions. Thank you to all involved;)
Super great service and friendly workers. It was super easy to set up a time for them to come and they completed the work in a timely manner. Will continue to recommended them to my family and friends and will use them in the future if anything else happens!!
What sets the price of drain cleaning?
The fair answer to "what does it cost" is another question: what's blocking the line, and where? Those two facts set the price, and a look at the drain tells us, with a camera down the line when the job calls for one. What we can promise up front: the service call is $0, the estimate is written and itemized, and the number doesn't change after you approve it.
The four facts that set the number
Cable work or jet work
Cabling a single clog is the smaller ticket. Jetting costs more because it does more: the full pipe diameter comes clean, which is what stops the repeat visits.
Where the blockage sits
A plug near an accessible cleanout is quick. One deep in the main, or in a home with no usable cleanout, adds real access time, and the estimate names it.
What it turns out to be
Soap and hair clear fast. A root mass or years of hardened grease take cutting, flushing, and a verification pass. The camera tells us, and you, which job we're pricing.
Whether cleaning is the actual fix
If the camera finds a crack, sag, or failed joint, cleaning alone won't hold. That's a repair conversation with its own separate quote, never blended into the cleaning bill.
What's the difference between drain cleaning and sewer line repair?
Drain cleaning removes what’s inside the pipe: grease, hair, roots, scale, objects. Sewer repair fixes the pipe itself when it has cracked, sagged, or collapsed. The camera inspection is the referee. If it shows a blocked but sound line, cleaning solves it. If it shows damage, cleaning only rents you time, and we’ll show you the footage either way.
How does hydro jetting actually work?
A hose with a specialized nozzle travels down the line while water at 3,000 to 8,000 PSI scours the pipe walls in every direction. It cuts roots, strips hardened grease, and flushes the debris out, restoring the pipe’s full diameter. The camera check comes first, because that pressure is safe on sound pipe and risky on fragile clay, Orangeburg, or corroded cast iron.
What can I safely try before calling a drain cleaning service?
A plunger, a drain hair tool on bathroom sinks and tubs, and hot (not boiling) water with dish soap on a slow kitchen line. All three are safe. What we’d skip: chemical drain cleaners. They’re caustic, they corrode metal and plastic pipe with repeated use, the fumes are harsh, and they rarely remove the real cause. If two honest attempts haven’t cleared it, the clog is beyond home tools.
Why won't anyone quote drain cleaning over the phone?
Because the price depends on two things a phone call can’t see: what’s blocking the line and where it sits. A hair plug near the trap and a root mass forty feet down the main are entirely different jobs. Any firm number quoted sight-unseen has padding built in. Our version of a phone quote is a $0 look and a written estimate you approve first.
What does the drain camera actually show you?
Four things: the cause of the blockage, its exact location and depth, the pipe material, and the pipe’s condition. That last two are what make the method choice safe, since jetting suits sound pipe and not fragile pipe. You can watch the feed live, and we’ll show you the after-pass too, so you see the cleared line rather than take our word.
Do all the drains in a house connect to one line?
Yes. Every fixture drains into branch lines that merge into one main line leaving the house. That’s why one clogged branch affects one fixture, but a blocked main shows up everywhere at once, usually at the lowest drain first. It’s also why sewage in a downstairs shower is a main-line symptom, not a shower problem.
How do tree roots get inside a drain pipe?
Through joints and hairline gaps. A buried drain line releases faint moisture vapor, roots follow it, and a root tip only needs a pinhole to enter. Inside, it finds water and nutrients and grows into a mat that snags everything passing by. Cutting the roots clears the line; whether the entry gap needs repair is what the camera verdict decides.
How do I keep drains from clogging in the first place?
Four habits do most of the work: strainers on kitchen and shower drains, grease into the trash instead of the sink, a monthly hot-water-and-dish-soap flush on the kitchen line, and acting on a slow drain instead of waiting for a stopped one. Slow is early; stopped is expensive. No chemical maintenance products needed, ever.
A drain problem? Let's see what's actually in the line.
A licensed tech, a $0 service call, and a written estimate before any work. We cable or jet the line for what it actually needs, with a camera when the job calls for one.
All Star Plumbing · Licensed & Insured, California · 24/7: (866) 986-4842