Drain cleaning services in Glendale, CA

Drain conditions in Glendale

Glendale runs from the flat valley floor up into the hills, and its older homes are often prewar on raised foundations. The crawlspace shows a lot: you can often see how the drain lines leave the house, what material they are and whether they sag. Laterals in older streets are commonly clay, sometimes joined to other pipe where work was done. Roots find clay joints readily. On the hillsides, steep runs flatten near the street, where debris settles.

When you call, say whether the whole house backs up or only one fixture, since every drain backing up at once points to the main lateral. Mention the age of the house and whether the crawlspace has an access hatch. Hillside lots may have a cleanout far from the street or up steps. If a line clears but slows again, ask for a camera look, and the technician can advise on repair after seeing the footage. Burbank, Montrose, La Canada Flintridge and La Crescenta share the terrain.

What the crawlspace shows in a Glendale home

Open the low hatch on the side of an older Glendale house and a technician looks straight at the drains. The homes of the early and middle decades of the last century sit above a crawlspace, a foot or two high, and the pipes run beneath the floor: cast iron or galvanized steel inside, joined to clay at the edge of the building.

Nothing is buried in concrete, so problems can be seen, not guessed. That is also a reminder of age. Scale narrows iron, joints separate, and a run laid level can settle and hold water. Clear a path to the hatch and tell the technician about gates and pets. Please do not go under the house yourself, especially if water is standing. See raised-foundation drain clogs.

Roots in the clay lateral

The lateral, the buried pipe from the house to the street, is vitrified clay in many older Glendale blocks: short lengths of fired pipe with a joint every few feet. A joint that weeps even slightly draws roots from the street trees, sycamores, oaks, eucalyptus and pines among them, which enter as fine threads and thicken into a mat that catches paper and grease.

A cable machine with a cutting head clears the mat in one visit. It does not change the joint, so regrowth is normal and the interval is the number to watch. After clearing, a camera shows how many joints are affected. We never advise removing a tree. See tree root removal and clay sewer lateral clogs.

Glendale, from the valley floor to the hills

Glendale lies at the eastern end of the San Fernando Valley and the foot of the Verdugo Mountains, with ZIP codes 91201 through 91210. The centre has apartment buildings, towers and older houses close together. Around it, neighbourhoods of bungalows and Spanish-style homes date from the early decades of the last century, and the northern and eastern edges climb into hillside streets with sloped lots.

Burbank, Montrose, La Canada Flintridge and La Crescenta are close neighbours, and Los Angeles lies to the south and west. Each has its own page. Tell the call-taker roughly when the house was built and whether it sits on a crawlspace or a slab.

Cast iron under older floors

Homes of that era sometimes have cast iron inside, and a camera or a look from the crawlspace confirms. Cast iron lasts, but scale builds inside it until the bore narrows and hair and grease catch on the rough wall. A line that clears and slows again within weeks is a common sign.

The camera shows how much wall remains. See cast iron drain cleaning.

Every drain backing up at once

When the toilet, tub and sinks all slow together, or a floor drain bubbles when the washer runs, the blockage is probably in the main line or the lateral. Stop running water, keep people and pets away from backed-up fixtures, do not use fixtures on the same line, move valuables and call.

Please do not try to open a cleanout on a backed-up line.

Gurgling drains and venting

A gurgle means air is moving where water should flow, often from a partial blockage and sometimes from a venting issue. A shower that gurgles when the washer drains tells the technician that the two share a line that is partly blocked. Report it, and say which fixtures react together.

Low-flow fixtures and old lines

Many older Glendale homes have had their toilets replaced with low-flow models, which use less water to carry waste. In an older line with roots, scale or a low spot, solids may not travel as far. A toilet that clogs every few weeks may be reacting to the run, not the fixture. A camera shows whether the line has a low spot.

Hillside streets in the north and east

Hill homes have long laterals that change grade. Solids move fast down the steep stretches and settle where the pipe flattens, and cleanouts may be on a lower terrace, behind a wall or beside a garage cut into the slope. Access can mean stairs and gates. See hillside sewer lateral clogs.

Apartment buildings and condominiums

In the central blocks, apartments and condominiums share stacks and laterals. A backup in a ground-floor unit usually comes from the shared line, and the owner or manager should call. One unit affected suggests its own branch.

What to say when you call from Glendale

• Mention any past root cutting or patch repairs. Old clay laterals often have a history worth knowing.
• Give the build decade if you know it. Homes from before the war are more likely to have clay in the lateral.
• Note which fixture slowed first. On a long old run, the first slow drain points to the stretch of line that is failing.

Common questions