Drain cleaning services in Mid-Wilshire and Koreatown

Building types in this district

This district is dense, with a high share of apartments. Many were built from the 1920s to the 1950s: courtyard buildings arranged around a shared garden, small multi-storey blocks, and bungalow courts, where several small homes share one lot. Between them are rows of older single-family homes.

The common thread is age. Most buildings are old enough that clay, cast iron or galvanised pipe is likely somewhere in the system, and the lines usually serve more than one household.

Courtyard buildings and shared laterals

In a courtyard building, several units may share one lateral to the street, with branch lines running under the garden and the units. A cleanout may be in the courtyard, near the street or in a service area. A blockage in the shared line affects every unit upstream.

Tell the technician how many units share the line and which are affected. See multi-unit building drains.

Cast iron stacks and branches

Older apartment buildings have cast iron stacks and branches inside the walls and under the floors. Scale narrows the bore and grease catches on the rough wall. In kitchens, fat from several units coats the stack. See kitchen grease clogs.

A cable machine clears the line, and jetting scours the wall where the iron can take it. A camera shows the condition.

Clay laterals under older streets

Beyond the building, the lateral to the street is often clay. Joints loosen over decades, and roots from street trees can enter. See clay sewer lateral clogs.

A camera shows the joints, and the technician can say where roots enter.

Older single-family streets

The single-family streets in the district are mostly pre-war bungalows and Spanish-style homes on raised foundations. Drains run beneath the floor and a clay lateral crosses the yard. Sagging lines, loose joints and roots are the usual issues. See raised-foundation drain clogs.

Street trees and roots

Mature street trees line many blocks. Roots follow moisture to the joints of clay laterals. A line that backs up every spring is the typical pattern. See tree root removal.

Added units and converted spaces

Garages and rear spaces have been converted to living space in many places, often tied into the original lateral. More fixtures on an old line can bring a weakness to light. See ADU and added-bathroom clogs.

Camera inspection

In older buildings with a history of clogs, a camera run shows the lateral, the stacks and the condition of the iron. It also shows where branches meet. Ask for the footage and a note of the distances.

Reading the pattern in a courtyard building

The pattern of which units are affected points at the cause. If one unit is slow, the problem is in its own branch. If ground-floor units on one side of the courtyard back up together, the blockage is in the shared branch that serves them. If every unit has trouble, the lateral to the street is the likely place.

Write down which units, which fixtures and when. A rough sketch of the courtyard with the affected units marked is often enough for a technician to choose the right cleanout before arriving.

If you are a tenant

Stop running water at the affected fixtures, keep away from any overflow and avoid fixtures on the same line. Tell the manager which units are affected and keep a note of the date and what you saw.

If standing water has reached outlets or appliances, keep away from it and do not touch them. If you smell gas, leave and call the gas utility and emergency services from outside. We do not give advice on tenancy matters.

If you own or manage the building

You can call us directly. Tell us the year built, the number of units, the layout and where the cleanouts are, if you know. We connect you with an independent technician who works on shared lines and who can discuss access and timing with you.

Consider a camera run of the lateral and the main stacks at the first visit. A building of this age usually has a mix of materials, and a record of what each section is made of helps with every visit that follows.

What to mention on the call

Tell us the building type, the number of units on the line, which units and fixtures are affected and where the cleanout is, if you know. If the building has a courtyard, say where the shared line runs.

How a visit works, and what you pay

Call at any hour. Someone asks which drains are affected, how old the building is, whether it has a slab or a raised foundation and whether you know where the cleanout is. Then we connect you with an independent technician working nearby. They tell you the price before any work begins. The age of a Mid-Wilshire and Koreatown home is a useful clue, and the camera confirms the rest.

We cannot promise an arrival time, but emergency calls are taken around the clock. Lateral rules vary by city and agency, so check locally if you are buying or selling.

Common questions