Professional Drain Cleaning in Chapel Hill, NC

Your drain keeps clogging because something deeper than a surface blockage is going on. A one-time clog is normal. A drain that backs up every few weeks is telling you there's a structural issue, a buildup pattern, or root intrusion in your sewer line. Until you fix the actual cause, you're just poking a temporary hole through the same problem.

Let's break down what's really happening inside your pipes.

Grease and Soap Buildup

This is the most common reason kitchen drains slow down. Grease doesn't wash away — it cools, hardens, and sticks to the inside of your pipes. Every time you run hot water with dish soap, a thin layer coats the pipe walls. Over months, that layer narrows the pipe opening until water barely trickles through. Chemical drain cleaners can dissolve a small channel through the buildup, but they don't remove it. The clog comes back within weeks.

Hair and Soap Scum

Bathroom drains catch hair every single day. That hair tangles around the drain crossbars, collects soap residue, and forms a dense mat that sits just below the drain cover. A drain snake can pull out the immediate blockage, but if your pop-up stopper or drain assembly is corroded, hair catches faster than before.

Tree Root Intrusion

This is the big one for Triangle-area homeowners. Apex, Cary, and Raleigh neighborhoods are full of mature oaks and pines with root systems that stretch 50 feet or more. Those roots seek out moisture, and the joints in your underground sewer line are the perfect target. Roots work their way into pipe connections, then grow inside the line. They catch debris, create blockages, and eventually crack the pipe itself. Wake County's clay soil makes this worse — the soil expands and contracts with moisture, shifting pipes and opening joints that roots exploit.

Corroded Cast-Iron Pipes

Older neighborhoods in Cary and Raleigh — especially homes built before 1980 — often have cast-iron drain lines. These pipes corrode from the inside out. The interior surface becomes rough and pitted, catching grease, hair, and debris that would slide right through smooth PVC. If your home has cast-iron drains and you're dealing with frequent clogs, the pipe itself is the problem.

Bellied or Misaligned Pipes

When underground pipes settle or shift (common in our clay soil), a low spot forms in the line. That low spot collects water and waste, creating a permanent soft blockage. Snaking clears it temporarily, but gravity keeps sending debris right back to that same low point.

How We Clear Drains — And Why Method Matters

Not every clog gets the same treatment. Our techs match the method to the problem.

A drain snake (also called a cable machine) is the go-to for most household clogs. It physically breaks through blockages and pulls debris out. For kitchen sinks, bathroom drains, and tub drains, this handles about 80% of stoppages.

For main sewer lines, we use a larger motorized cable that can cut through roots and heavy buildup. If we suspect root intrusion or a pipe issue, we follow up with a camera inspection — a small waterproof camera that travels through the pipe and shows us exactly what's going on. No guessing.

Hydro jetting uses high-pressure water (3,000-4,000 PSI) to scour the entire interior of the pipe. This doesn't just punch through a clog — it removes years of grease, scale, and root fragments from the pipe walls. It's the closest thing to making old pipes perform like new. We use this for chronic clogs, grease-heavy commercial kitchens, and pipes with heavy root activity.

DIY vs. Calling a Pro

Here's a simple rule of thumb. If a plunger or a hand-crank drain snake clears the clog and it doesn't come back for months, you handled it. No shame in that.

Call a professional when:

- The same drain clogs more than twice in 60 days
- Multiple drains slow down at the same time (that's a main line issue)
- Water backs up into a tub or shower when you flush a toilet
- You notice gurgling sounds from drains you're not using
- There's a sewage smell coming from any drain

These symptoms point to problems deeper in your system that a plunger can't reach. And store-bought chemical drain cleaners? Skip them. They contain caustic chemicals that eat away at pipe walls, especially in older cast-iron lines. They create more long-term damage than they solve.

Element Service Group offers a free plumbing inspection — an $89 value — so you can find out what's actually causing repeated clogs before spending money on the wrong fix. Our techs run a camera through your line, identify the root cause, and walk you through options. Same-day service is available for active backups.

Keeping Drains Clear Long-Term

Once we've cleared the line and identified the cause, a few habits make a real difference.

In the kitchen: wipe greasy pans with a paper towel before washing. Run cold water (not hot) when using the disposal — cold water keeps grease solid so the disposal can chop it up rather than letting it coat your pipes as a liquid.

In bathrooms: use a mesh drain cover to catch hair. They cost two dollars and save hundreds in drain calls.

For your main sewer line: if you have mature trees near the line, schedule a preventive sewer cleaning once a year. Cutting roots back annually keeps them from building up to a full blockage. It's routine maintenance, like trimming the trees themselves.

And if your home has original cast-iron drains that keep causing problems, ask us about pipe lining or replacement options. Modern PVC lasts decades without the corrosion issues that plague old iron pipes. It's a bigger investment upfront, but it ends the cycle of calling for drain service every few months.