Plumber for a clogged toilet, shower or drain in Burbank

Yes, a plumber can fix a clogged toilet, and so can you in many cases. If a plunger has not cleared it after a few tries, or if other fixtures in the house are also draining slowly, a plumber's cable or hydro jetting machine is the next step. Through us, a local plumber visits your Burbank home, locates the blockage, and quotes you in writing first. What follows covers safe first attempts, products worth avoiding, and links to each guide in our drain cleaning section.

Can a plumber fix a clogged toilet?

Yes. A plumber uses a closet auger or a drain machine, and if something hard has lodged in the trap, can lift the toilet from the floor to get it out. Most visits go quickly, since the plumber can usually test the result with a flush before leaving. Toys, wipes and clogs sitting farther down the line are tougher, and the plumber gets at those through a cleanout.

Signs that the trouble is beyond the bowl include water rising in the shower on a flush, a gurgling tub, or two toilets slow together. Each suggests a partly obstructed main line. Our guide to a blocked toilet goes through the stages in order, and the cost of clearing a toilet or drain lists the price ranges.

How long will a clogged toilet take to unclog itself?

Paper or waste can soften and drain away over a few hours, but a bowl that is not moving at all will not clear by itself. Waiting suits only partial clogs where the level is slowly sinking. Act now if a hard object is involved, the bowl stays full, or it might overflow.

While you wait, close the supply valve behind the toilet and resist flushing. Another flush into a blocked line sends water over the rim. Lay towels down and pick up the plunger once the level has dropped. If nothing has changed by morning, book a plumber.

What is the strongest thing to unclog a toilet?

Among home tools, the closet auger is the strongest safe option, and a plumber's drain machine beats it. Begin with a flange plunger. Chemical openers are no stronger for toilets, because the liquid may never reach the clog and can splash back on the next person who plunges.

A cable machine passes through the trap and around the first elbow. Hardened grease, scale or roots call for hydro jetting, which scours the pipe wall with high-pressure water. Published prices typically run $350 to $600 for jetting, against $150 to $350 for an ordinary clog. Jetting is wrong for a cracked line, so a camera inspection sometimes comes first, so the plumber can confirm the pipe will take the pressure.

What can I pour down my shower drain to unclog it?

Try hot tap water first. As a home remedy, pour in 1/2 cup baking soda, follow with 1/2 cup white vinegar, put the stopper over it for fifteen minutes, then flush with hot water. The fizz loosens soap film but seldom breaks down a hair clog. Pulling the hair out with a thin plastic drain tool does more.

Our shower drain guide and the page on natural drain clearing remedies compare the full set of home steps, tubs included. Two rounds with no result is your cue to phone a plumber rather than reach for stronger chemicals.

Is Drano safe for shower drains?

Caustic openers like Drano are sold for household drains, yet suitability for your shower depends on the product and your pipes, so read your own bottle's label first. Never mix it with a second cleaner, open a window or run the fan, wear eye protection, and keep kids and pets well away. When it fails, do not follow with a second product.

Name the product and the time you used it to the plumber, since caustic liquid left standing can burn skin during a trap clean. Repeated use can also damage older pipes. We favor a manual tool first, with chemicals as a last step before calling a plumber instead of the first.

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What are the common causes of a clogged drainage system?

Slow drains usually come from hair, soap scum and grease, while flushed wipes and paper towels cause most toilet and main line clogs. In San Fernando Valley homes from the 1940s through the 1960s, tree roots in clay or cast iron sewer lines and rough pipe walls trap debris and bring repeat clogs. Hard water scale also narrows pipes. Wipes sold as flushable do not break down the way toilet paper does, so they gather in bends and join roots and grease to form a dense plug.

One clogged fixture is a local problem, while several backing up together is a main line problem. That split decides between a quick trap clean, a machine pass, hydro jetting and a camera inspection. For a sink that empties sluggishly, start with the slow sink explainer.

Where do the other drain guides fit?

Fixtures clog in different ways, so we organized the topic by where the blockage sits, and each guide below takes one fixture or appliance with the steps that suit it. For sinks, see the kitchen sink unclogging guide and the bathroom sink guide; for disposals, the garbage disposal guide.

Tubs are covered in draining a clogged bathtub, and appliances in the dishwasher drain guide and the washing machine drain guide. If a clog brings a smell, read the sewer smell page. Pricing for sink clogs sits on our sink unclogging cost page.

Questions people ask

Can Dawn dish soap clear a drain?

Dawn with hot water can loosen a greasy kitchen drain, and plenty of people start there because it is kind to pipes. Hair and solid blockages barely respond, because soap only breaks down the grease that binds them. Squeeze in a good amount, chase it with hot tap water and wait. Slow water after two attempts means grease is not the only culprit.

How do I clear a shower drain fast?

Lift off the cover and extract the hair, with a thin plastic tool or a gloved hand. Most shower clogs give way within minutes. Rinse afterward with hot water, and keep a hair catcher in the drain so the clog does not return. Pooled water that remains means the clog sits below the trap, and a plumber's machine beats repeating products at home.

Will boiling water clear a shower drain?

Soap and grease respond to heat, yet boiling water is a bad choice for a shower drain, since it can soften plastic joints and the trap and crack porcelain. Stick with very hot tap water. Cast iron or copper drains tolerate boiling water better, though it seldom shifts hair.

Which products work on a clogged shower drain?

The usual options are hot tap water, a baking soda and vinegar mix, or an enzyme or caustic product used per its label. None beats pulling a dense hair clog out by hand. Do not combine products, and never add a cleaner to a drain already holding another chemical.

Will a plumber clear my drains for me?

Yes, and it ranks among the commonest plumbing jobs. Ordinary clogs get a cable machine, a camera lets the plumber see inside the line, and hydro jetting scours it, which lets the plumber match the method to the pipe. We line up a local plumber for the visit, with a written price beforehand. Begin on our quote page, or head to the Lankershim Plumbing home page for other services.