Clogged Drain Cleaning in North Dakota

What clogs a drain changes across North Dakota. Cast iron and clay lines under big trees are the issue in older neighborhoods, grease and wipes in newer subdivisions, and septic tanks in much of the countryside. Find your city or the closest one below. On each city page you will find a rough cost range, notes on local soil and trees, and one number for a local plumber.

Winters in North Dakota are long and very cold, and frost reaches far down, so a sewer line that is shallow or runs under a cleared driveway can freeze. Heavy clay in the Red River Valley swells and shrinks enough to move buried pipe, and spring snowmelt and river floods soak the ground. Water is hard in most areas. Farms and rural homes rely on septic systems, and a frozen or flooded drain field backs up every drain in the house.

• Long, very cold winters and deep frost
• Heavy clay in the Red River Valley
• Spring snowmelt and river floods
• Hard water in most areas
• Septic systems at farms and rural homes

Ask whether a backup after the spring thaw is groundwater getting into the sewer line or a true clog.

• Kitchen sink. Cooking grease and oil that cool and harden on the pipe wall, plus food scraps, coffee grounds and soap scum that stick to it. A garbage disposal sends more solids down, not fewer.
• Bathroom sink. Hair mixed with soap, toothpaste and shaving residue, caught on the pop-up stopper or in the trap. Small items dropped down the drain add to it.
• Tub or shower. Hair is the main cause, bound together with soap scum and conditioner. Older tubs with a trip lever drain collect it in the overflow and the drum trap.
• Toilet. Too much paper at once, wipes labeled flushable, paper towels, cotton swabs, dental floss and toys. Low-flow toilets from before about 2005 clog more often.
• Floor or laundry drain. Lint from the washing machine, sand and grit, soap, and in basements the silt that washes in. A dry trap lets sewer gas up as well.
• Main sewer line. Tree roots coming in at joints in clay and cast iron pipe, grease built up from years of kitchen use, wipes, and pipe that has sagged or cracked.
• Outdoor or yard drain. Leaves, dirt, sand and roots in yard drains, area drains, driveway trench drains and the pipes that carry downspout water away.