Main line clog clearing in Los Angeles when every drain backs up at once

Tree roots are the leading cause under older LA houses. Clay sewer pipe has joints every few feet, and fine roots from ficus, sycamore, eucalyptus and other mature trees find those joints, grow in, and build a mat that catches paper and waste. The clog clears, the roots regrow, and the backup returns months later.

Grease is the second big cause, especially in duplexes, fourplexes and apartment buildings where several kitchens drain into one line. It cools and hardens partway to the street. Wipes labeled flushable, paper towels and feminine products add to it, because they don't break down the way toilet paper does.

The pipe itself can be the cause. Cast iron under pre-1970s houses scales and corrodes on the inside, a section of clay can crack or sag into a low spot called a belly, and a lateral can partly collapse. Clearing gets water moving, but it can't fix a broken pipe, and a look inside with a camera tells us which situation you are in.

A sewer cleanout is a capped pipe, usually near the house or by the property line, that opens straight into the main. Clearing from there means we push the cable downstream toward the city sewer without fighting toilet traps or the tight bends inside the house. It is faster, safer for your fixtures, and gives better results.

Many older Los Angeles homes have no accessible cleanout, or one buried under a planter or paved over during a remodel. Then we pull a toilet and clear through the flange, or use a roof vent on houses where that is safe. If you are calling us more than once for the same main line, adding a proper cleanout usually pays for itself on the next visit.

• Two-way cleanout at the house: best access in both directions
• Property line cleanout: reaches the street connection directly
• Toilet pull: workable access when no cleanout exists
• Roof vent: used only when the roof and pitch allow it safely

On a root clog, we run a cable machine with a cutting head close to the full diameter of the pipe. A small spearhead only pokes a hole through the root mass and lets the line clog again quickly. Running the right blade through the whole run and pulling back the root material gives you the most time before the next problem.

Even after a full cut, roots come back to the same joints because they are still getting water there. If a line has needed clearing more than once a year, we talk about jetting it clean and inspecting it, then about repairs at the specific joints the roots use. Our guide to clay sewer pipe and tree roots covers what to expect over time.

We never recommend digging up a yard on a guess. Clear first, camera second, then decide on repair from what the footage shows.

Stop running water. Every flush, shower or load of laundry adds to what's already backed up, and the lowest drain will take it. Tell everyone in the house, and in a multi-unit building, let the other tenants know so they hold off too.

If you know where the outside cleanout is and it is safe to reach, you can carefully loosen the cap. If the line is backed up, sewage will drain out there instead of into the house. Stand to the side, use gloves, and don't force a stuck cap. Keep children and pets away from any wastewater, and we'll handle cleanup advice when we arrive.