Drain Cleaning in San Francisco, CA
There's a reason drain cleaning in San Francisco is mostly handled by small shops, not the big franchises: nobody beats a guy who knows the housing stock and answers his phone. We answer the phone, give you a real quote before any work starts, and bring the right tools the first time.
What a typical call looks like
Property manager call, San Francisco-area duplex. Both units had sewage backing into the basement drain after rain. We pulled the system apart and found clay tile lateral cracked at 42 feet, root mass invading. Hydro-jet + chemical root treatment, scheduled trenchless burst on the same trip — both tenants happy. $2275.
What's typical for this job
Drain cleaning sits between simple kitchen-sink clogs and full sewer-line replacements. We do everything in between: tub drains, laundry standpipes, kitchen sinks, toilets, and main lines.
First call is always cable (also called snaking). For most kitchen and bath blockages, a cable hits the obstruction and clears it. Cost: $145 to $340 depending on access.
If the cable doesn't clear it — common with grease accumulation in older kitchen lines, or root invasion in main sewer lines — the next step is hydro-jetting at 4,000 PSI. That actually scours the pipe rather than punching a hole through the clog. Cost: $480 to $950, often with a camera inspection thrown in.
The camera tells you whether you have a recurring problem (cracked tile, belly in the line, foreign object) versus a one-off clog. It's worth doing on a third call to the same drain — that's when something structural is usually behind the clog.
What's specific about San Francisco jobs
Property managers across San Francisco keep us on speed-dial because we're predictable. Same crews, same pricing, no surprises.
Price expectations
Kitchen sink cable runs $180 – $425. Toilet auger runs $225 – $325. Main sewer line cable runs $300 – $675. Hydro-jet + video camera inspection runs $600 – $1,190. Camera-only inspection runs $225 – $350.