Drain Cleaning in Arlington, TX

Arlington was a small town until General Motors opened its assembly plant in 1954 and Six Flags arrived in 1961. Tract homes followed fast, and the city grew from about 7,700 people in 1950 to more than 160,000 by 1980.

The oldest neighborhoods, near downtown and the University of Texas at Arlington, have homes from the 1920s through the 1950s, some on pier-and-beam foundations with clay laterals under big pecans and elms.

Most of Arlington's homes were built between 1960 and 1990 on slab foundations. Homes from before the mid-1970s usually have cast iron drains under the slab, and many later homes have early PVC or ABS. Both can crack when the clay moves.

South Arlington, built mostly in the 1980s and 1990s, and the newer Viridian development in the north have plastic drains and outside cleanouts.

The entertainment district, home to the Cowboys' and Rangers' stadiums and Six Flags, draws huge crowds, and restaurants and hotels nearby carry heavy grease loads on game days.

Arlington Water Utilities maintains the city's sewer mains, and wastewater is treated by the Trinity River Authority. Owners maintain the private sewer line from the house to the city main.

Hot, dry summers shrink the clay and stress pipes under slabs. That's also when roots push hardest toward leaking joints.

Spring storms swell the soil and can overload mains. Football season and holiday gatherings bring grease clogs, and the rare hard freeze can burst exposed pipes.

The neighborhoods around downtown Arlington and the university include some of the city's oldest homes, many now rented to students. Clay laterals under big trees are common, and roots are routine. Rentals add grease, wipes and hair. Landlords who clean the main before each semester and provide hair catchers and trash cans avoid most emergency calls.

Most of central and west Arlington was built from the 1960s through the 1980s. Homes from the 1960s and early 1970s usually have cast iron under the slab, which has been rusting from the inside for fifty years. Later homes may have early plastic pipe whose joints can crack when the clay moves. A camera inspection tells you which you have.

South Arlington filled in during the 1980s and 1990s with larger family homes. Plastic drains are standard, and clogs come mostly from grease, wipes and laundry lint. Slab movement can still crack fittings, so new cracks in floors or walls are worth a plumbing check.

In August, a family in a 1968 home near Lake Arlington notices the bathtub draining slowly and a sewer smell in the hall. The plumber clears the main from the front cleanout, then finds heavy scale and a crack in the cast iron under the slab with the camera. A leak test confirms it, and the family weighs a tunnel repair against rerouting the line.

When the Cowboys or Rangers play, restaurants, bars and hotels near the stadiums fill up. Kitchens there push enormous amounts of grease, and interceptors that aren't pumped on time back up during the busiest hours. At home, game-day wings and fried food add grease to kitchen drains too. Pour cooled oil into a container and throw it away.

Arlington's clay soil swells when wet and shrinks when dry, moving slabs and stressing every pipe under them. Watering the foundation evenly in summer with a soaker hose helps keep movement down. If doors start sticking or cracks appear, have the plumbing checked along with the foundation.

Spring and fall storms in North Texas can drop a lot of rain in a short time, overloading mains. If water comes up through a floor drain or tub during a storm, a backwater valve can help prevent repeats.

Homes near Lake Arlington and along the east side were built mostly in the 1960s and 1970s. Big trees near the lake shade many yards, and their roots find older laterals. Root cutting every year or two, or lining, keeps lines open.

Viridian, the master-planned community along the Trinity River in north Arlington, has homes built since the 2010s with modern drains. In the first year or two, construction leftovers like grout or drywall mud sometimes cause clogs, and the builder may cover the fix.

Homes near Johnson Creek and the smaller drainage channels sit on low ground where soil stays wet after storms and settles over time. Older laterals there can develop bellies that catch paper.

Give your neighborhood and the home's age, whether there's been foundation work and whether it's a rental. Mention big trees near the sewer path and whether the trouble started during a dry spell, after a storm or after a big gathering. If the home has a cleanout you know about, say where it is.