Drain Cleaning in Clovis, CA

Old Town Clovis, around Pollasky Avenue, grew up as a lumber and railroad town in the early 1900s. Homes on the surrounding blocks date from the 1910s through the 1950s, many on clay laterals under big valley oaks, mulberries and sycamores.

From the 1970s on, Clovis expanded steadily north and east, with tracts built on flat former orchard land. Homes from the 1970s and 1980s may have clay or early plastic laterals; those from the 1990s onward have modern plastic pipe and outside cleanouts.

The northeast part of town, including Harlan Ranch, Loma Vista and the neighborhoods near Clovis North and Buchanan high schools, is newer still, with large family homes and lots of bathrooms per household.

Central Valley summers are long and very hot, often above 100 degrees for weeks. Air conditioners run constantly, and their condensate lines clog with algae and overflow into closets and attics.

Valley soil swings between dry and hard in summer and damp in winter, and older clay joints shift slightly with every cycle. The water is moderately hard, so traps and shower drains scale up over time.

The City of Clovis runs its own sewer collection and the Clovis Sewage Treatment-Water Reuse Facility, while some flow goes to the Fresno-Clovis regional plant. Owners are responsible for the lateral from the house to the city main.

From June through September, triple-digit heat brings condensate overflows and heavy laundry and shower use. Roots in older laterals push hardest in the dry months.

Winter tule fog and rain soak the soil and swell roots. Thanksgiving through New Year brings kitchen grease clogs, and the Clovis Rodeo weekend in April fills Old Town restaurants.

The streets around Pollasky, Fifth and Clovis Avenues hold the city's oldest homes, many with clay laterals and big shade trees. Roots in those laterals are routine. A camera inspection after any backup shows whether cutting is enough or whether it's time to line the pipe. Old Town's restaurants and antique shops sit in older buildings too, and kitchen lines there need regular jetting to keep grease from building up.

Neighborhoods built as Clovis grew through the 1970s and 1980s, south and east of Old Town, have a mix of clay and early plastic laterals. Some early plastic joints have cracked or separated, and roots find them as easily as clay. If your home is from that era and you've never had the lateral scoped, it's worth doing before a backup forces the issue.

The newer northeast neighborhoods have large homes with four or five bathrooms and busy families. Drains there are modern, so clogs come from what goes down them: grease after big dinners, wipes, toys and laundry lint. A grease can by the stove, a trash can by every toilet and a lint catcher on the washer prevent most calls.

On a 108-degree July afternoon, a family near Clovis East High notices water dripping from the hallway ceiling under the attic unit, and the kitchen sink is slow too. The plumber clears the condensate line, which is packed with algae, and snakes the kitchen branch, pulling out a plug of grease and rice. Both problems are solved in one visit.

Air conditioners in Clovis run from May into October. Each one drains water through a thin plastic line that grows algae in the heat. When it clogs, the pan overflows into ceilings, closets or garages. A cup of vinegar poured into the line monthly during summer, and a float switch that shuts the unit off before the pan spills, prevent most damage.

Winter in the valley brings weeks of dense fog and occasional rain. Soil that baked dry all summer swells as it gets wet, and older clay joints shift slightly each year. That's when roots that crept in during the dry months finally block the line. Many Old Town backups happen in December and January for exactly this reason.

Clovis water leaves scale in traps, shower drains and water heaters. Over time, bathroom drains narrow until hair catches easily. Cleaning traps every few years and keeping a hair catcher in each shower prevent most slow bathroom drains.

Southwest Clovis borders Fresno State, and many homes there are rented to students. Shared houses see more hair, grease and wipes than a typical family home. Landlords who schedule main line cleaning before each school year and post simple rules about flushing avoid most emergency calls.

Plenty of Clovis homes have a pool, and patio and deck drains collect leaves and pool debris. Clear those grates before the first winter storm.

Say whether you're near Old Town, in an older tract or in the newer northeast neighborhoods, and roughly when the home was built. Mention big trees near the sewer path, whether the AC is leaking too, and whether one fixture or several are affected. If roots have been cut before, say how far out they were found.