24/7 Drain Cleaning & Sewer Service in New Braunfels, TX

German settlers founded New Braunfels in 1845, and the historic downtown near the Comal River and Landa Park has stone and frame homes from the 1850s through the early 1900s. Laterals there are old, often clay or cast iron, and pecans and cypress trees send roots into them.

Mid-century neighborhoods around downtown and along Walnut Avenue were built in the 1950s and 1960s, mostly on slabs with cast iron drains that are now well scaled.

Since 2000, New Braunfels has grown enormously along I-35 and toward San Antonio, with huge subdivisions such as Veramendi, Mayfair, Creekside and River Chase. Builders there laid PVC from the start and left cleanouts within easy reach of the driveway.

The city sits on the Balcones Escarpment, where Hill Country limestone meets Blackland Prairie clay. West side homes sit on rock; east side homes sit on clay that moves slabs.

The Comal and Guadalupe rivers bring hundreds of thousands of tubers each summer, and many homes near the water are short-term rentals.

New Braunfels Utilities, known as NBU, provides wastewater service and treatment. The homeowner maintains the private line from the house to the NBU main.

From Memorial Day through Labor Day, tubing season fills river rentals with guests and packs restaurants. Summer drought shrinks the clay on the east side.

Flash floods on the Comal and Guadalupe can overload sewers in low areas. Wurstfest in November brings crowds and heavy grease loads to kitchens.

New Braunfels' historic district, near the Plaza and Landa Park, has German fachwerk and stone homes from the 1850s onward. Laterals there may be among the oldest in Texas, patched many times. Roots from pecans and bald cypress along the Comal find every crack. Lining avoids digging up historic yards and stone walls.

Homes near the Comal and Guadalupe rivers are often rented to tubing groups and families on summer weekends. A house that normally holds four may hold twelve. Guests flush wipes, pour grease and rinse sandy gear in sinks. Hosts who post clear signs, leave trash cans in every bathroom and clean the main before Memorial Day avoid most Sunday night emergencies.

Veramendi, Mayfair, Creekside and dozens of other subdivisions along I-35 have modern plastic drains. Most calls there come from grease, wipes, toys and lint. In homes less than two years old, construction debris is a common culprit.

New Braunfels straddles the Balcones Escarpment. West of I-35, homes sit on limestone where laterals were cut into rock and roots follow cracks in the stone. East of I-35, Blackland clay moves slabs and cracks pipes. A camera inspection shows which problem you have.

On a July Sunday evening, a host gets a call from guests in a river rental near the Comal: every toilet is backing up. The plumber clears the main from the yard cleanout, pulling out wipes and a mass of pecan roots. The camera shows a cracked clay joint. The owner schedules lining before the next season.

Wurstfest every November draws tens of thousands of visitors for ten days of sausage, schnitzel, potato pancakes and beer, and restaurants downtown and in Gruene stay busy year round. Fryers and griddles push a lot of grease toward commercial drains. Interceptors pumped on a fixed calendar, and an extra service before Wurstfest and river season, keep kitchens open when the crowds are biggest.

New Braunfels sits in the heart of Flash Flood Alley. The Comal and Guadalupe can rise several feet in an hour when a slow storm stalls over the Hill Country, as they did in 1998 and 2015. Low areas near the rivers and Dry Comal Creek can see gray water rise in a tub or floor drain when sewers are overloaded. Homes that have had it happen once are good candidates for a backwater valve.

Much of New Braunfels' water comes from the Edwards Aquifer through Comal Springs, and it carries a lot of dissolved limestone. White crust builds in bathroom traps, shower drains and tankless water heaters within a few years. Pulling and cleaning traps every couple of years, descaling tankless units on schedule and using a softener keep bathroom drains from slowing down.

Gruene, the historic district on the Guadalupe, is home to Gruene Hall, the oldest continually operating dance hall in Texas, plus restaurants and inns in buildings from the late 1800s. Older laterals and heavy weekend crowds make regular jetting and interceptor service essential, especially before summer and the holiday market.

West of town toward Canyon Lake, many homes sit on rocky lots outside the city sewer system and use septic tanks. Slow drains throughout the house, gurgling and soggy ground over the field point to the tank rather than a clog in the house.

Give your neighborhood and the home's age, whether it's a rental and whether it's near the river. Mention big trees, new construction nearby and whether the trouble started after a busy rental weekend.