24/7 Drain Cleaning & Sewer Service in Newark, NJ

The Ironbound, Down Neck, has attached row houses and two- and three-family homes from the 1870s through the 1920s, packed tightly on narrow streets.

The North Ward, Forest Hill, Roseville and Vailsburg have two-families, three-families and single homes from the 1890s through the 1930s.

The South Ward, Weequahic and Clinton Hill have homes and apartment buildings from the 1910s through the 1950s.

Many Newark homes have basements with a house trap near the front wall, required by older plumbing codes.

Much of Newark has combined sewers that carry rain and wastewater together, and the city is under a long-term plan to reduce overflows into the Passaic River.

Newark's Department of Water and Sewer Utilities maintains the city's sewers, and the Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission treats the wastewater. Newark property owners maintain the house sewer from the building to the city main.

Summer thunderstorms and tropical remnants overload combined sewers and flood basements, and roots grow fastest in warm months.

Winter cold snaps freeze pipes in unheated basements, enclosed porches and exterior walls.

The Ironbound, bounded by railroad tracks east of Penn Station, has been home to Irish, German, Italian and Polish immigrants and, for the last several decades, a large Portuguese, Brazilian and Spanish community. Its narrow streets are lined with row houses and multi-family homes packed tightly together, many with basements and house traps. Ferry Street's restaurants add grease to old lines. House trap clogs and grease are the most common causes of backups.

Across the North Ward, Vailsburg and the South Ward, two- and three-family homes are the norm, with all units sharing one basement and one house sewer. When it clogs, the lowest unit, often a basement apartment or the first floor, gets the water. Owners who keep the house trap and sewer clean avoid many emergencies.

Newark's older neighborhoods are served by combined sewers that overflow into the Passaic River and Newark Bay during heavy rain. Under a New Jersey permit, the city is working on a long-term control plan to reduce overflows. During big storms, basements can take on water. Backwater valves and disconnected downspouts help.

Forest Hill, in the North Ward near Branch Brook Park, has large Victorian and Colonial Revival homes on tree-lined streets. Vailsburg, on the west side, has two-families and single homes. Clay laterals under big trees fill with roots in both neighborhoods.

After a July thunderstorm, the first-floor tenant in a 1915 three-family in the North Ward finds water around the basement floor drain. The owner calls a plumber, who opens the house trap and pulls out wipes and grease, then cables toward the street and hits roots under the sidewalk about fifteen feet out. On the camera, the clay is cracked. The owner gets a bid for lining.

Weequahic and the South Ward have homes and apartment buildings from the 1910s through the 1950s, many near Weequahic Park. Old laterals, cast iron stacks and big trees mean roots and corrosion.

Newark has many older apartment buildings with shared cast iron stacks. Kitchen stacks collect grease from many households, and lower-floor units get the backup. Building superintendents who schedule regular jetting avoid many emergencies.

Ferry Street in the Ironbound is famous for Portuguese, Brazilian and Spanish restaurants serving grilled meats, seafood and rodízio. Those kitchens produce a lot of grease, and New Jersey requires grease traps for food service. Pumping them on schedule keeps kitchens open.

Newark winters bring cold snaps that freeze pipes in unheated basements, enclosed porches and exterior walls. In multi-family homes, the back porch kitchens are often the first to freeze. Keep the basement warm and insulate exposed pipe.

Older three-families often have their kitchens stacked at the back of the building, with drain and supply pipes running up the coldest wall.

Repairing a house sewer under a Newark sidewalk or street requires city permits and a licensed plumber. A cured-in-place liner often avoids tearing up the sidewalk at all.

As Newark's downtown and neighborhoods have attracted new investment, many older homes have been renovated. Renovation is a good time to inspect and replace an old house sewer, before new floors and finishes go in.

The North Ward around Branch Brook Park, famous for its cherry blossoms, has long been home to Italian American families and, more recently, Latino and Caribbean families. Its streets are lined with two- and three-family homes built in the early 1900s, many with basement apartments added later. Those lower units sit at the bottom of a century-old house sewer and are the first to flood when it clogs. Owners who install a backwater valve and keep the house trap clean protect both their tenants and their rental income.

A Newark house trap collects whatever doesn't make it through the line: paper, grease, hair, wipes and the occasional small toy. Over the years, a coating builds up inside the trap and narrows it. A plumber can open the trap's cleanout cap, clear it and scrape the inside, then run a cable or jetter through the house sewer toward the street. Some owners have the trap removed and replaced with a straight pipe and cleanout, which local code may allow during a larger repair.

Share the neighborhood, the building type, how many units share the line and whether there's a house trap. Mention whether a storm came first.