Drain Cleaning in Pompano Beach, FL

Old Pompano, near Dixie Highway and Atlantic Boulevard, has a handful of homes from the 1920s through the 1940s, but the city really took shape after the war, when canals were dredged east of Federal Highway and the low lots were raised with the fill.

Canal neighborhoods like Harbor Village, Lighthouse Point's edges and the streets between the Intracoastal and US 1 have concrete-block homes from the late 1950s and 1960s, nearly all with iron drains under the slab.

The beachfront along A1A is lined with condo towers and co-ops from the 1960s and 1970s, many still running on original cast iron stacks.

West Pompano, toward Florida's Turnpike and Palm Aire, was built from the 1970s onward, including large 55-and-over condo communities and some newer subdivisions with PVC.

The city sits on fill and sand over limestone, with groundwater a few feet down. King tides push water into low streets near the Intracoastal and the Hillsboro Inlet.

The City of Pompano Beach provides sewer service and sends wastewater to Broward County's regional plant. Homeowners own the line from the house to where it connects to the city system.

From June through October, storms and hurricane season raise groundwater and can overload mains. King tides in fall flood low streets near the water.

From December through April, snowbirds fill condos and rentals, and beach restaurants along the pier and A1A run full kitchens from lunch until late.

The neighborhoods between Federal Highway and the Intracoastal were dredged and filled in the late 1950s and 1960s, creating thousands of waterfront lots. Nearly every home there is concrete block on a slab with iron drains underneath. After sixty years in damp, salty fill, many of those lines have scaled to half their size or rotted through on the bottom. Lining from the cleanout or rerouting through the attic are the common fixes.

The towers along A1A and Pompano's beach include many co-ops and condos from the 1960s and 1970s. Their cast iron stacks run the full height of the building and serve every kitchen and bathroom above. Scale, pinhole leaks and grease plugs are common. Associations that inspect and jet stacks on a schedule, and plan for lining before the iron fails, avoid emergencies in the middle of the season.

Palm Aire, built around golf courses in the late 1960s and 1970s, and the large 55-and-over communities in west Pompano have many condo buildings with shared drains. Newer single-family neighborhoods near the Turnpike have PVC and fewer problems with the pipe itself.

During an October king tide, a homeowner in a 1961 canal house off Atlantic Boulevard finds the guest shower filling with gray water. The plumber clears the main and runs a camera that shows the iron under the slab rotted along the bottom, with tidal water seeping in. With another high-tide season a year away, the owner books a liner and a check valve on the lateral so the canal can't push back into the guest bath again.

Canal lots were raised with dredged fill, and that fill keeps settling. Laterals laid in it develop bellies where water stands and paper collects. If a clog returns at the same distance every time, a camera with a locator can mark the sag.

The blocks around Old Pompano and the new downtown near Dixie Highway and Atlantic Boulevard are being redeveloped, with new apartments and restaurants tied into older mains. Older homes nearby, some from the farming days, have clay or iron laterals under big ficus and mahogany trees, and roots are the usual reason their mains back up.

The Pompano Pier area, with its restaurants and the Fishing Village, draws big crowds. Commercial kitchens need interceptors pumped regularly. Vacation rentals near the beach see sand and wipes in drains; signs and a rinse station help.

Many Pompano condos and canal homes sit empty from spring to fall while their owners are up north. In the heat, traps dry out and let sewer gas into the unit, and grease left in kitchen lines hardens. Before leaving, a little mineral oil in each drain slows evaporation. On return, run every faucet and flush each toilet to refill traps before unpacking, and if the kitchen sink drains slowly, have it cleared before guests arrive.

Give your neighborhood and the building's age, whether it's a canal home, beachfront condo or co-op, and whether the trouble started during a king tide or storm. In a tower, say which floor you're on and whether units above or below are affected, and give the building office's number.