24/7 Drain Cleaning & Sewer Service in Tacoma, WA

The North End, Stadium District, Proctor and the Hilltop have homes from the 1880s through the 1930s, including Victorians, Craftsmans and foursquares, most with basements and clay tile side sewers.

The South End, Lincoln District and Fern Hill filled in from the 1910s through the 1950s with bungalows, cottages and small postwar homes.

East Tacoma, the Eastside and much of the West End were built in the 1940s through the 1970s with ranches, daylight basements and split-levels.

Newer homes and townhomes have filled in across the city since the 1990s, often with new PVC tied into old side sewers.

Much of Tacoma sits on steep slopes above Commencement Bay and the Puyallup River tideflats, with heavy winter rain and glacial soils that drain slowly.

Tacoma's Environmental Services department runs the city's wastewater system and treatment plants. Tacoma homeowners own the side sewer that carries waste from the house to the public main.

From October through April, steady rain saturates the hills and leaks into cracked side sewers, while spring and summer bring the fastest root growth.

Occasional winter cold snaps with snow can freeze drains in garages and crawlspaces in homes built for mild weather.

When the Northern Pacific chose Tacoma as its western terminus in 1873, the city boomed, and the wealthy built Victorians and Craftsmans in the Stadium District and the North End, near Stadium High School and Wright Park. Those homes have clay tile side sewers that run down steep lots to mains in the street or alley. Street trees planted generations ago have grown huge, and their roots have found many of the joints. Lining is popular here because it avoids digging up historic yards and retaining walls.

Proctor's shops and the surrounding streets of 1910s and 1920s bungalows give the North End a small-town feel. Farther west, the West End toward Point Defiance filled in after World War II with ranches and daylight basement homes. Older lines in Proctor tend to have roots, while postwar homes often show cast iron scale under the slab and clay or concrete side sewers with a root joint or two.

The Hilltop, above downtown, has old homes from the late 1800s and early 1900s, many divided into apartments over the decades. The neighborhood is changing quickly with new construction near the Link light rail extension. Old clay side sewers, heavy use and new connections tied into old pipe are common sources of trouble.

Tacoma's steep slopes and slow-draining glacial soils hold water through the long rainy season. Cracked side sewers let groundwater in, adding to the flow and sometimes pushing water back into basements. Older homes may also have downspouts tied into the sewer. Disconnecting them and repairing cracked pipe reduces the load.

On a rainy January night, a family in a 1912 foursquare near Wright Park sees water rising through the basement floor drain while the dishwasher runs. The plumber opens the outdoor cleanout and clears roots about forty-five feet out, where a big maple shades the planting strip. The camera shows cracked clay and a separated joint near the street. The family books lining and pulls a permit for the work.

Many Tacoma homes sit high above the street, and their side sewers drop steeply to reach the main. On very steep runs, water outruns solids and leaves paper and waste behind, especially at the bottom where the slope flattens. Long, steep lines also give roots more chances to get in. Jetting cleans these lines thoroughly, and a camera inspection shows any sags or breaks.

Tacoma's South End, Lincoln District and Eastside neighborhoods have a mix of early 1900s cottages and postwar homes, many now home to large families and multiple households. Grease, wipes and hair are the most common causes of clogs, along with roots in older clay side sewers.

The Lincoln District's Vietnamese and Asian restaurants, downtown's dining scene and the busy strip along Sixth Avenue all have commercial kitchens, many in older buildings on old lines. Grease interceptors pumped on a set schedule and regular jetting keep them open through the weekend rush.

Tacoma rarely sees a hard freeze, but when one comes, homes built for mild weather can have trouble. Drains in garages, crawlspaces and exterior walls freeze first. Wrap exposed pipe and let faucets drip during a freeze.

Below the hills, the Port of Tacoma and the Puyallup River tideflats are industrial, but neighborhoods on the lower slopes near the Dome District and along Pacific Avenue sit on fill and soft soils that settle. Side sewers in settling ground sag over time, forming low spots where grease and paper collect. A line that clears easily but backs up again a few months later often has one of these bellies, and the camera footage will show standing water in the pipe where the ground has sunk.

Postwar Tacoma builders loved the daylight basement, a lower level that is underground on the uphill side and opens to the yard on the downhill side. The laundry, a bathroom and a rec room often sit down there, and their drains are the lowest in the house. When the side sewer slows, the lower bathroom shower or the laundry standpipe is where homeowners first see water. If the lower fixtures sit below the street main, an ejector pump may be involved too.

A side sewer camera inspection is standard practice here and well worth the money on any home built before 1970. Look for roots, cracks, offsets and sags, and ask how far the camera traveled. On steep lots, ask whether the line runs to the street or the alley.

Mention your neighborhood and when the house was built, whether there's a basement or daylight basement, and where the side sewer exits. Note any big street trees, how steep the lot is and whether the trouble started during heavy rain.