Clogged Drain Cleaning in Alaska

Drains clog for different reasons in different parts of Alaska. Older neighborhoods have cast iron and clay sewer lines under big trees, newer subdivisions mostly see grease and wipes in PVC pipe, and many rural homes depend on a septic tank. Find your city or the nearest one below. Each city page has a rough cost range, a look at what local soil and trees do to drains, and one number that connects you with a local plumber.

Cold is the main enemy of drains in Alaska. Frost goes deep, and a drain or sewer line that runs through an unheated crawl space, a garage or shallow ground can freeze and crack. Many homes outside the larger towns rely on wells and septic tanks, and a frozen septic line backs up the whole house. Birch, spruce and willow roots find their way into older sewer pipe during the short summer, and digging up a line is slow, hard work once the ground freezes.

• Deep frost and long, hard winters
• Frozen drain lines in crawl spaces and garages
• Septic systems at many homes outside the larger towns
• Birch, spruce and willow roots in older sewer pipe
• Frozen ground that makes digging up a line slow

Ask whether heat tape or insulation would help on any drain line that runs through a cold crawl space.

• Kitchen sink. Cooking grease and oil that cool and harden on the pipe wall, plus food scraps, coffee grounds and soap scum that stick to it. A garbage disposal sends more solids down, not fewer.
• Bathroom sink. Hair mixed with soap, toothpaste and shaving residue, caught on the pop-up stopper or in the trap. Small items dropped down the drain add to it.
• Tub or shower. Hair is the main cause, bound together with soap scum and conditioner. Older tubs with a trip lever drain collect it in the overflow and the drum trap.
• Toilet. Too much paper at once, wipes labeled flushable, paper towels, cotton swabs, dental floss and toys. Low-flow toilets from before about 2005 clog more often.
• Floor or laundry drain. Lint from the washing machine, sand and grit, soap, and in basements the silt that washes in. A dry trap lets sewer gas up as well.
• Main sewer line. Tree roots coming in at joints in clay and cast iron pipe, grease built up from years of kitchen use, wipes, and pipe that has sagged or cracked.
• Outdoor or yard drain. Leaves, dirt, sand and roots in yard drains, area drains, driveway trench drains and the pipes that carry downspout water away.