The office at Northeast Sewer is on a “semi” vacation this week, meaning I have transferred the office phone to my cell phone and am up to camp:)
We still have men on call and working this week so if you need drain service, we can still schedule you.
So here is a post I have brought out from the archives, still very relevant, sadly.
From November 2011
Recently we have had an influx of people call for drain service to fix or complete service from other companies. So I thought that maybe a list of “drain cleaning” guide lines were in order to help consumers spot rip off’ or price gouging.
1) A toilet, sink or tub clog should take less than an hour to un-clog. If it can’t be fixed within the first 20 minutes something else is going on and the tech needs to tell you. Especially if they are charging by the hour….
2) A main line sewer should take no more than an hour to un-clog. If there is a blockage (the tech will know this pretty quickly) they should recommend having the sewer line televised with a drain camera. This is an added expense but will let you know exactly what is going on.
3) Ask questions, If there is breakage in your sewer line you will be able to see it clearly. And always ask the tech to explain things to you if you don’t understand, this is why we are there, and every question should be answered.
4) Root infiltration into your sewer main line is a common thing and is easily remedied with high pressure jetting or with a root cutter, yearly maintenance with root-ex will take care of the problem. Root-ex is not expensive and neither is root cutting.
5) If you do have a broken sewer line, make sure the company is reputable, call your local municipality to find out who the city may recommend and always get a couple of prices. Check the BBB or Angie’s list for ratings or just ask around.
6) Plumbers are not drain cleaners. Plumbers like to run new plumbing, drain cleaners like to clean the plumbing out. Northeast Sewer works with many local plumbers for drain cleaning in turn if we get a call that requires a master plumber we turn the call over to them. It’s drain plumbing harmony in Portland Maine.
Lastly if they are charging you by the hour and it’s taking them hours……You can bet your getting taken advantage of!
~Northeast Sewer & Drain Service