Basement
- Sewer coming up through the grate
- Washer dumping onto the floor
- Dry trap and sewer gas
- Tied into a restricted main
Floor drain cleaning in Worcester — basement and utility backups
A basement drain that only shows up in a storm, a utility sink that dumps onto the floor, or a garage drain that smells like the sewer. Roto-Rooter clears floor drains and the traps under them. Call or text (508) 335-3306. HIC#208076.
Floor drains we open and what usually failed
A dry trap smells. A packed trap floods. Worcester basements have both — and a lot of drains that have not seen a primer in years.
Pull the grate, then decide if it is the trap or the main
We lift the strainer, see whether the trap is dry, packed, or actually flowing backward from the house line. A floor drain that burps when a toilet flushes is not a local clog — that is the main pushing sewage to the lowest opening. Cabling only the grate will not hold.
Older Worcester slabs hide shallow traps and lines that were never primed. A cup of water in a neglected drain is maintenance; a basement full of sewage is not. If the floor is already wet, clearing the line and drying the room are different jobs — see basement flooding.
Labor and materials
Floor drain clearing is quoted after we open the grate. A packed trap is not the same price as cabling through the slab to a cleanout. Trap primers, replacement strainers, and any fittings are materials. If the backup is the sewer, we quote that as main-line work.
Call or text (508) 335-3306 with basement, garage, or laundry, and whether other fixtures are involved.
Keep the floor drain from becoming a fountain
- Pour a quart of water into unused basement drains a few times a year so the trap does not dry out.
- A backwater valve is a conversation if sewage comes up every hard rain. We will say if the grate is the symptom.
- Do not use the floor drain as a trash chute for drywall mud or paint.
- If the washer overflows the standpipe onto the floor, that may be sink / laundry drain work, not only this grate.
Frequently asked questions
It only smells. Nothing is backing up.
A dry trap. Water in the drain often fixes it. If the smell stays, the trap may be cracked or the primer failed — we will look before we sell you a jetting job.
Is this a sump pump problem?
A sump is groundwater. A floor drain on the sanitary side is sewage. If the pit is the issue, that is sump pumps. We will not treat a failed pump as a clog.
Do you need to camera a floor drain?
Not for a first-time packed trap. Recurring backups or sewage that rises with every flush — yes, a camera on the main is the honest next step.
The basement already has standing water.
Call. We clear the line if that is the source. Removal and drying are water damage. Do not wait for the water to “go down” if it is sewage.
Need a floor drain cleared? Call or text.
Roto-Rooter · HIC#208076 · 61 Sandra Dr, Worcester, MA 01604.