Gurgling when you run water somewhere else
Main line. Flush an upstairs toilet and the basement drain burps or bubbles. That’s air getting pushed back at you, and it means the main line, not the sink.
Drains & underground · Northern Virginia
Fix drains and buried sewer lines.
Drain cleaning runs $200 to $800 for one fixture and $550 to $1,650 for the main sewer line, and we camera the pipe before we quote a repair. Our own plumbers work out of Chantilly and Ashburn, across Fairfax, Loudoun, Prince William and Arlington. We answer day or night, and we will tell you honestly when we can get there. Call (703) 997-9757, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Virginia Class A license 2705192276, insured, and rated 5.0 stars across 1,133 reviews.
What this costs here
- One fixture cleared $430
- Main line cleared $1,100
- Camera, on a visit $89
The middle of our own signed jobs. One fixture runs $200 to $800, a main line $550 to $1,650, and yours is its own number once we have looked.
From the kitchen sink, a clog and a broken pipe look exactly the same, and they’re about ten times apart on price. So the first job is working out which one you’ve got. A cable or a jetter if it’s a clog, a camera if the line has earned one, and the excavator only when the pipe is really finished. That card is what this work costs here, published before anybody knocks on your door.
5.0 stars across 1,133 reviews
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Rather talk now? (703) 997-9757
Licensed and insuredVirginia Class A contractor #2705192276
24/7 emergency serviceWe answer day or night, and we will tell you honestly when we can get there.
Our own plumbers, our own trucksNobody here is a subcontractor with a magnet on the door
The price is settled before the workYou see the number in writing before anything is taken apart
What you’d notice
If any of this is happening, call us.
You don’t have to work out what’s wrong before you pick up the phone. That’s our job. But here is what people describe when they call about a drain, and what each one usually turns out to be.
More than one drain is slow
Main line. One slow sink is a sink. Two slow drains on different floors are sharing the pipe that leaves the house, and that’s a different job.
Water coming up at the lowest drain
Call now. Basement floor drain, basement shower, basement toilet. Stop running water and call. This one gets worse with every flush upstairs.
The same drain, every few months
Roots, probably. A line that blocks on a schedule isn’t clogging, it’s regrowing. Roots come back to the same joint they found the first time.
A smell that wasn’t there last week
Worth a look. Sewer gas gets out where the line is cracked or a trap has dried out. Worth a call even while everything still drains fine.
A wet patch in the yard that never dries
Water line. That’s the water line, not the sewer, and there’s usually a water bill that jumped in the same month. Different pipe, same trench.
Nothing on that list is an emergency except the fourth one. Water coming up at the lowest drain in the house means everything upstairs has nowhere to go, and it gets worse with every flush. The rest will wait for a scheduled visit, and we would rather tell you that than sell you an after-hours call.
Before you call anybody
One fixture, or the whole house? Five minutes.
No tools, no charge, and it changes what you do next more than anything we could say on the phone. One slow sink can wait until Monday. A blocked main line can’t, because every flush upstairs has to come out somewhere. Longer version in the five-minute test.
- 1
Go to the lowest drain in the house
Basement floor drain, basement shower, basement toilet. Whatever sits lowest is where a main line problem shows up first. It always is.
- 2
Run water somewhere else entirely
Flush an upstairs toilet. Run the kitchen sink for thirty seconds. Start the washing machine. You’re asking the house to send water past that low fixture.
- 3
Watch what the low fixture does
Gurgling, burping air, or water rising in it while you run water elsewhere means the main line. Nothing at all, and only one sink or tub slow, means that fixture’s branch.
- 4
Then act on the answer
Main line: stop using water, tell everyone in the house, and call. One fixture: you have time, and pulling the hair off a bathroom pop-up stopper costs nothing to try first.
Clearing a line and fixing a line are two different jobs.
Clearing is mechanical. A cable or water goes in, the blockage comes out, water runs, and if the pipe underneath is sound that is genuinely the end of it.
Repair is when the pipe itself has failed, and cabling a broken line buys you weeks rather than years. If we clear your line and it backs up again inside a few months, stop buying clearings and buy a camera inspection. We would rather tell you that now than sell you the fourth one.
Straight answers
What this work costs here.
Real signed jobs off our own books, not a national average. Yours will be its own number and we work it out after we have looked, but you should know roughly where you stand before anybody quotes you. Longer version in the drain cleaning cost guide.
One fixture cleared
$430
Typical. Kitchen sink, bathroom sink, tub, shower, a toilet augered. Most land between $200 and $800.
Main line cleared
$1,100
Typical. The pipe carrying the whole house out to the street. Most run $550 to $1,650.
Camera down the main, added to a visit
$89
Flat add-on. When we’re already at your house on another call. The cheapest useful hour in plumbing.
Camera or scope visit on its own
$500 to $1,700
Range. The spread is real, because a standalone scope often means clearing the line first so the camera can see anything at all.
Digging a sewer line up
$7,500 to $9,000
or $125/mo at 0% APR for 60 months
Range. Rock and clay are most of the reason. That is the number a liner is there to avoid, and the camera is what tells you whether you can.
$125/mo60mo @ 0% APR
Price range
$7,500-$9,000
8yrs @ 7.99%
$106/mo
15yrs @ 9.99%
$81/mo
Monthly figures on the starting price, the whole price financed, on approved credit. The lender sets the final terms. How financing works
Monthly figures: 60mo @ 0% APR on each starting price, the whole price financed, on approved credit. Longer plans lower the payment and cost more in total. The lender sets the final terms. How financing works
Prices checked .
Nights and weekends cost more, here and everywhere. If the drain is slow rather than stopped, wait until Monday and keep the difference. Members pay less: the Comfort+ membership is $199 a year and takes 15% off any service.
Most of this work is an hour under a sink, not a week in the yard. We start here, with the cheapest thing that could possibly be wrong, and only go looking further when this doesn’t hold.
From the neighbors
The cheap answer first, even when it costs us.
Three Google reviews, as they were written. The first one is the whole approach: somebody had already quoted $800 to go in through the roof vent.
New tenants in the rental property had a problem with their drain. Property manager sent their plumber said they snakeed the drain and could not solve the clog. Wanted $800 to snake the drain through the roof vent. Called Swift Pro and James Milligan solve the problem in 15 minutes saving me hundreds of dollars.
Drain cleared
We had Tyson out for our main line leaking underground, he explained the scope of work for replacement and set great expectations. They had the job done in a very timely manner and I couldn’t ask for more professionalism than he provided!
Underground main line
On July 3, I called to have a clogged floor drain cleared. Thankfully they arrived on July 4th which was greatly appreciated. No one else would come out do to the holiday. Thank you
Holiday call
Reviews are shown as customers wrote them. SwiftPro does not write, edit, buy or remove customer reviews, and offers no incentive in exchange for one. 5.0 stars across 1,133 reviews.
What we do down there
It’s almost always one of three things.
Everything that leaves your house goes out through pipe you can’t see. So when it stops, the question isn’t who can get here fastest. It’s what is actually wrong. One of these is an hour under a sink. Another is a week in the yard.
Drain cleaning and water jetting
A cable clears most clogs. High-pressure water is for the ones a cable would just bore a hole through, which is grease in a kitchen line and roots in a main. One fixture, one branch, or the pipe carrying the whole house out to the street. The prices are on the site before you pick up the phone.
Camera and leak detection
A camera turns a guess into a picture: what the blockage is, how far in, how deep, and whether the pipe around it is sound. That last one is the whole ballgame, because clearing a broken line is renting a fix. When a camera earns its keep, and when it doesn’t.
Underground sewer and water lines
The sewer lateral and the water service line, house to the connection at the street. Both are yours, both are buried, and neither one announces itself until it fails. We renew sewer pipe from the inside where it’ll take it, without a trench across the yard, and we dig where it won’t.
Why it happens here
Northern Virginia is hard on buried pipe.
None of this is bad luck. Three things about this area explain most of what our camera finds under a front yard, and each one has a different answer.
Clay and cast iron under the older neighborhoods
A lot of Northern Virginia went up between the 1950s and the 1980s. Clay sewer pipe comes in short sections with a joint every few feet, and cast iron rusts from the inside until the opening is a fraction of what it was. Both fail predictably, which is the good news.
Trees that are now fifty years into looking for water
Roots don’t break into a healthy pipe. They find a joint that has already shifted, and then they grow. Your sewer line is the wettest, most nutrient-rich thing in the yard.
Rock and heavy clay soil
Ground that doesn’t settle evenly leaves a line bellied, so waste pools in the low spot instead of running downhill and the same place blocks forever. It’s also why digging here costs what it does.
That is the soil, not a bad day. Rock and heavy clay is what an excavator is fighting on every dig in this area, and it is most of the reason digging costs what it does here. It is also the best argument for finding out early, while lining is still on the table.
When it’s the pipe, not the clog
Digging is the last answer, not the first one.
If the camera finds a broken lateral, the next question is whether it has to come up at all. Usually it doesn’t. Where the old pipe still holds its shape, a new jointless pipe is cured inside it with ultraviolet light and the lawn stays where it is. We run that equipment ourselves rather than subbing it out, which is why we can look at the footage and tell you honestly when it is the wrong call.
And when we do have to dig, the yard goes back. A front yard graded and put back over a line we replaced. Digging is not the end of the world either, it is just the expensive answer, and it should be the second one.
Buried lines, by job and by city
Sewer work, in detail.
Trenchless sewer repair, all of Northern VirginiaSewer line repair in McLeanSewer line repair in WoodbridgeSewer line repair in Loudoun County
The water service line is the other buried pipe, and it’s yours too. It brings clean water in under pressure, so it fails differently: a wet patch in the yard that never dries, a water bill that jumped for no reason, pressure that dropped across the whole house at once. Same excavation equipment, completely different repair. If the pressure went suddenly, start with knowing where your shutoffs are.
This is the other kind of day. Water pooling around a failed underground line, found by camera before anybody put a shovel in the ground. Which of the two you are looking at matters more than any number on a quote.
Where we go
Drains and underground lines across Northern Virginia.
Based in Chantilly, so most of Northern Virginia is a short run. Houses, townhouses, HOA common lines and small commercial laterals in and around:
VA Class A 2705192276, along the bottom of the panel. It is on every van, and you can look it up.
Questions we hear every week
What people ask us about drains.
If yours isn’t here, call and ask. Nobody bills you for a question.
Do you have to dig up my yard to fix a sewer line?
Usually not. Where the old pipe still holds its shape, a new jointless pipe is cured inside the old one with ultraviolet light and the lawn stays where it is. We run that equipment ourselves rather than subbing it out, which is why we can look at the camera footage and tell you honestly when it’s the wrong call. How trenchless works.
Cable or jetter, and who decides?
The blockage does. Grease and roots close back around a cable within weeks, so those want water at pressure. A wad of wipes in a branch line wants a cable. If somebody quotes you jetting before they know what’s in the pipe, they’re quoting a machine, not a repair.
What if my house has no cleanout?
A cleanout is the capped access fitting that lets a machine into the line directly. Without one we get in by pulling a toilet or going through a roof vent, which is real added time and shows up in the price. It’s also worth installing one while we’re there.
Do I need a camera before I buy a house?
If it was built before 1980 and there are mature trees between it and the street, yes. A standard home inspection doesn’t include the sewer lateral, and in Fairfax County the lateral is the owner’s all the way to the county main, the run under the street included.
Is the water service line the same thing as the sewer line?
No, and people mix them up constantly. The water service brings clean water in under pressure, so it fails as a wet patch in the yard or a jump in the bill. The sewer lateral carries waste out by gravity, so it fails as a backup. Different pipe, different repair, same trench equipment.
How much does a sewer camera inspection cost?
$89 when we’re already at your house on another call. Booked on its own, a camera or scope visit generally runs $500 to $1,700, because it often means clearing the line first so the camera can see anything. Comfort+ members get a sewer camera inspection every year with their water heater flush, and the membership is $199 a year: see what it covers.
Do you do drain cleaning near me, and how fast can you come?
If you’re in Fairfax, Loudoun, Prince William or Arlington, yes: our plumbers work out of Chantilly and Ashburn. We answer day or night, and we will tell you honestly when we can get there. If water is coming up at the lowest drain in the house, say so when you call, because that one can’t wait. One slow sink usually can.
Do you do drain cleaning in Woodbridge, VA?
Yes. Our plumbers clear drains and main lines in Woodbridge, Dale City and the rest of Prince William County, at the same prices as on this page. Call (703) 997-9757, or see our Woodbridge plumber page.
Do you work nights and weekends?
Yes, and it costs more, here and everywhere. If the drain is slow rather than stopped and you can wait until Monday, wait until Monday. If sewage is coming up anywhere, don’t wait.
Are you licensed and insured?
Yes. Virginia Class A contractor, license 2705192276, and insured. The license is on the side of every van. Family owned, with three locations in Chantilly and Ashburn, including a plumbing and water heater shop.
Will you explain how you will clear it before you start?
Yes. The plumber tells you how they'll clear it, about how long it takes, and the price in writing before anyone starts. In a customer's words: “They explained how they would remove the blockage and estimated time to do the job.” (Robert D., Google review, September 2026)
Will you be straight with me about what is wrong?
Yes. You hear what we found and what your options are, plainly, and you pick. In a customer's words: “Harold promptly diagnosed the issue while clearly explaining our options.” (Jeff L., Google review, September 2026)
Keep reading
More on drains and buried pipe.
What drain cleaning costs in Northern VirginiaClogged drain or main line? The five-minute testSewer camera inspection: when it is worth it and when it is notSewer line repair and replacement cost: trenchless vs. diggingDoes your house need repiping? Polybutylene, copper pinholes, and how to tellSump pumps and battery backups, before the next rainy season
Book it
Find out what it is before you pay to fix it.
If the same drain has backed up twice in a year, you don’t have a clog. You have a pipe, and nobody has looked at it yet. Book the visit, watch the footage, then decide.
SwiftPro Heating, Cooling & Plumbing
4230 Lafayette Center Dr N, Chantilly, VA 20151
44679 Endicott Dr, Suite 211, Ashburn, VA 20147
SwiftPro Plumber & Water Heaters
4200 Lafayette Center Dr, Suite N, Chantilly, VA 20151
Virginia Class A contractor license #2705192276
Family owned, serving all of Northern Virginia. 5.0 stars across 1,133 reviews. 24/7 for anything actively backing up.
Watch our crew on real drain and pipe jobs
Real jobs in Northern Virginia homes, filmed by our own crew. Tap one to watch.
0:29Slow Draining Sink vs. the Supply Side: Two Different Pipes
0:12Mini Excavator Plumbing: Digging a Front Yard to the Line
0:19How to Locate Underground Pipes, Nature Documentary Style
0:14How to Replace Old Plumbing Pipes Under a Kitchen Sink, in Three Steps
0:33Pipe Replacement Process, From the Water Heater to the Kitchen Tap
0:20Strange Plumbing Noises That Sound Like HVAC, and Where to Look