Hayes Plumbing provides drain cleaning in Whitby, from Port Whitby and Downtown Whitby north to Brooklin, from our shop at 448 Ritson Rd. South in Oshawa. Our licensed plumbers clear kitchen and bathroom sinks, tubs, showers, toilets, laundry and floor drains and main drains with powered drain snakes, and we bring in a drain camera when a blockage keeps returning. You get the price in writing before we start, and a live operator answers (905) 576-3043 around the clock when a drain is backing up.
What Clogs Drains in Whitby Homes
Most clogs build up slowly. The Region of Durham, which runs the sanitary sewers in Whitby, warns that cooking fat, oil and grease poured down a sink can turn solid in cold pipes, and that hot water and dish soap do not stop it from building up. A kitchen drain that gets a little slower every month is usually lined with grease and food waste.
Bathroom drains and toilets clog more often with hair, soap and wipes. The Region asks residents to flush only pee, poo and toilet paper, and to put wipes in the garbage even when the package says flushable, because they do not break down the way toilet paper does and can clump into blockages.
Tree roots are the other usual suspect on mature, treed streets. The Region notes that sewers and drains are frequently blocked by roots, which work their way into older pipes through joints and cracks. Older homes, such as those near the historic downtowns of Whitby and Brooklin, may also still have cast iron drain pipes, and scale inside an old pipe gives debris something to catch on. A camera inspection tells us which problem we are dealing with.
How We Clear a Blocked Drain
- Find the blocked line. We check which fixtures are slow or backing up to tell a single clogged drain from a problem in the main drain.
- Clear the blockage. A powered drain snake cuts through the clog and pulls out the buildup. Lines packed with grease or roots may call for hydro jetting, which we also offer in Whitby.
- Confirm the flow. We run water through the cleared line, and for repeat or main line clogs we send a camera down to look for roots, a sagging section or a cracked pipe.
- Explain what we found. You hear what caused the clog, how to keep it from coming back, and whether the camera showed damage that needs a separate repair quote.
Sewer Backups: What the Region Handles and What You Handle
When several fixtures back up at once, or sewage comes up through the basement floor drain, the blockage may be in the sewer connection rather than a single drain. In Whitby, responsibility for that connection is split between the homeowner and the Region of Durham. The Region's Works Department clears residential connections from the sewer main to the property line when it finds the backup is outside private property, and it repairs a broken residential sewer connection from the property line up to one metre (three feet) from the house foundation. Damage within that last metre or inside the house is the homeowner's to repair, and the Region does not restore lawns, gardens or driveways.
If sewage is flooding your home, the Region asks you to contact its Works Department depot, and its after-hours emergency line is 905-576-9991. The Region also requires a readily accessible 100 mm (4 inch) wye cleanout on residential connections. That cleanout is the usual access point for clearing and inspecting the line on your side, so keep it uncovered and easy to reach.
Drain Cleaning Cost in Whitby
According to our 2026 Oshawa plumbing cost guide, drain cleaning typically costs $150 to $400, depending on how severe the blockage is and where it sits. If the camera shows a cracked or root-damaged line, the repair is quoted separately: the guide lists leak and drain line spot repairs at $500 to $1,500 and a full line replacement at $3,000 to $10,000. Calls outside regular business hours may carry additional charges, and we confirm the price in writing before any work starts.